Tabish Khan, the @LondonArtCritic, picks his top exhibitions to see in Central London this Summer. If you are looking for more exhibitions, check out his previous top 5.
Patricia Piccinini: Holding Tight and Letting Go at Ames Yavuz
It looks like a couple is asleep in the middle of the gallery, but something is not right. Get up close, and you’ll see they are hyper-real human-animal hybrids under a duvet. Elsewhere, there’s a little work that looks like a mix of a piglet, Donald Trump and a couple of kids carrying a lifelike koala in a laundry basket. It’s creepy, uncanny and brilliant. Until 11th July.
Yinka Ilori – Joy Through Resistance: He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Best at Cristea Roberts
Yinka Ilori has brought his colourful work indoors, and there’s a fantastic riot of colour in his paintings, prints and musical instruments, all filled with his always colourful palette. He sees joy as a way to fight back against the hatred and divisiveness we’re seeing in society today, and I’m fully on board. Until 11th July.
Justin Brice Guariglia: Agentic Forests at Flowers
These images of forests printed on linen canvases have an otherworldly feel. That’s because they are multiple exposures stacked on top of each other, and they’ve been chromatically shifted across the ultraviolet spectrum so they appear in various shades of purple. It references the spectrum that birds and insects can see in, and these are all sacred forests, and it raises the question of whether there’s something unknown in them, beyond what our eyes can see. Until 11th July.
Jonathan Kelly: 37 degrees / when the gods have left at Ione & Mann
Filled with symbols and painted on canvases in various shapes, these works explore the concept of sacred geometry, in which specific shapes carry hidden meanings. The works themselves have a polish and gloss that make them look like prints rather than the paintings they are, adding to the mystery. Until 18th July.
Pieter Obels | Feng Xiao-Min at Opera Gallery
Swirling sculptures made of corten steel by Dutch artist Pieter Obels meet the contemplative, colourful, abstract landscapes of Feng Xiao-Min. They are very different works, but they complement each other well. There is dynamism and weight in the former and a more relaxing, absorbing effect from the other. Until 12th July.
All images are copyrighted and courtesy of the artist and gallery. Patricia Piccinini photo: Denis Guzel. Yinka Ilori photo: Sam Roberts. Flowers photo: Antonio Parente. Opera Gallery photo: Eva Dixon.
