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Never mind whatever we said last time, that was then, this, once again is about this week and next and cake and yes you are right, we haven’t done this for a week, here we go with five more art things. five art things, five more art things happening somewhere around right now (or any moment now). Five art shows to check out in the coming days. An (almost) weekly round up of recommended art events. Five shows, exhibitions or things we rather think might be worth checking out. Mostly London things for that is where we currently operate and explore, and like we said last time, these five recommendations come with no claims that they are “the best five” or the “Top Five”, we’re not one of those annoying art websites that ignore most things whilst claiming to be covering everything and proclaiming this or that to be the “top seven things” or the “best things this weekend”. This Five Things thing is simply a regular list of five or so recommended art things happening now or coming up very soon that we think you might find as interesting as we think we will…
And we should add, that entry to these recommended exhibitions and events, unless otherwise stated, is free.
Art is kind of on a holiday at the moment, we are in that calm before the so called start of the season so not quite so much happening to cherry pick from at the moment…
1: Adrian Dittert, Unrolled at Bomb Factory Art foundation Covent Garden – opening on August 24 and blink and you’ll miss it, it closes on August 26th. “Explore the unique artwork of Adrian Dittert. He integrates the use of various adhesive materials, light & sound as well as interactive elements to create amazing artworks”.
“In his debut international solo exhibition Unrolled NROLLED Adrian Dittert unveils the remarkable outcomes of his immersive Art residency in London, where he devoted himself to the exploration and materialization of his personal creative musings. As a full time Artist who mainly works with adhesive tape, Adrian‘s curiosity and passion for creativity extend to various fields, including photo and videography, music and design. He constantly pushes the boundaries of his art, experimenting with different materials and techniques, always striving to explore the world of unlimited creative possibilities. He often works without excessive planning, allowing himself to enter a state of flow and let his creativity take the lead. Through a playful and experimental approach Unrolled shows new creative possibilities of combining different mediums, integrating the use of various adhesive materials, light and sound as well as interactive elements. Within the exhibition‘s vibrant tapestry, visitors embark on a journey through Adrian‘s eclectic interests, reflections on societal themes, the progressive march of technology and the very essence of the creative process”.
The Bomb Factory‘s Covent Garden space is found at 99-103 Long Acre, London, WC2E 9NR. Find it right by the Covent Garden tube station. The show runs from 24th to the 26th August, 10am until 6pm with a late evening opening on Thusday August 24th, 6pm to 9pm
2: Joe Grieve, Between Place & Time at BWG Gallery – running from 24th August until 17th September – “A multi-sensory, experiential abstract landscape exhibition featuring 73 new paintings by artist Joe Grieve with supporting installations”
“The exhibition features 73 paintings installed throughout 4 immersive spaces, brought to life and filling the senses with supporting scenic installations, composition and smell-scapes. Grieve’s paintings of ‘supernatural surrealities’ are intended to evoke a sense of wonder in visitors to this exhibition, by capturing the results of this artist’s perceptual immersion in the ‘natural realities’ of wildernesses he has visited. The imaginative, fantastic and visionary ‘psychedelic’ technique used by Grieve to produce his paintings, includes the use of both extensive layers of coloured brushstrokes, and mind-bending perspectives, to allude to ‘supernatural’ (‘noumenal’) other-worlds beyond the ‘natural’ (‘phenomenal’) world of ordinary human perception. With his painting, Grieve champions our desire to see the natural world remain wild, change our perspectives, and value the idea that place and time are experiential constructs around something infinite. Within the chaos of his painterly abstraction, Grieve wishes to give viewers undefined freedom to explore.
During the exhibition a visitor will undergo a rite of passage, directing a visitor through skies, oceans, mountains, forests, fields, waterways, dry wastelands, terrifying novas, warping realities, scorched earth, Apocalyptic dystopia, utopian meadows, blossoming flowers and beams of sunlight. A journey which can be concurrently considered physical, cognitive and spiritual; Grieve’s use of his paintings to concurrently induce natural and supernatural experiences of Earth’s landscapes inspires awe and appreciation in a collective consciousness. His intense reveries may invigorate our passion for Nature, and desire to roam wild in natural realities and envisage our own supernatural surrealities”.
BWG Gallery is at 13 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QF. The show runs from 24th August until 17th September, the gallery is open Tuesdas until Sundays, 11am until 7pm (6pm Sundays), there is an opening on August 24th, 6pm until 9pm
3: Ryan Hewett, Nexus at Unit London – 30th August until September 18th – Ryan Hewett’s latest solo exhibition with Unit London presents a body of work that merges notions of futurism, transhumanism and fantasy.
“Nexus, drawing its name from a series of connections between multiple points, is inspired by the concept of “Generation Alpha”; the first cohort born entirely into the twenty-first century and, therefore, the digital age. Inspired by his own children, Hewett presents a series of oil paintings that introduces a cast of enigmatic characters, embodying the spirit of a new generation poised to shape the future. These futuristic portraits capture an essence of humanity while also exploring the ethereal and the otherworldly, imagining a space in which fantasy and technological innovation intertwine. Nexus invites viewers into a realm where cyborgs, A.I. and mythical creatures coexist, blurring the lines between what is real and what is imagined.
A natural progression from previous bodies of work, Nexus demonstrates Hewett’s gradual movement towards a fantasy world. The artist no longer uses real life models or reference points. Instead, he draws inspiration from his own imagination. Inspired by notions of transhumanism, a movement that advocates the use of technologies to augment human capability, Hewett creates fantastical yet ultramodern portraits that, nonetheless, retain their humanity. Through a visual language that hovers on the boundary between figuration and abstraction, Hewett searches for a balance between tangibility and immateriality.
Hewett’s dualistic visual language is reflected in his own artistic process, which uses both primed and unprimed areas of canvas to blend rougher and smoother applications of paint. In each portrait, loose brushwork and impasto mingle with clean lines and geometric shapes. Oil paint and canvas remain the artist’s mediums of choice, but he has started to implement less traditional materials, introducing sand to his artworks to create varying surface textures. Hewett has also begun to experiment with monochrome colour palettes, slowly progressing away from the bright hues of earlier bodies of work.
Nexus is the natural next step for the artist, expanding on exhibitions such as H+, which considered the harmony that could exist between the technological and the organic. Nexus takes these ideas further, exploring our increasingly interconnected and technologically advanced society by focusing on the young people navigating and embracing these changes. Hewett’s portraits highlight these ‘digital natives’, a generation that is unlike any other in humankind’s history”.
Unit London is found at 3 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London, W1S 1HD – As a gallery, it probably is a little too slick and glossy and they do have a habit of invading your space with bad music in there while you’re trying to talk to the art, but they do now and again have something well worth your time. The big gallery is open Monday to Saturday, 10am until 7pm (midday until 6pm on Saturdays)
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4: We did already preview the Always on my Mind group show that opens at Fitrovia Gallery on August 31st on a page dedivated to just that show but hey, if you only come here for the five art things then here’s the link – Always On My Mind Part 2 and Sixteen esteemed artists taking part in a London show to raise money for The National Brain Appeal. Works by Marcus Cope, Clare Chapman, Jeremy Deller, Lee Maelzer, Geraldine Swayne and more, it happens next week… That’s a Geraldine Swayne painting up there next t othe other two images, Geraldine is one of the sixteen artists taking part .
‘Always on My Mind Part 2’, a thoughtful art exhibition to raise money for The National Brain Appeal. Sixteen esteemed artists are taking part in a show to raise money for The National Brain Appeal. Works by John Peter Askew, Marcus Cope, Clare Chapman, Jeremy Deller, Edie Flowers, Russell Herron, Nicola Hicks, Kim James Williams, Dominic Kennedy, James Lawson, Lee Maelzer, Bruce Mclean, Raksha Patel, Louise Reynolds, Geraldine Swayne, and Sarah Wood will be on display at Fitzrovia Gallery, from 1-3 September 2023. There is an opening night, a so called Private view that we assume is open to all? on Thursday August 31st. More details via the link you just passed.
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5: And we are now just 22 days away from this year’s Art Car Boot Fair.. Always one the highlights on the London art calendar, the great big artist-friendly art event happens on Saturday September 16th at London’s Kings Cross. We have already written a number of preview pieces since the fair was announced., you will find all the info you need via those pieces
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