Tabish Khan the @LondonArtCritic picks his top 5 Exhibitions to see in London right now. If you’re looking for more exhibitions check out his top museum exhibitions and his special Frieze week top 6.
Emily Allchurch: The Six Seasons @ James Freeman Gallery
By piecing together contemporary photographs Emily Allchurch has recreated Bruegel the Elder’s Six Seasons – a collection of paintings that includes his famous ‘Hunters in the Snow’. These paintings were about our interaction with nature and these works ask us to question how we’ve transformed the landscape in the over 450 years since Bruegel painted the original series. They are also spectacular works in their own right and the level of detail is extraordinary. Until 26th October, free.
Simon Bejer: Paradise Glitch @ General Assembly
Combining kitsch and art history Simon Bejer’s exhibition is all about the extinct Dodo and how it’s become a story of humanity’s rapacious dominance over the world and the miscasting of the Dodo as a slow dumb creature. It includes a painting of a father teaching his son to hunt in a tender moment loaded with violent intent, a sculpture of a beheaded Dodo held aloft by a figure and a working claw machine filled with ‘Dodo eggs’. It’s filled with references that bring together the history of humans and the species we drove to extinction. Until 26th October, free.
London Film Festival 2024 Expanded @ BFI and nearby locations
It’s not all film at the London Film Festival as the expanded programme includes games and experiences. My two favourites are a choose-your-own-adventure-style game set in pitch black shipping container where players use arcade machines to navigate through a story that evolves based on their choices and a virtual reality experience where we see what it’s like to live with ADHD that leaves an emotional impact. Until 27th October, some are ticketed.
Claire Fahys: Viento Solar @ Pipeline
It’s all about light and architecture in Claire Fahys’ paintings that provide windows into the places she’s been – whether that’s blazing blue skies through palm trees or looking over rooftops out of a window with our view partly obstructed by the window pane itself. Including the windows in many of her works gives them a sense of voyeurism that makes them feel more real. Until 26 October, free.
Laura Grinberga: Me, Soul @ 20 Pembridge Villas, Notting Hill
Paintings hang from the ceiling, rippling like waves and we’re encouraged to touch their backs to create ripples of our own in this ocean of blue works, including a structure made from the same material as bridal veils suggesting to me our unbreakable, and occasionally difficult, relationship with nature. It’s deliberately in a residential building with high ceilings and large windows as they come alive in the autumnal light. Until 3rd November, free (Open Sundays 2-4pm and by appointment).
All images copyright artist and venue. LFF expanded photo: Millie Turner.
