The Must-See Exhibitions Debuting Alongside London Art Week and Frieze London
While enjoying London Art Week and Frieze London, be sure to take in top exhibitions by Hauser & Wirth, Almine Rech, Pace Gallery, Lehmann Maupin, and Tate Britain.
Avery Singer, “Deepfake Marcy,” 2023, acrylic on canvas stretched over aluminum panel, 95 1/4 x 85 1/4 x 2 1/8 inches, © Avery Singer, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.
Hauser & Wirth Presents the First UK Solo Show of Avery Singer
Avery Singer: Free Fall
October 11 — December 22, 2023
American multi-disciplinary artist Avery Singer marks her inaugural solo exhibition in the UK with “Free Fall,” currently on view through December 22 at Hauser & Wirth. A deeply personal show, Singer draws from her extensive memories of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center to create an experiential stage-set and architectural installation. Developed using 3D software such as Autodesk Maya, a minimalist sculpture reminiscent of the corporate interior of the north and south towers serves as an immersive backdrop for her multifaceted paintings. In a complex layering of industrial automation, 3D computer modeling, and airbrushed acrylic painting techniques, Singer investigates her enduring memories of the harrowing day, as well as our pervasive image and media-centric culture. Surreal images of a severed hand, a police car, and a city bus station are juxtaposed with the artist’s Deepfake portraits — dramatic studies of 9/11 survivors such as Marcy Borders, Rachel Uchitel, and a mythical avatar of Singer as a budding art student.
Francesco Vezzoli, “Olga Forever (Olga Khokhlova, ca. 1917),” 2012, oil on canvas, laserprint and embroidery collage, 47 5/8 x 33 1/8 inches, © Francesco Vezzoli, courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech.
Almine Rech Explores the Enduring Impact of Pablo Picasso
Celebrating Picasso Today: Infinite Modernism
October 10 — November 18, 2023
Almine Rech pays homage to the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s passing with a sweeping group exhibition, currently on view through November 18 in Grosvenor Hill. Exploring the myriad of ways in which the iconic visionary has impacted the contemporary art landscape, “Celebrating Picasso Today: Infinite Modernism” brings the works of notable artists such as Peter Halley, Farah Atassi, Alejandro Cardenas, Keiichi Tanaami, and Francesco Vezzoli together in riveting conversation. Halley showcases never-before-seen paintings from 1980, which were inspired by Picasso’s skilled use of geometry and fascinating composition of figures. Jose Dávila’s Untitled (Guernica) (2021) reconsiders the impassioned work of the same name, spotlighting the horrors of modern warfare, while artist Aly Heyler delves into Picasso’s vivid depiction of women. Genieve Figgis reinterprets Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) as a campy, feminist rebellion, while Vezzoli’s multidimensional portrait of Olga Picasso collages an image of classic femininity with fearless human expression.
Robert Irwin, “SWEETNESS,” 2023, shadow + reflection + color, 72 × 159-1/4 × 4-1/4 inches, photo by Pablo Mason, © Robert Irwin, courtesy of Pace Gallery.
Best London Exhibitions: Robert Irwin and Mary Corse
Robert Irwin + Mary Corse: Parallax
October 10 — November 11, 2023
Pace Gallery unveils a mesmerizing dialogue between groundbreaking American artists Robert Irwin and Mary Corse, currently on view through November 11 in Hanover Square. Titled “Robert Irwin + Mary Corse: Parallax,” the show brings these two visionaries together for the first time, introducing an immersive exploration of light, consciousness, and viewer perception. Irwin, an early pioneer of the Los Angeles-based Light and Space movement, displays his riveting Unlight series; large-scale light installations named after blues and rock albums draw light inwards and dynamically move with the viewer. Corse’s illustrious White Inner Band paintings utilize glass microspheres to refract light, enveloping the viewer in dreamlike hues and geometries. In addition, Irwin’s site-specific symphony of light and color in the ground floor gallery advances a recent extensive project at Kraftwerk Berlin. Together, a profound philosophical query of sensory perception and the modern state of human consciousness unfolds.
Installation view of “Kader Attia & Mandy El-Sayegh: Disfiguratons,” on view September 21 – November 4, 2023 at Lehmann Maupin in London, courtesy of the artists and Lehmann Maupin.
Best London Exhibitions at Lehmann Maupin
Kader Attia & Mandy El-Sayegh: Disfigurations
September 21 — November 4, 2023
Lehmann Maupin debuts an enthralling exhibition of works by Berlin-based artist and curator Kader Attia and London-based artist Mandy El-Sayegh, currently on view through November 4 in South Kensington. The visual dialogue between Attia’s latest Mirrors and Masks sculptures and El-Sayegh’s image-dense canvases engages viewers in a multifaceted examination of colonialism, modern media influence, and the shared human experience. Attia draws from his multicultural upbringing in Paris and Algeria, revisioning African masks as fractured self-portraits which reflect lost cultural identities and the splintering effects of the digital age. El-Sayegh’s hypnotic works layer contemporary advertisements, pop culture imagery, signs, symbols, and autobiographical elements from floor to ceiling, presenting a riveting narrative of the ties that bind the personal with the the political. Attia’s ghostly mirrored masks echo the multicolored motifs and ephemera cascading across El-Sayegh’s canvases, placing the viewer at the very center of a striking spiritual and psychological conversation.
Sarah Lucas, “Bunny,” 1997, private collection, courtesy of the artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London © Sarah Lucas.
A Must-See Solo Show of Sarah Lucas at Tate Britain
Sarah Lucas: “HAPPY GAS”
September 28, 2023 — January 14, 2024
Tate Britain presents a comprehensive solo show of trailblazing British artist Sarah Lucas, celebrating 40 years of spirited artistic exploration. Over 75 works, from pioneering sculptures to large-scale photographs, are currently on display, highlighting Lucas’s humorous sixth sense for revealing quintessential British views of class and gender. Curated by Dominique Heyse-Moore, Senior Curator of Contemporary British Art at Tate Britain, and Amy Emmerson-Martin, Assistant Curator, with the support of Burberry, the exhibition rejoices in the artist’s bold practice, which has breathed new life into the art and cultural landscape from the early 1990s until today. Early photographic works such as Sod You Gits (1990) and Fat, Forty, and Flab-ulous (1990) utilized tabloid newspaper content to provoke a new dialogue on society’s problematic focus on the female form. A spotlight on Lucas’s brilliant use of chairs as a metaphor for contemporary perspectives on sex and desire is central to the presentation. Evocative photographs, such as the iconic portrait Eating a Banana (1990), are suspended above large-scale sculptures and installations. Sixteen new sculptures make their debut, unveiling additions to the legendary Bunny works —- fluid creations of stuffing within tights that appear as human bodies — as well as bronze cat sculptures, and a colossal concrete marrow titled William Hambling (2022). To top off the show, an exclusive collection of inspired products and prints are offered for purchase online and in-store during the run of the exhibition.
