Whatever the question agapanthus are the answer and well I guess whatever ever this self congratulating thing that is London Gallery Weekend is underway, although several of the galleries I went to on Friday afternoon were not part of it and wouldn’t those who are and that I did go into be open anyway? Ah hell, let’s park the cynical smile and get on with the exploring of art, which ladies and gentlemen, you can do pretty much every weekend of the year and not just this particular self congratulating weekend.  

Actually our weekend in terms of art started on Thursday evening with an opening at Lot Projects, not that our art exploring ever stops and starts, there has been shows all week, it is a non-stop operation. Lot Projects is not officially part of the London Gallery Weekend and not the easiest space to keep up with, their main mode of communication seems to be the hit and miss sport of an Instagram story which more often than not, even if you do follow Lot on that platform, you’re going to miss, although they did actually post on their actual feed about this one, they are getting better. Last Thursday saw the opening of a short run solo show called Portals from an artist called Dessy Baeva, themes of balance, collective consciousness, and experience as the embodiment of the human vessel so we’re told, it looked exciting,well in real life, far more than it did on line, the paintings really come to life when you actually physically see them, when you allow them to jump off the wall at you

Portals is only open until Saturday 1st June at Lot Projects (it is one of those places artists have to hire and rents are high, no fault of the collective running the space, I bet the rent they pay is eye watering). Dessy Baeva’s paintings really do pop, the paint is alive, I would say vibrant if that word wasn’t so criminally overused, her room full of paintings (and her matching dress) are a delight. You could say the style is almost primitive, raw would be a better way of putting it, alive with the energy of it all. Living breathing paintings that play with the senses of the viewer, the “feeling and experience of being human” as she puts it. Born in Bulgaria, UK based, it is mostly just a really really enjoyable show, a pleasure to stand in the room, in the middle of the busy opening night, a small space made a little bigger by her colour and the deliciously raw way she uses the paint, the colours, dare I say the fun?  The show opened on a Thursday night and being an artist-run thing it ends today, Saturday June 1st so you’ve probably missed it by now but hey, worth a mention and well if you are near Broadway Market and Hackney today then well worth sneaking around the back and down the lane to see it.  

Friday then, shall we indulge in this London Gallery Weekend, it is more the establishment end of the London art scene, only permanently fixed in their space commercial galleries they say, artist led things, pop ups, nomadic galleries all ruled out, the event is four years in now, it feels very insular, not as cold as some of the galleries involved can be, it fees like it really wants to engage, to pop those bubbles and break out a little, it all feels, rather like the London art scene itself at the moment, a little conservative, hopefully not as boring as the graphics and the branding for the event, I don’t know, it doesn’t feel electric, it doesn’t feel like it is going to bite you, when did an art show in London last bite? It has been a very conservative year so far, the new gatekeepers even more conservative and rule-obeying as the old ones, the middle class rich kids opening the newer spaces might talk the talk in their e.mails and their press releases but the reality? So we went to a gallery or two (or three or four) on Thursday evening, besides Dessy Baeva at Lot Projects, nothing really demand we say anything positive and on the whole if we don’t have something positive to say about a show then why bother saying anything? Actually, before we get into Friday and The Approach, Nicoletti and Annka Kultys and eat up another hour or two banging on a keyboard and listening ot Earth Ball, lets post about Dessy Baeva’s show or it will have closed before we do, I rather liked her exhibition, it made me smile, it felt good…  

Lot Projects is in the alley around the back on Broadway Market, Hackney, London E8. Canal end of things, to your right rather than crossing the bridge, they usually have a sign out at the top of the alley if there’s something on. The Dessy Baeva exhbition ends at 5pm on Saturday June 1st. Links – Lot Projects / Lot Projects on Instagram / Previously on these pages / Dessy Baeva on Insta / her Linktree  / Dessy is also a Cobra 

When she isn’t painting, Dessy is part of The Kobras