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: Marina Fages at Pure Evil – Thursday May 16th – Now we haven’t covered Marina Fages for ages and ages, indeed all the coverage might just predate this particular version of the website, didn’t see come in as a guest of the Organ radio show on Resonance FM back there? Never mind that, this is now, do like her art, maybe more than het music and the South American artist is in town and in the words of her host Pure Evil “Marina Fages is a disturbing, experimental artist, faithful to her creative impulses. Singer, composer, muralist and visual artist, she mutates her style with each new project. Fages is the owner of her own artistic pulse, where her experimental desire stands out and the ease she has to go from one format to another with two well-marked facets: the terrible and the tender”. Well wesay those were the words of Pure Evil posted then ahead of her show at his East London gallery.  “Growing up in Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina, was the elemental fuel for the howling guitars, the vibrant colours, voices and flutes that resemble the incessant wind of Patagonia in her compositions and murals”.

About Marina Fages’s visual art: “Natural cycles of destruction and regeneration on a large scale. Man, animal, fire or water can destroy and create at the same time, acting in a wild and tender way. The transformation is reflected in food: the animal hunts to eat, humanity destroys to produce, waste, nutrition is the transformation of matter and energy, and the survival of the predator. In the art work of Marina Fages, stories are told that take place in fantastic worlds. To do this, he takes resources from painting, literary genres, video games, anime, comics, cinema and music. His brush and his voice are a pendulum that runs the spectrum between the beautiful and the horrible, seeking to connect with the invisible, the magical and the wild of the universe, focusing on the destruction of natural spaces and the ideas of hero and end of the world.

She uses painting and animation to capture complex scenarios where the repetition of organic figures, multiple perspectives, reversed planes and saturated color gradients resemble computer-generated backgrounds for video games. In the sound composition she explores the contrast between soft and loud sounds, using mainly his voice, distorted strings at high volume, wind instruments, percussion, field recordings and synthesizers. She works in detail, meticulously, adding layer after layer of colour or sound, forming a texture that from a distance is perceived as a whole but when focused it is made up of small gestures”

Pure Evil Gallery is mostly full of his own art and is found at 96/98 Leonard Street, Hoxton, London, EC2A 4XS. The show opens on May 16th (opening 6pm until 9pm), no idea how long it is on for, the gallery website neglects to tell us  (an oh gawd, not an Amy Winehouse print? You’re better than that Mr Evil, hasn’t ever half pint so-called street artist with a blunt pair of scissors cut themselves an Amy Winehouse stencil already? 

2: Michael Kirkman, Featherweight at Greatorex Street – 16th to 19th May, “Michael Kirkman is presenting a new series of oil paintings in his latest exhibition Featherweight” and that is all they said, hey, i guess the art does the talking and it does look good

Greatorex Street Gallery is not surprisingly, found at 10 Greatorex Street, London, E1 5NF, The show runs from 17th until 19th May and the gallery is open 10am until 5pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there’s an opening on Thursday 16th, 6pm until 9pm

3: Rory Pilgrim, Pink and Green at Chisenhale Gallery – 17th May until 21st July 2024 with an opening on Thursday 16th May –  Working across music, film, text, drawing and performance, Rory Pilgrim redefines how we come together and strive for social change. Influenced by activist, feminist and social practices, Pilgrim works with others, through long-term dialogue and collaboration, to share and voice personal experiences. Pilgrim rethinks the emotional and ecological impact of law. Following long-term engagement with communities based on The Isle of Portland – a small island in the English Channel, home to two architecturally dominating prisons, and a diminishing natural ecosystem – Pilgrim’s commission will unfold with others through screenplay, live performance and music.

Chisenhale Gallery is 64 Chisenhale Road, Bethnal Green, London, E3 5QZ, the show runs from 17th May until 21st July 2024 with an opening on Thursday evening May 16th (no times stated). The gallery is open Tuesday through to Sunday, 10am until 6pm and while we’re here. Chisenhale Studios is open this weeknd….

4: Chisenhale Open Studios 2024 – Chisenhale Open Studios is back! – 17th to 19th May 2024 – One of the still surviving proper old school artist-led spaces with a history that dates back to the 1970s, the large studio complex is always worth exploring – “At Chisenhale Studios, members of the public will be given the opportunity to explore, chat with artists about their work and take part in various activities hosted by our members throughout our 40 artist studios”.  Here’s some Organ coverage from last time we made it – ORGAN THING: Exploring East London’s Chisenhale Art Place, why artist studio open days are so vitally important…

Times:
Friday is opening evening, the space is open from 18:00 – 21:00

Saturday:
13:00 – 14:00 Open Studios SEN Quiet hour for those who need it
14:00 – 18:00 Open Studios
14:30 – 15:30 Open Studios tour with Sara Heywood
16:00 – 17:00 Open Studios tour with Sara Heywood

Sunday
14:00 – 18:00 Open Studios

For our SEN Quiet hour, please RSVP by emailing andy @ chisenhale.co.uk so we can best accommodate you.

Artists involved in Open Studios: Alicia Paz, Amikam Toren, Andy Ridley, Charlotte Mew, Cole Robertson, Dan Turner, David Buckley, Diana Taylor, Diane Martin, Edward Chell, Edwin Mingard, Gabby Laurent, Giles Thackway, Henrietta Armstron, Hilary Rosen, Ingrid Kerma, Jeremy Hutchison, Jo Mitchell, Jo Stockham, John Fuller, John Peter Askew, Jon George, Joy Girvin, Karen Russo, Kate Hardy, Kevin Dunbar, Kevin Harrison, Kirsty Harris, Kumbirai Makumbe, Lee Maelzer, Malcolm Jones, Mark Fairnington, Marta Bakst, Matt Calderwood, Merve Iseri, Monika Oechsler, Nadine Mahoney, Nic Cheveldave, Nicholas Johnson, Nick Deveraux, Nigel O’Neill, Richard Layzell, Sam Hodge, Sarah Kate Wilson, Sean Dawson, Vincent Milne, Will Sheridan.

“As part of Open Studios, artists from across our 40 artists spaces will be presenting work in Studio 4. The resulting exhibition will connect with Chisenhale Studios’ legacy as an incubator of established and emerging artists since it’s conception in 1980, when a group of artists and dancers from Butlers Wharf found a new home at Chisenhale Works, the site of a former veneer factory.  Held within the studios themselves, Studio4 for the first time will offer a united selection of artists work from across Chisenhale Studios. The exhibition will invite collectors and viewers to reflect on the diverse group of people, from founding members to newer additions, who have occupied the building for the past 44 years. All works in the exhibition are for sale. For more information about Open Studios 2024 and the Studio 4 exhibition please visit the Chisenhale Studios website”.

Family Day 2024 – “Our Open Studios will also coincide with Chisenhale Art Place’s Family Day 2024 on the 18th May 12-6pm, in which Chisenhale Art Place’s three organisations, Chisenhale Studios, Chisenhale Dance Space and Chisenhale Gallery, will open their doors to the public. The full programme and free tickets for our family day can be found here.

Chisenhale Art Place is a charitable art organisation that is home to three distinct initiatives: Chisenhale Gallery, Chisenhale Dance Space and Chisenhale Studios, with each operating unique programmes that enable emerging and established artists and dancers to develop, experiment and make exceptional work.

Chisenhale Studios is 64 Chisenhale Road, Bethnal Green, London, E3 5QZ

5: Cultivate presents Mixtape No.7 – Mixtape No.7 is now open, the latest Cultivate online group show, 43 artists and over 250 piece of art to explore, here’s the link, the show is hosted here on the Organ website, we’ll let the art do the talking – Cultivate presents Mixtape No.7 – an online art exhibition…