Your Art Exhibitions Mood Guide| Spring London Edition: Part 2
We are so excited that things are finally returning to ‘normal.’ Especially art exhibitions!
Seeing art online will not ever replace the experience of being in an art exhibition physically. Art exhibitions are more than just looking at art: it is also about smelling the materials of the artworks- the dry paint, the wood, the fabric; it is about the background noise that makes somehow being with art sacred; it is about connecting and sharing opinions with other fellow art lovers; it is about being able to wander through each tiny detail of a canvas; overall, it is about being in the moment and forget that the outside world exists for a second.
As we want you to make the most out of your art gallery-crawls, we are bringing you a selection of London art exhibitions that fit everyone’s different moods. This is ‘Part 2’ of the series – make sure you check the first one too!
This selection brings you insightful, tense and more thought-provoking exhibitions. Are you ready? Let’s go!
Thought-Provoking Mood
Unit gallery: Oh de Laval: Wild Things Happen in Stillness
Date: 26 March - 24 April
Oh de Laval was one of the artists that saw a great deal of attention during the lockdown. Oh de Laval is an emerging artist that swiftly gained recognition through Instagram during the past year because of the content of her provocative paintings. As you can see by the title of her solo exhibition, Oh de Laval presents us with some of her paintings created during the stillness of the pandemic. The artist, through her paintings, explores the meaning of excitement of wild scenarios in a passive viewer. Both a critique to the viewer and the represented, Oh de Laval figurative paintings study human behaviour at its finest level. More than witty and outrageous, her paintings explore pleasure above all, either through the colours, textures and composition. What else can we say to convince you to go and see this exhibition? It is a yes, right? We thought so!
More about the exhibition here.
Thomas Dane Gallery: Michael Landy’s Break Down: 20 Years
Date: 13 April - 6 June
This exhibition, unlike others, does not show artworks. Yes, you heard it right! An exhibition without artworks but of an archive of what was an artwork. Mike Landy is an artist who is admired for his insightful and provocative critiques of consumerist culture. “Michael Landy’s Break Down: 20 Years” is an exhibition that celebrates 20 years of Landy’s most impressive artworks. To make it simple, “Break Down” was a complex conceptual artwork where the artist created an inventory of everything he owned. It took a whole year to complete, and in the end, he had a list of 7,227 items. After everything had been precisely documented, Landy destroyed everything. Left with nothing, Michael Landy became the ultimate consumer by buying everything new but with a different mindset. This is a fascinating conceptual piece that will make you rethink whatever you own and buy next. Very relevant to the current climate crisis concerns.
Stephen Friedman gallery: Threadbare
Date: 13 April - 15 May
“Threadbare” is an exhibition that stands out from our previous selection because it is a group exhibition. Here you will see artworks from Jonathan Baldock, Huguette Caland, Jeffrey Gibson and Tau Lewis. This exhibition explores gender, race, identity and sexuality, which serve as a nice spark of thoughts of some very important current issues. We love group exhibitions because it is always interesting to see how different practices approach similar problems. Also, you will encounter unconventional mediums and materials: from sculpture to painting and from beads to textile, which is always exciting to move away from the traditional.
We are particularly excited about Jonathan Baldock quirky looking puppets. His works contrast the bold red colour and the soft, malleable textile used in human-like figures, which spikes our curiosity.
Slow Mood
Waddington Custot gallery: Paul Feeley: Space Stands Still
Date: 12 April - 6 June
To start this slow mood selection, we chose an exhibition that you do not need to rush to see. It closes on the 6th of June, so you can take your time! Despite still having lots of time to see it, this is an excellent exhibition if you are in a more visual mood where you don’t want to overly think about the deeper underlying meanings- you just need to look, breathe and take it in. We love this kind of exhibition, as it is all about the embracement of art and its aesthetics. Some days you feel like you need to slow down a bit and appreciate the little things – especially when you live in busy London. “Space Stands Still” is Feeley’s first solo exhibition in the UK for over 50 years- a significant moment for the artist. In this exhibition, you will encounter a selection of paintings and sculptures with vibrant but pleasing colours- just the right dose of stillness, yet profound enjoyment, to your day!
Pace gallery: Robert Mangold: A Survey 1981-2008
Date: 12 April - 22 May
A perfect occasion to say – it’s a match! Robert Mangold exhibition at Pace gallery “A Survey 1981-2008” is just a flawless exhibition to see along with Paul Feeley’s one. Mangold hasn’t exhibited a solo show in London for 12 years- making this exhibition a notable exhibition in the artist’s curriculum. Robert Mangold’s practice is similar to Feeley’s, and that is why you will love to see the two together. In this exhibition, you will find a palette that ranges from sea turquoise blues to warm orange-reds and deep mustard yellows. Mangold explores the concepts of expanded paintings, which means that his artworks stand between the 2 and 3 dimensional. Artscapy proved to be (almost) your next art dating app! We hope it’s a match. Let us know what you think!
We hope you enjoyed our selection of exhibitions for your gallery-crawl weekends. Have fun, and don’t forget to book your slots to see the exhibitions in advance!
#artinlondon #artexhibitions #michaellandy #ohdelaval #paulfeeley #jonathanbaldock #robertmangold
