Flowers Gallery has announced the 25th edition of Artist of the Day, a landmark programme started by Angela and Matthew Flowers in 1983. This year, the fast-paced, revolving two-week show schedule features 10 UK based artists, each presenting a one-day solo exhibition at Flowers Gallery’s Mayfair location, supported by their artist selector.
Over the years, the unconventional exhibition concept has cemented Artist of the Day as a vital platform that highlights artists supporting artists. This series has often nurtured rising talent and has seen the start of the careers of some of the UK’s most celebrated contemporary artists, including Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Juno Calypso, Billy Childish, Adam Dant, Dexter Dalwood, Nicola Hicks, and Anthony Daley, the very first artist of the day in 1983.
Each exhibition will be available to visit from 11 am to 7 pm, encompassing a daily programme of events. The exhibitions will be accompanied by weekly group shows of all the week’s artists and a two-week-long installation in the Lower Gallery featuring past Artist of the Day artists including Sokari Douglas Camp, Cathy de Monchaux, Nancy Fouts, Lucy Jones, and David Robilliard.
One of this year’s selected artists includes multidisciplinary artist Bianca Raffaella (selected by Tracey
Emin), who paints from her experiences and realities of having a visual impairment. Her works demonstrate to the fully sighted that having a visual impairment is no restriction to being an artist. Other artists include Freya Tewelde (selected by Barbara Walker), an artist based in London of Eritrean heritage whose practice explores cultural, spiritual, socio-economic systems, and ideological perspectives; Lucienne O’Mara (selected by Liliane Tomasko), who boldly navigates the realm of Modernist aesthetics and theories through art; and Kyoto-born artist Aethan Wills (selected by Victoria Cantons), whose painterly practice is primarily concerned with Japanese aesthetics and ideals, perceived through the traditional Japanese Shoji screens.
This year’s esteemed selectors include Tracey Emin, Sir Frank Bowling, Barbara Walker, Liliane Tomasko, and Victoria Cantons, continuing a legacy of distinguished artists like Sonia Boyce, Chantal Joffe, Patrick Caulfield, Helen Chadwick, the Chapman Brothers, Gilbert & George, Maggi Hambling, Anish Kapoor, Cornelia Parker, Bridget Riley, and Gavin Turk.
In the early 1980’s Angela and I were interested in exploring artists relationships with each other, particularly the kind of support artists were showing in championing each other’s work and career development. 40 years on in its 25th iteration Artist of the Day is now firmly evolved into the gallery’s DNA as an ephemeral series of one-day exhibitions with an artist selecting another artist to present work, and is as dynamic and essential as ever. Since 1983 we’ve had over 220 distinguished artists make selections for artists to have installations at seven venues within London, with seemingly all media possible represented including monumental sculpture, performance, film, writing, spoken word, collective bodies of work, furniture, and the gallery walls being used as canvas.
Each edition of Artist of the Day we look forward to encountering the unknown and unpredictable, along
Matthew Flowers
with incredible one-off presentations. The constraint of time to promote and install an exhibition for one day only ensures there is a tangible energy, with each day’s show incomparable to the day before or the day after. Artist of the Day has given a platform and context to artists whom their selector is really excited by, including artists who may not have exhibited much before or whom their selector feels is due a public showing. Accompanied by the support of their selectors and the gallery, the exhibiting artists essentially have the freedom to take over our space for a day. The relationship between the selector and the artist adds an intimate power to the daily installations, resulting in a unique, very positive fusion of mentorship, friendship and collaboration within the undercurrent of the whole series.
Exhibitions
WEEK 1
Monday 24th June Bianca Raffaella selected by Tracey Emin
Tuesday 25 June Lucienne O’Mara selected by Liliane Tomasko
Wednesday 26 June John Bunker selected by Sir Frank Bowling
Thursday 27 June Paula Pohli selected by Hughie O’Donoghue
Friday 28 June John O’Donnell selected by John Lessore
Saturday 29 June GROUP SHOW
WEEK 2
Monday 1st July Bella Bradford selected by Olivia Bax
Tuesday 2nd July Angela Lizon selected by Stewart Geddes
Wednesday 3rd July Aethan Wills selected by Victoria Cantons
Thursday 4th July Freya Tewelde selected by Barbara Walker
Friday 5th July Nick Paton selected by Jessie Makinson
Saturday 6th July GROUP SHOW
Artist of the Day, 24th June – 6th July 2024, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street
