2025 - Issue 139
Showcasing artists and works that caught my attention last week.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter to find out why 10 other shows didn’t make the cut.
The Apollo Painting School (@apollopaintingschool) is a new non-profit founded to be an “alternative to the traditional schooling system”. Five promising artists were selected for the inaugural cohort and the results of their study are now on display. It’s a confident showcase with a wide range of styles and a high level of technical skills, testament to the strong potential of both the individuals selected as well as this exciting new initiative. Applications for the next cohort are currently being accepted.
Featuring:
Ally Fallon (@ally_fallon)
Hannah-Sophia Guerriero (@hannahsophiaguerriero)
Isaac Jordan (@isaacbjordan)
Deborah Lerner (@deborahkatelerner)
Isobel Shore (@isobelshore)
‘Apollo Painting School’ at Alice Amati (@_aliceamati) until 01 March
Some painters become instantly recognisable due to a recurring visual motif that they repeatedly return to, be that a particular situation, location or even a muse with whom they develop an extended infatuation. Other painters are known for a distinct visual style or unique flair that they have with a brush. Georg Kitty (@georg.kitty) has achieved both but she’s not yet 30, which might explain why her works are so thrilling. Her latest enchanting series will easily lure newcomers into her folklore-based world, and excite those who have followed her career with new variations that indicate she may only have just begun to crack the surface of her potential.
‘The Last Oozings’ at Pilar Corrias (@pilarcorriasgallery) until 22 March
I was unfamiliar with with works of Charlotte Johnson Wahl (1942-2021) and am embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until after I had seen her latest exhibition that I learned she was the mother of former British PM Boris. But none of that is relevant when viewing the paintings she made during her 1974 stay at the Maudsley Hospital. The works are a frank and honest depiction of her emotions and experience during her illness and treatment and provide a fascinating insight into the psyche of someone experiencing mental illness.
‘What It Felt Like’ at Bethlem Museum of the Mind (@bethlem_museum) until 29 March
Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) was a master at balancing the sinuous chaos of nature with mathematical order. This is best exemplified in her giant Winged Figure that looms over Oxford Street, but many of her stringed works are so small they could be held in your hands, and almost all have been out of public view since their creation. This show is a rare treat to see a dozen up close and personal, including one work carved from stone and a series of canvasses that less successfully explore the concept in two dimensions.
‘Strings’ at Piano Nobile (@pianonobilegallery) until 02 May
Honourable Mention Artworks
I’ve never seen neon combined with textiles, so I’m glad I caught this show just before it closed. The effect is initially jarring, because Kenia Almaraz Murillo (@keniaalmarazmurillo) combines two technologies that you don’t expect to so closely co-exist. They are also embroidered with sequinned symbols and characters from carnival costumes. The works are inspired by Andrean traditions and modern Bolivian life and they’re so crisp and clean they have a mass manufactured look to them, as if they might be hung for sale in a homewares showroom.
‘Andrean Cosmovision’ was at Waddington Custot (@waddingtoncustot) 16 Nov 2024 - 06 Feb 2025
PLUS…
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