Five art things, on we go then and never mind the bliss or whatever we said last time, on with the five art things thing, once again this is about this week and next and needing more (just more, nothing less) and yes you are right, I guess, for that is what we do now, guess, I guess we need to post another five. 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 as we repeat ourselves. 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: Jen Orpin, We Left Nothing Behind at Union Gallery – On from Saturday 2nd November until 7th December 2024 – Rather looking forward to seeing these pieces in the flesh as it were, all the play of Motorway City and do we view paintings of motorways in the flesh? “Union Gallery is pleased to present our We Left Nothing Behind solo exhibition, by Manchester based painter, Jen Orpin. The artist’s captivating motorway paintings embody memory, travel and the intrinsic connections that shape our journeys”.
“The exhibition showcases Orpin’s most recent works, blending the vastness of the UK motorways with the close-ups of sun-drenched highway crossings of Los Angeles. Each piece aims to evoke a sense of introspection, highlighting the emotional journey rather than the physical presence of their location. In Orpin’s work, the active human element is notably absent – cars and people are stripped away, leaving only the motorways, landmarks, and remanence of human presence. The absence of human life accentuates these elements, shifting the focus to the intrinsic beauty of the pathways and their significance in our lives. This intentional removal invites viewers to contemplate the relationship between the landscape and their own experiences. The roads and bridges become metaphorical for the emotions tied to travel and change, allowing the audience to project their memories, aspirations, and reflections onto the environments depicted. The bridges over the motorway stand as a striking crossroad, captured in these still moments and highlighted by their architectural significance within the urban landscape, they become identifiable landmarks. Framed within the empty motorway, these depictions articulate a role as a transformative connector, symbolising opportunity for change. Orpin’s artistic practice delves into the fundamental connections we forge while traveling. Each journey, whether familiar or new, can resonate deeply within us. In contrast to her UK motorway paintings, a selection of recent works explore the highways of Los Angeles introducing the viewer to sun-soaked roads and their unique landscapes marked by creamy curves and expansive views. Here, brutalism takes a back seat, making way for mid-century modern aesthetics. Orpin’s paintings serve as meditations on both the act of travel and the idea of absence. By stripping away the human presence, she allows us to engage solely with the landscape while prompting us to reflect on the emotional narratives that travel elicits”.
Union Gallery is found at 94 Teesdale Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6PU. The gallery is open midday until 6pm Tuesday to Saturday.
2: Carol Robertson and Trevor Sutton, Heaven Earth and Human Beings at The Grey Gallery – The show runs from 2nd November until 8th December 2024 with a so called private view (6 – 8pm) on Friday 1 November. Do reductive geometric abstract paintings do it for you? it all depends on my mood, my mood is mostly messy, clean lines are for others to paint, Ido like a clean line though – “The title of this exhibition takes its meaning from ancient wisdom, believing Heaven = the Circle, Earth = the Square and Human Beings = the Triangle. ( Korean Cheonbu concept of the Dangun era)”.
“London artists Carol Robertson and Trevor Sutton have lived and worked side by side in Hackney for 40 years, producing reductive geometric abstract paintings, prints and works on paper. Both use the circle square and triangle and both artists absorb a take on life re-ordered by careful geometry and associative colour: their work is never entirely disconnected from the real world. Robertson works with a variety of geometric formations but particularly circles, for their ideal power, their aesthetic beauty. Sutton has also worked with many different shapes and forms but is currently using triangles or working within the architecture of the grid. At Grey Gallery they bring together a mix of paintings and works on paper that explore the beautiful geometry of circle, square and triangle”.
The Grey Gallery is found at 4 Helmsley Place, London, E8 3SB. The Gallery is only open on weekends, midday until 5pm Saturday and Sunday. The show runs from 2nd November until 8th December 2024 with a private view (6 – 8pm) on Friday 1 November.
3: David Tress, 2024 at David Messum Fine Art – 6th November until 29th Nov 2024 – “The paintings and drawings in this exhibition are firmly grounded in the landscape of the area in which David Tress lives, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, but they are also a testament to the delight and fascination that he finds in exploring other landscapes throughout Britain”.
“On the walls of the gallery will be found subjects from Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor rubbing shoulders with paintings resulting from trips to Teesdale, Settle and the Western Highlands of Scotland. Buildings also find their place in the show, from the ruins of Dugall’s Chapel set in its far western landscape on South Uist to the eighteenth century sophistication of classically designed temples in the parkland of Stourhead in Wiltshire”.
David Messum Fine Art is found at 12 Bury Street, St. James’s, London, SW1Y 6AB. The gallery is open Tuesday until Sunday, 10am until 6pm
4: Uncovered Collective, Tribute – To Our Future Silicone Overlords at Peckham Safehouse – On just for the weekend of Saturday/Sunday 2nd/3rd November with an opening on Friday 1st November. The Uncovered Collective are a self-declared “network of artists showcasing current art practice, especially that which falls outside the commercial gallery and traditional museum systems”, they look like they’re doing things the right way and well we do like Safehouse shows.
Peckham Safehouse 1 and 2 are both found at 137 Copeland Road, Peckham, London SE15 3SN. Times and dates are on the flyer.
Recently at Safehouse…
5: Gathering Mythologies: Closing Celebration and Performances at Netil House, London E8 – we did cover this show already, we may have questions about the gatekeepers controlling the space but the show itself is a rather rewading one and this Sunday evening sees the closing night, Sunday 3rd November (7 until 9pm), who knows what we can expect other then we can expect something good. here’s the review of the show itself which we guess you can still catch this weekend before the closing on Sunday evening – the show review – ORGAN THING: Gathering Mythologies: Waymarkers without Memory at Netil House, Hackney, London E8 – a fine exhibition, an invitation to embrace the esoteric…
Gathering Mythologies is on in Netil House until 3rd November, the Netil House address is 1 Westgate St, Hackney, E8 3RL but really you need to go to Bocking Street on the other side of the building where you can walk up the street and directly into the exhibition directly from the street. The exhibition is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Midday until 6pm (11am until 5pm on Sundays)
And while we’re talking about shows coming to an end…
That Tracey Emin show at White Cube ends in early November – ORGAN THING: Tracey Emin, I followed you to the end, opening night at White Cube Bermondsey – it isn’t loud, it isn’t dramatic (although it obviously is), it is almost hushed, intimate, I can’t say beautiful but those lines and the way she moves paint, the sense of the loaded brush and the energy spent…
I followed you to the end will run until 10th November 2024 at White Cube Bermondsey (144 – 152 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ). More details
Previous Tracey Emin coverage via Organ
THE ORGAN 
One response to “ORGAN: Five Recommended Art Shows – Jen Orpin at Union Gallery, Carol Robertson and Trevor Sutton at The Grey Gallery, David Tress at David Messum Fine Art, Uncovered Collective at Peckham Safehouse, Gathering Mythologies Closing Celebration and Performances at Netil House, London E8 and…”
[…] We did mention the David Tress opening in last week’s five, it is only just opening this week though and a week is a long time in art, a day is these days, yesterday’s click bait is today’s been there done that…. Last week’s five looked like this – ORGAN: Five Recommended Art Shows – Jen Orpin at Union Gallery, Carol Robertson and Trevor Sutton … […]