Pilar Corrias, 51 Conduit Street, London W1S 2YT and 2 Savile Row, London W1S 3PA
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Whilst several galleries have recently moved into the traditional art spaces of Cork Street, Pilar Corrias’s new flagship space is on nearby Conduit Street, with 5,000 sq ft over two floors. Add the 1,200 sq ft in Savile Row, opened in 2021, and the expansion from the original gallery on Eastcastle Street is evident: from a 3,800 sq ft space operated from the gallery’s founding in 2008 through to 2023. The gallerist’s aim is ‘to do something really well in one place’ – London – ‘rather than something mediocre in many places’. Corrias, who previously worked at Lisson and Haunch of Venison galleries, represents 35 international artists, two-thirds of whom are female – and when I look back across 15 years of shows, it is women who tend to stand out.
Nowadays the programme is rich in figurative painting that revises historical worldviews from a feminist perspective. I recall the high impact of Tala Madani, who had the gallery’s third show back in 2009 – I set up an interview immediately for the short-lived but highly regarded Art World magazine. I’m also a long-term advocate of Hayv Kahraman, currently showing in the larger space. And Christina Quarles, Gisela McDaniel, Sofia Mitsola and Tschabalala Self could reasonably be put in a similar category. But more abstract painters have also featured – I like Mary Ramsay and Sabine Moritz – as well as conceptual works in a wider range of media: Keren Cytter’s films, Leigh Ledare’s highly charged photographs of inappropriate desire, and Philippe Parreno’s installations come to mind. And this week Peppi Bottrop is opening concurrently at Savile Row and in Conduit Street’s smaller space, illustrating the flexibility provided by two nearby galleries.
London’s gallery scene is varied, from small artist-run spaces to major institutions and everything in between. Each week, art writer and curator Paul Carey-Kent gives a personal view of a space worth visiting.
