Tabish Khan, the @LondonArtCritic, picks his Top 5 Art Exhibitions to see in London during Frieze Week. If you are after more exhibitions, check out last week’s top 5.
Ibrahim Mahama: Parliament of Ghosts at Ibraaz
Ibraaz is a new cultural hub focusing on the Global South, which has opened in Fitzrovia, complete with a bookshop, café, library, and a fantastic exhibition space. Its debut exhibition features Ibrahim Mahama’s site-specific installation of colourful chairs and jute sacks, which reflect on Ghana’s history and independence. I’ve seen the installation in a different configuration before, and here it’s perfect for sitting in and reflecting on history, while also admiring this new space. 15th October – 15th December.
Alexandre Diop: Run for Your Life at Stephen Friedman
It’s a cliche to say art needs to be seen in person, but in this case, it really does. Get up close and you realise that these large-scale figurative works incorporate number plates, Ikea bags and other found materials stapled to the works. These are inventive collages filled with energy, and it’s always exciting to discover a new artist whose works you like. Until 1st November.
Subject to Change at Gazelli Art House
This gallery has been at the forefront of championing digital art, and this group show brings together nine international artists who work with algorithms, datasets, and machine learning. Highlights include Jake Elwes’ brilliant opera where he asks the music AI, Suno, to sing out the terms and conditions of OpenAI with each paragraph sung in the style of a different genre. Entangled Others feed existing organisms into a programme to create new ones, and Auriea Harvey tackles the algorithmic omission of the word ‘slave’, and what that means, through augmented reality. Until 19th December.
Emily Ponsonby: A Warm Life through Butter at Gillian Jason Gallery
We all have moments of great intimacy with loved ones, whether that’s in a bathtub or around a dinner table. Memorable moments, and Emily Ponsonby captures them with a purity that’s not posed, as you would see in a photograph. These are moments of contemplation, and I was particularly drawn to the energy of conversations and movement around dining together, in my opinion, where some of the best memories are formed. Until 18th October.
Don’t Look Back at Unit London
Spinning psychedelic black and white circles by Mark Titchner, a neon by Tracey Emin, and photography by Ricard Bellingham look back to the late 90s and early 2000s. This exhibition also looks forward with newer names, such as Thomas Cameron’s vision of balconies at night, in a fun exhibition filled with familiar names. Until 25th October.
All images are copyrighted and courtesy of the respective artists and galleries. Ibraaz photo: Hugo Glendinning. Unit photo: Prudence Cuming.
