Five art things, on we go then and never mind whatever we said last time, that was then, this, once again is about this week and next and needing more cake and yes you are right. Here, for what any of this is worth are 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. We do aim to make this 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.
1: Ana Popescu, Paradise: A Visual Diary at Pocko – 9th May until 28th June 2024 – “Pocko is pleased to announce the forthcoming exhibition “Paradise: A Visual Diary” by artist Ana Popescu, debuting on May 9th. Ana Popescu’s oeuvre encapsulates a visual narrative of daily life, capturing the essence of urban architecture through a lens of imagination and introspection. Her artwork meticulously portrays architectural nuances in a state of serene emptiness, juxtaposing light and shadow to evoke a surreal yet dynamic urban experience. Featured in the exhibition are simple and elegant collages crafted during Popescu’s residency in Matsudo, Japan, alongside digital drawings and original wax and crayon works inspired by her global travels. “Paradise: A Visual Diary” showcases the culmination of Popescu’s sensitive and intricate observations, inviting viewers to delve into the allure of architecture and its interplay with vivid colours and graphic forms”.
Pocko is at 51 King Henry’s Walk, Dalston, London, N1 4NH. The gallery is open Monday to Friday 9.30 until 5.30 so if you work regular hours and ca nonly make the weekend you’re kind of stuffed. The show is on 9th May until 28th June 2024.
2: Angel ‘LA II’ Ortiz, The Great Collaborator at D’Stassi Art – 10th-24th May – A show curated by Angel Ortiz and featuring fellow street Art legends (so it says here) Stik, Shepard Fairey, Mr. Doodle and Mark Kostabi – are they all bonafide legends? Could be up for debate, looks like it could be a rather tasty show though, certainly in terms of a small bit of Street Art history.
“D’Stassi Art will open the doors of their flagship gallery in Shoreditch, London for a major new Angel ‘LA II’ Ortiz exhibition. ‘The Great Collaborator’ opens on May 10th, 2024 and will bring together some of the most renowned names in street art; STIK, Shepard Fairey, Mr.Doodle, and Mark Kostabi, all working collaboratively with the legendary Angel ‘LA II’ Ortiz. ‘The Great Collaborator’ will also feature a series of rare collaboration artworks between Angel and the late Richard Hambleton, made before Hambleton’s death in 2017. ‘The Great Collaborator’ exhibition is set to be a truly unique experience, as these giants of Urban art come together for the first and only time. The featured artists are; Angel LA II Ortiz and STIK, Richard Hambleton, Shepard Fairey, Mr Doodle and Mark Kostabi, all collaborations with Angel. More than 30 artworks will be exhibited ranging from originals to prints and works on paper.
‘The Great Collaborator’ showcases Angel’s significant contributions to the art world and his profound influence on other major artists. Angel rose to prominence in the New York art scene in the 1980’s through his almost decade-long partnership with Keith Haring. Haring spotted Angel’s tag shortly after moving to New York and sought out the then teenaged artist. After meeting, the pair combined their signature styles on paintings, sculptures and clothing taking them across the world”.
“D’Stassi Art is dedicated to honouring Angel’s artistic legacy and celebrating the magic he brings to collaborative works. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to witness first hand the impact LAII has had on the next generation of artists, and discover the inspiration behind his iconic style that has captivated audiences for over four decades”.
D’Stassi Art is found at 12 – 18 Hoxton Street (Entrance on Drysdale St), Hoxton, London, N1 6NG. The show opens on the evening Friday 10th May 2024, Doors Open at 7pm until late so they say. No idea how long the the show is on for, watch this space and maybe we shall have news, the gallery website seems to be all about the opening night. Maybe Blue the giant dog knows? Hang on, stop press, Blue says the show is on until May 24th
3: Cheryl Dunye – The Watermelon Woman – a film screening at The National Portrait Gallery – Saturday 11th May – Something slightly different in terms of this weekly (or almost weekly page), Join the National Portrait Gallery on Saturday, 11 May, for an afternoon film screening of Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman. Entry is free, booking required.
Directed by Cheryl Dunye and released in 1996, the 83 minute film, “set in Philadelphia, The Watermelon Woman is the story of Cheryl (Cheryl Dunye), a twentysomething black lesbian struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, a beautiful and elusive 1930s black film actress popularly known as ‘The Watermelon Woman’. While uncovering the meaning of Fae Richards’ life, Cheryl experiences a total upheaval in her personal life. Her love affair with Diana (Guinevere Turner, Go Fish), a beautiful white woman, and her interactions with the gay and black communities are subject to the comic yet biting criticism of her best friend Tamara (Valarie Walker). Meanwhile, each answer Cheryl discovers about the Watermelon Woman evokes a flurry of new questions about herself and her future. At the film’s conclusion, the Watermelon Woman is clearly a metaphor for Cheryl’s search for identity, community, and love”.
Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye’s work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known as the first out black lesbian to ever direct a feature film with her 1996 film The Watermelon Woman. She runs the production company Jingletown Films based in Oakland, California. According to Dunye, much about the character she plays in the film is autobiographical, but the historical references to the Watermelon Woman are fictional: “The Watermelon Woman came from the real lack of any information about the lesbian and film history of African-American women. Since it wasn’t happening, I invented it.”
The National Portrait Gallery is at St Martins Place, London, WC2H 0HE. The film event is between 2pm and 4pm on Saturday 11th May
The film is running alongside The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure, an exhibition that opened bac kin February and runs at The National Portrait Gallery until My 24th 2024 – A major study of the Black figure – and its representation in contemporary art. The exhibition, curated by Ekow Eshun (former Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts), showcases the work of contemporary artists from the African diaspora, including Michael Armitage, Lubaina Himid, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola and Amy Sherald, and highlights the use of figures to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black life. As well as surveying the presence of the Black figure in Western art history, we examine its absence – and the story of representation told through these works, as well as the social, psychological and cultural contexts in which they were produced. You do need to pay to see the exhibition, the film screening is a free event, booking is required though .
4: Christian Houge, Death Of A Mountain at Bermondsey Project Space – 14th to 18th May 2024 – “A solo exhibition of the ‘Death Of A Mountain’ photography series (2016-2020) by Norwegian photographer Christian Houge, exploring environmental challenges and examining our relation to Nature and environmental challenges we are facing, inviting new questions in the Anthropocene.
“Death of a Mountain examines our relation to Nature and environmental challenges we are facing, inviting new questions in the Anthropocene. The series is also an homage to an ancient giant. As if tens of thousands of years culminated into an organism’s last breath of life. Scientists warn that the world’s glaciers will be gone within this century if we don’t reduce global warming dramatically. The covering of parts of the Rhone glacier in Switzerland with UV-resistant fabric to halt glacial melting represents Man’s feeble attempt to stop the inevitable in the near future. As with the installation of artist Christo’s “Shoreline” (1969), my exploration of this glacier helps me to re-contextualize a well-known natural setting. ‘Death of a Mountain’ invites the viewers to explore a connection to that which is being lost forever.
Based in Oslo, Norway, Christian Houge (b. 1972) has been making photographs for twenty five years, and new insights continue to open. Exploring humankind’s condition and the complicated relationship between Humankind and Nature has been an ongoing theme in his work throughout his life as an artist. By exploring this relation, Houge wishes to invite the viewers to ask new questions in the new era we are currently in; the Anthropocene. Houge often juxtaposes the visually aesthetic with an underlying sense of unease as this often emanates a cognitive dissonance in the viewer to invite deeper truths and personal references.
The series ‘Death of a Mountain’ (2016-2020) was nominated for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award in 2021, which also received an arts grant from the Norwegian Government. The solo show at Buer Gallery received much attention and was presented at OsloNegative Photo and exhibited at Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow, together with other Scandinavian artists concerned with the effects of climate change. This was set up with the climate summit opening COP26. This series was also exhibited at Huis van de Fotografie, Rotterdam, in 2021 including a climate symposium with the Norwegian Embassy in Haag”.
Bermondsey Project Space is at 183-185 Bermondsey Street, (adjacent to White Cube Bermondsey), London, SE1 3UW. The show runs from 14th May until 18th May 2024. The gallery is open from 11am until 6pm each day. Private View: Tuesday 14th May, 6-9pm. Artist Talk with Professor Ioan Fazey: Thursday 16 May, 6:30-8:30pm
5: Danica Lundy, Boombox at White Cube Mason’s Yard – 15th May until 29th June 2024 with a so called private view on 14th Mat 6pm until 8pm – yeah, I know, these bigger establishment galleries don’t need out support, am rather looking forward to this one though – “In her second exhibition with the gallery, the artist explores structures of power and their varied manifestations within the fabric of the everyday – exerted in and over our bodies, our relationships, and in the subtle undercurrents permeating industries and social strata. Rich with forensic detail, Lundy’s sensorial and panoptical compositions subject the minutiae of daily events to the scrutiny of the artist’s augmented lens”.
White Cube Mason’s Yard is in the West End, don’t be heading for Bermondsey now, this one is over by Cork Street and the Royal Academy – 25-26 Mason’s Yard, London, SW1Y 6BU. The gallery is open Tuesday through to Saturday, 10am until 6pm. Boombox is on from 15th May until 29th June 2024 with a private view on 14th Mat 6pm until 8pm
Previously
And while we’re here, openening on line right here on Tuesday 14th May, the seventh in the ongoing series of online Mixtape group shows from Cultivate Gallery…
THE ORGAN 