And on it went. More? Well we are in Cork Street now and on with it, the final cold wet Friday of January Part Three and let’s not go into the art world politics of No.9 and “Frieze’s first permanent exhibition space for international galleries in the heart of Mayfair, London”, nah, let’s not go there, let’s just go to the space and just explore the art on the walls and see where that takes us. Before we do, did you start with Part One and then Part Two?
No.9’s three spaces over two floors are taken over by a different set of guest galleries for a couple of weeks or so at time on an ever evolving basis, right now Korea’s Jason Haam Gallery is showing work by four Korean artists Jihyoung Han, Jungwook Kim, Mike Lee and Moka Lee on the ground floor of the space. We’ve already encountered all four artists at East London’s Carlos/Ishikawa Gallery as part of this year’s Condo and really if you want to experience Moka Lee’s strong work you’re better off heading up the Mile End Road and that space hiding in the back corner yard behind the Chinese Supermarket where there’s a substantial body of her rather bold paintings on show right now, lots more about her and the East London show here. There not too much from the other three at Carlos/Ishikawa Gallery where Jason Haam Gallery is currently being hosted for the aforementioned Condo, No.9 is where you need to be (until February 15th) to see more of Jihyoung Han, Jungwook Kim and Mike Lee. Can I get away with saying that the work of all four artists is rather intriguing? Probably not, it is though. “Jihyoung Han and Moka Lee are two formidable young voices in contemporary Korean art, representing a generation with distinct perspectives and original expressions, while Jungwook Kim explores a complex interplay between physical, conceptual, and transcendental realities, and Mike Lee, a second-generation Korean American artist, creates works that deeply reflect his cultural heritage.
Jihyoung Han really does mess with your eyes as you try to read those slightly out of focus paintings of hers, no it isn’t my photography (and it isn’t just my eyes), what is she painting in pieces like A Sad Foreshadowing of Things To Come? – “Jihyoung Han reimagines the extreme futures of a world where today’s issues have grown to dystopian proportions, yet with a playful twist. Her work amplifies the rapid advance of technology, unchecked capitalism, and the fragmentation of human identity, distorting them into an unstable, simulation-like world teetering on the edge of control. Han’s dystopia, however, is not merely a space of despair; rather, it brims with an uncanny optimism, where destruction is reinterpreted as a new way of surviving”. Does her work maintain a fierce optimism? Well there surely has to be optimism, and whatever it is she is saying or thinking or predicting, it is powerful as well as playful, I think it feels hopeful? I hope so, I’m rather pleased to have seen more of her work in the flesh, I hope to see more, “Her dystopia is not an endpoint but a space of potential”. And I will say it again, she is intriguing, she is an intriguing painter, so far these January encounters with Jason Haam Gallery have been rather rewarding.
Upstairs in complete and utter contrast to the work shown by Jason Haam Gallery we find Billy Childish, and possibly the most Billy Childish thing ever in a the shape of painting of a horse with a figure (him? Him as a boy?) standing on the back of it, more of that is a moment, boy stood on a horse, let’s give you the details and the old king cole, here it comes again – “Lehmann Maupin presents like a god i love all things, an exhibition of new paintings by British painter Billy Childish. Based in Kent, Childish’s artistic practice is wide-ranging and prolific. In addition to painting, the artist moves seamlessly between poetry and prose, punk rock, blues and folk music, photography, and printmaking. His paintings are often characterized by their vivid immediacy, painted directly on warm linen canvas using a rich, earthy palette of oil paint. The artist’s subjects are drawn from both his immediate environment—the North Kent landscape and members of his family – as well as further afield, including scenes of northern California and historical photographs, often appearing other-worldly or what Childish has described as dreamscapes”
Billy’s on good form, Billy is on excellent form, it is always good to see his work, it was tempting to come in for the private view but no, needed the peace and quiet of a Friday afternoon rather than the noise and the arms and legs of an opening. That chest on the floor is wonderful. Actually this is rather good to see a couple of hours after that excellent Jennifer Binnie show, they have rather a lot in common, that East of England folklore, Sussex, kent, paitnings rooted and that hint of slightly surreal punk rock, that rich colour. This time we’re in the Winter landscape, well mostly, wolves coming out of the woods or deer crossing snow-covered fields, that spiritual thing again. That chest standing on the floor is wonderful and that big self portrait, well it really does speak for itself and yes I should have gone to the opening where he was reading poetry but you know, my own paint to throw, Red issues, fixture clashes and I think this might just be one of my favourite Billy Childish shows or collections or whatever we are to call it for a long long time. There is a Billy Childish poetry sampler, Billy Childish, The Boy Stood On A-Horse available via L-13
Meanwhile in the third No.9 space, a group show called Penumbra brought to is by Newchild Gallery a show that gathers six artists who “explore the liminal space between light and shadow, clarity and obscurity. Chris Oh reinterprets the tradition of chiaroscuro through found objects. James Owens and Viktor Mattsson engage with light as a means of introspection and expression. Madeleine Bialke and Andrew Sendor’s works echo cinematic approaches, using illumination to heighten narrative. Kristian Touborg bridges analogue and digital, reflecting on light’s role in tradition and innovation”
Well, there’s some nice work, nice is never quite enough though, that James Owens piece, A Dance For Your Harvest, stands out. Newchild is Contemporary art gallery from Antwerp, Belgium by the way.most of the art is somewhat slick, Madeleine Bialke’s paintings have the look of prog rock album cover about them, I guess it all comes down to taste and well on to Part Four and the other side of the street where Flowers Gallery is calling…. (sw)
No.9 Cork Sreet is obviously found at 9 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LL. The space is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am until 6pm. All three shows go on until February 15th
Part Four in a moment. Previously on these pages –
As always, do click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show
THE ORGAN 
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