Tabish Khan the @LondonArtCritic picks his top 5 Central London exhibitions to see this Summer – all within walking distance of one another. Each comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you. If you’re looking for more exhibitions check out his museum exhibitions and his gallery exhibitions where all but one remain open to visit.
Rheim Alkadhi: Templates for Liberation @ ICA
Tarpaulin sheets that look like abstract paintings, or war-torn landscapes, and digitally generated images of persons. Rheim Alkadhi’s exhibition looks at the impact of colonialism on the Iraqi people and how trade has more freedom of movement than people. It’s an exhibition you need to take your time with; the more you sit with it, the more powerful it becomes. Until 18th September, ticketed.
Ernest Cole: House of Bondage @ The Photographers’ Gallery
Photographer Ernest Cole documented the horrific Apartheid regime in South Africa from people crowding onto trains and multiple children sharing a cot in hospital wards to horrific signs that proclaim ‘Europeans only’ or ‘Whites only’. It’s a sickening and powerful reminder that this era was more recent than we’d like to imagine, and feels even more poignant given the racist divisions re-emerging today. Until 22nd September, ticketed.
Minoru Nomata: Continuum @ White Cube, Mason’s Yard
These stunning paintings of icebergs and structures in hyper-real paintings look like they could be real but also have a touch of otherworldly surrealism to them. They are all imagined and are about a sense of alienation, lacking figures within them, yet they are equally easy to get lost in. Until 24th August.
Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens @ National Portrait Gallery
Many UK schoolchildren learn about Henry VIII but his six wives are often sidelined. This exhibition turns the lens back on to them to chart each one’s story through portraits and other artworks, highlighting what fascinating historical figures they were. Until 8th September, ticketed.
Ahmed Mater: Chronicles @ Christies
The whole auction site has been turned over to a comprehensive survey of Ahmed Mater’s works including painting, sculpture, calligraphy, photography and X-rays. Even areas that are normally off-limits have been opened up in this impressive look at the artist’s varied portfolio which includes many works relating to the artist’s home country of Saudi Arabia – covering its landscape and its dependence on oil. Until 22nd August.
All photos copyright respective venue and artist. ICA Photo: Rob Harris. Ernest Cole image: © Ernest Cole / Magnum Photos. Six lives image: © David Parry.
