Tabish Khan the @LondonArtCritic picks his Top 5 Art Exhibitions to see in Fitzrovia and Mayfair. Each one comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you. If you’re looking for museum exhibitions to visit, check out last week’s top 5 where all five remain open to visit.
Danielle Fretwell: Shallow Invitations @ Alice Amati
A breakfast is only half visible with the top half concealed by a curtain – what’s going on behind it, is there someone at the table? Danielle Fretwell paints the entire scene in hyper-realist detail before concealing a large part of it – so the work is a complete scene but only the artist knows what’s concealed. Other paintings are entirely concealed with realistic stitching painted on as if the work is wrapped in fabric. This is a phenomenal exhibition of paintings. Until 13 April.
Jess Allen: This Is Now @ Unit London
A woman lies on the sofa but a shadow is cast across her, in other works two shadows merge together as they are projected onto the wall. Sometimes people are absent as Jess Allen perfectly captures the light through a window hitting the wall. It’s de-light-full. Until 21 April.
Behold your heart: Dante Biennial @ Rebecca Hossack
Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s epic poem The Divine Comedy, this exhibition brings together a diverse set of artists. Tobias Till’s giant works give a vision of heaven and hell from a London perspective including a careening Underground train filled with screaming commuters while Alice MacDonald creates sketches based on the 1911 film L’inferno and Phil Shaw has created a bookshelf of titles that include paradise, purgatory and hell in descending order.
Until 28 April.
Robert Muntean: Future Days @ Rosenfeld
The pastel palette draws you in but then you feel like an interloper spying on people’s intimate moments in Robert Muntean’s figurative paintings. These are tender works that make you feel like you’ve entered the artist’s dreamscape. Until 29 March.
Antonio Saura: Painting at Will @ Opera Gallery
I didn’t know much about Antonio Saura but it’s clear to see he was a contemporary of Picasso. It’s a chance to get acquainted with the work of this Post-War Spanish painter, from his large-scale emotionally charged distorted faces to the smaller works he created on the covers of books. Until 26 March.
All images copyright and courtesy artist and gallery. Alice Amati photo: Tom Carter. Antonia Saura photo: Eva Herzog photography.
