JGM Gallery, 24 Howie Street, Battersea SW11 4AY
www.jgmgallery.com Instagram: @jgm_gallery
JGM has an unusual programme alternating indigenous contemporary art from Australia with shows by British artists. It was founded in 2017 by Jennifer Guerrini Maraldi, already a leading specialist in Indigenous contemporary art from Australia, having long collected, dealt, and promoted the work of first nations artists – she ran a gallery in Australia as long ago as the 1970’s. I’m not too expert a judge of that zone of art, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen at the gallery. Guerrini Maraldi added local artists to her roster when she opened the light-filled space in Battersea – just by the Royal College of Art. She supports an appealing range of London-based artists: Dominic Beattie, Juan Bolivar, Benjamin Deakin, Tim Ellis, Ralph Anderson and Alice Wilson come to mind – the last two husband and wife, with Anderson due a solo show soon.
Do the categories operate in unison? One might see connections in terms of the importance of pattern and the absence of much straightforwardly naturalistic figuration. And a fair cross-section of the full programme is always on view, in both the adjoining open office and a separate display in one of the large windows. JGM is also among the best documenters of shows, with each exhibition accompanied by an informative large-format publication, also available online. The current issue sees Samuel Cornish write on Karolina Albricht and Assistant Director Julius Killerby interview her, and includes a striking spread of photographs indicative of the sights that indirectly inform the abstract paintings she’s showing at the gallery now.
London’s gallery scene is varied, from small artist-run spaces to major institutions and everything in between. Each week, art writer and curator Paul Carey-Kent gives a personal view of a space worth visiting.
