Exhibitions Opening This Week
Women and the Void, Abstract Expressionism on Paper
16 February - 9 March, 2022
Includes: Mary Abbott, Dusti Bongé, Jay DeFeo, Perle Fine, Elaine De Kooning, Anne Ryan, Alma Thomas, Michael West
Both the post-war action painters and the colour field Abstract Expressionists shared the same common belief: that following the war and the surrealist movement, abstract painting was able to achieve a transcendentalism that figurative painting could not. As Barnett Newman stated in 1948, ‘Instead of making cathedrals out of Christ, man, or ‘‘life’’, we are making it out of ourselves, out of our own feelings’. How can we reconcile this narrative with a distinct lack of women and painters of colour in the canon?
The exhibition comes at a unique time when there is a burgeoning interest in the plight of twentieth-century female abstract artists, both amongst revisionist scholars and museum curators, popularised by Mary Gabriel’s 2018 book, Ninth Street Women. Huxley-Parlour’s exhibition builds on a this project by focusing on works beyond painting: all works are on paper and at a smaller scale than is generally associated with Abstract Expressionism. The exhibition, too, explores the practises of women in abstraction beyond the mainstream big five.
Jaime Gili: Loop
17 February - 18 March, 2022
Jaime Gili’s Loop is demonstrative of the importance of repetition within the artist’s practice; with these new paintings he revisits old designs and sharp geometric constructions with a focus on colour. The title of the show refers to various recurring elements of Gili’s painting practice; the paintings stem from designs made by the artist up to two decades ago, ideas that have not been realised until now. The title also references looping narratives in Gili’s personal and family history – his father’s diaries from the 1960s were fundamental to the conception of this exhibition. Jaime Gili Snr fled from Francoist Spain and ended up in Venezuela in 1968, a time in which Venezuela was a very rich nation. Today, half a century later, Venezuela is one of the poorest nations in Latin America and since 2014, it is estimated that over 6 million Venezuelans have emigrated. With this exhibition Gili is attempting to make sense of this downward spiral and subsequent diaspora. There is a mirroring (or looping) in this family story: Gili’s father crossed the Atlantic from Europe to Venezuela and eventually his son would make the reverse journey, settling in London.
Lauren Clay: Persephone
18 February - 26 March, 2022
Bosse & Baum is pleased to present Persephone, the first solo exhibition by American artist Lauren Clay in the UK.
Expounding on Persephone’s archetypal figure and the realm of Underworld as the psychic unconscious, the exhibition showcases a new body of work of wall-based and free-standing sculpture, works on paper and a site-specific wall installation in Clay’s curving, architectural style.
Tess Jaray: New Paintings
17 February - 25 March, 2022
Karsten Schubert London presents Tess Jaray: New Paintings, a focused solo exhibition of paintings from the artist’s Solitude series. Seen here together for the first time, they show the visual force of Jaray’s intuitive handling of colour and form. These paintings are an exemplar of the abiding allure of Jaray’s work: condensing a multitude of information and visual influences into utterly reduced and concise forms.
Keith Cunningham: The Cloud of Witness
16 February - 21 August, 2022
Opening
Tuesday 15th February 2022
6-8PM
Everyone welcome – no RSVP required
Newport Street Gallery is proud to present The Cloud of Witness, an exhibition of over 70 works by little-known Australian artist Keith Cunningham, which runs from 16th February to 21st August 2022.
Cunningham’s paintings were produced in London during the post-war period, an artistic environment dominated by the likes of Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. A student at the Royal College of Art in the mid-1950s, Cunningham worked alongside major artists such as Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff and Jo Tilson.
Cunningham’s sombre paintings, coated in layers of dense, sculptural brushstrokes, are populated by skulls, fighting dogs and darkly altered human figures. Like his schoolmates and teachers at the Royal College, Cunningham was interested in figurative painting, transforming the reality of everyday life into loose, slowly disintegrating forms.
Exhibition Guide Membership
Out Now: February - Week 3
14 February - 20 February, 2022
The London Paint Club Exhibition Guide is the most comprehensive guide for Contemporary Painting Exhibitions in London. Learn more about what’s on in an easy to use digital PDF guide. By becoming a member, you will receive an updated Opening and Closing PDF every week, delivered straight to your inbox.
