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The Place I Am at Stephen Friedman Gallery, Cork Street, London, November 2023  – Where we were? Back on the Lizzy line and the express to Cork Street, hot footing it from the East and a flying visit to the Roger Kite show at Benjamin Rhodes Gallery before it ends. Gawd help us, the West End has turned into some kind of blinding LED-fuelled Christmas hell already, can’t move for people putting their breaks on and taking (no doubt endless) selfies, that and dreadfully plastic Christmas music coming at you from every corner, get me out of this discombobulation until they’re all done with throwing it at us, or at least until a couple of days before hand when I might concede to a bag of Christmas humbugs, this is surely way too early to mean anything to anyone?

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Someone blasted at me the other day that I was always angry about art, and that I should direct me anger at those at the top, it really is the bulshit that angers me, not the art, art excites, art is being alive, art is everything and the one thing that can’t be taken away is that ten minutes just standing in a gallery and engaging in a private conversation with a rewarding painting, I’m not angry with art, well most of the time I like the think I’m not, I am however angered by the bulshit that flows out of galleries, especially the current crop of self-congratulating East London galleries and curators, all the hype that none of us artists must ever dare to question and if we do we’re bullies. I’ve got no beef with the mainstream Cork Street galleries, they’re at least honest about what they do, what they’re about, and quite frankly, most of the time these days, they’re far more friendly engaging places to visit than the unwelcoming new breed out here in the ego-bloated East.  Art excites, going to galleries excites, I’m not angry about art and tonight I’m particularly excited by the prospect of The Place I Am, a new group show that’s opening at the big new Stephen Friedman space on Cork Street. I’m mostly excited because there’s the promise of a Deborah Roberts piece I might not have seen before. Normally I’d wait and avoid the opening night, take myself in on a quiet Thursday afternoon and let art pull my leash once the dust had settled, but Deborah Roberts is a powerfully exciting artist and I can’t possibly be expected to wait until next week. No, I’m not angry about art, art excites.  

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There’s something like 36 artists in this group show opening at the Stephen Friedman Gallery tonight, not been back to Cork Street since the massive crowds of that slightly crazy Frieze week party (which I never did get around to writing about, old news now but I really should, I do mostly write all this for myself). The born again street is lively again tonight, two or three openings, yes I know there’s lots of things wrong with it but Cork Street feels good at the moment and anyway, cut to the chase, let’s go see that Deborah Roberts piece. 

First thing you notice, as the large gallery window comes into view is the big bright attention demanding Luiz Zebini piece that you can’t help but be drawn to, the Brazilian artist’s very colourful piece does rater dominate (without overpowering) the front room as well as the view from the street, the Latin flavours dancing off the big wall as you spin around to see what else there is – there’s lots, there’s a rich red Ged Quinn painting, beautifully dense, actually there’s good art wherever you look, of course there is, we’ve been to some really good shows at Stephen Friedman’s place over the last few years, lots of artists I’m keen to see in here tonight –

– Stephen Friedman Gallery presents ‘The Place I Am’, a group show celebrating its gallery artists and the breadth of the programme. Bringing together new and previously unseen paintings, sculptures and works on paper, the exhibition takes its name from Peter Bennet’s eponymous poem, which examines the link between identity and sense of place –  

I’m not going to go through every piece, you’ve got 36 artists in here if I;ve counted it right, most of it feel positive, never really got why everyone seems to love David Shrigley, I’ll politely leave his wall of work with you. There more of Caroline Coon‘s light over there, sometimes her humour doesn’t quite ignite but her light always always does, and there’s a beautifully subtle Anne Rothenstein painting quietly waiting for you get past the louder work, always pleased to see one of her pieces. There’s a Leilah Babirye ceramic in the middle of the floor, the recent star of Frieze London doesn’t disappoint, and that big big piece from Brooklyn-based artist Kehinde Wiley is just thrilling to walk up to. And there indeed is the Deborah Roberts, a relatively small piece and a little lost behind glass that’s reflecting far too much of the gallery light and the pieces opposite as well as our faces (or maybe that is an accidentally good thing?). Deborah’s current New York Show looks amazing, this one piece here is kind of unassuming until you do get close in and find the lines, until you look into the eyes. She is one of the most exciting artists around at the moment, the Deborah Roberts piece was well worth the time spent and the battle through Christmas to get here to see it. 

I could go through the lot, there is much to delight in here, it is a big space and the show in beautifully hung – easy when you have the luxury of a gallery like this to play with –  I should pick out the Sarah Ball painting, the Mamma Andersson Black Postcard piece, the Izumi Kato. but I won’t, nearly everything in here is worth your time (and it is free to just walk in, something very easily taken for granted).  Hey look, excellent group show, a whole cross section of exciting art and artists, an exciting show, some of it really thrilling, a diverse show and positively diverse audience, something we’re seeing more and more, excellent, mix it all up. Great opening, great art, positive conversations, a welcoming space, great show, go see it. Thank you Stephen Friedman Gallery.  (sw) 

The Place I Am is on now at Stephen Friedman Gallery, 5–6 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LQ. The exhbition is on until December 22nd. Artists include Mamma Andersson; Juan Araujo; Tonico Lemos Auad; Leilah Babirye; Jonathan Baldock; Stephan Balkenhol; Sarah Ball; Claire Barclay; Caroline Coon; Melvin Edwards; Andreas Eriksson; Manuel Espinosa; Denzil Forrester; Tom Friedman; Kendell Geers; Sky Glabush; Pam Glick; Jeffrey Gibson; Wayne Gonzales; Hulda Guzmán; Channing Hansen; Holly Hendry; Thomas Hirschhorn; Jim Hodges; Izumi Kato; Ilona Keseru; Rivane Neuenschwander; Woody De Othello; Ged Quinn; Deborah Roberts; Anne Rothenstein; Yinka Shonibare ; David Shrigley; Jiro Takamatsu; Caroline Walker; Kehinde Wiley; Clare Woods; Yooyun Yang and Luiz Zerbini.

As always, do click on an image to enlarge, see the whole (badly photographed) image or to run the slide show that hopefully gives you a small flavour. You can find al lthe art on the Gallery’s own website.