And out of that excellent David Hepher exhibition at Flowers and down Kingsland Road to where the Bomb Factory have opened yet another space. Or have they just popped up? Who knows? Communication isn’t a big thing with the bomb squad and well they are now at the end of the road directly over from Shoreditch Church here in East London as well as in all their other London spaces and places. That David Hepher exhibtion a few doors up the road from Bomb Factory’s new space is a rather hard act to follow – David Hepher at Flowers Gallery’s big East London space. A celebration of the austere grandeur of high-rise concrete, of the reality of life and of course, a celebration of an artist…
“The Bomb Factory Art Foundation is pleased to present Echoic Vision, a solo exhibition by Laurence Watchorn” – well they were pleased, it has been and gone now and well, better late than never I guess and yes I should have done it straight after writing about David Hepher. Hey, it is all thankless and probably all rather pointless and yesterday’s chip paper…
A body of work that “explores the relationship between sound and vision, while inviting a reconnection with the natural world. Drawing inspiration from Carl Jung’s concept of “the spirit of the depths” is how the Bomb Factory have Laurence Watchorn‘s show. Echoic Vision reflects on the mystical and numinous aspects of existence” and well, not sure where the sound comes in, I guess he is a DJ but we are silently looking at some wall based art, paintings, artworks, bright bold artwork created on un-stretched canvases fitted with eyelets and hung on metal hooks to apparently “move away from rigid geometry to embrace softer, more organic forms”. Described by the artist as “floor-bound wanderings”, and here we are wandering. “These evocative pieces feature biomorphic and code-like structures alongside poetic and symbolic elements, striking a delicate balance between chaos and order”, no not picking up any of that, not from just looking at them…
“Employing oil paint, pastel, charcoal, oil stick, and collage, the artist’s process blends intuitive mark-making with deliberate craftsmanship. Through the application and removal of paint, the works achieve a translucent, ethereal quality, embodying an interplay of control and natural forces. The compositions use sound, frequency, colour, rhythm, symbols, and text to engage with the viewer, evoking an animistic connection to the world”. No, still not picking up any of that, not from just looking at them here in the gallery… A lot of words and apparently examining how we perceive and communicate and they look like busted sunbeds to me with those eyes in the canvas, maybe I’m the busted one. I mean, it looks rather good, the whole exhibition, the way it fits together, the way it feels in the space, the individual pieces, the dynamic unfolding with the sunloungers on the wall. I do like the show, it wouldn’t me covered if I didn’t, I really can’t marry any of it up with all the words and the show statement and the art talk that lies beyond our material identity that’s apparently in here alongside all the alchemy, occult philosophy, psychology, and ancient history that passed me by. Nice show though, pretty colours. “At its core,Echoic Vision examines how we perceive and communicate, questioning the boundaries of language, the resonance of symbols, and the potential for re-enchantment with the environment….”
Next, where did we go next? Ah yes, a quick look at whatever they’ve got in Emalin‘s rather frustrating Clerk’s House space. besides the occasional encounter with Evgeny Antufiev, there’s been little to engage us at any of the Emalin spaces for so so long. There was Kembra Pfahler but that show was almost ten years ago now and we’ve kind of (almost) given up on them now and I really don’t like (almost) giving up on any gallery. Emalin are one of those galleries that plonk themselves in East London rather than engage with East London and we have tried so many times. There’s been an Özgür Kar solo exhibition in the space since the end of November, it goes on until late March? Why so long? Surely anyone who’s interested has seen it by now? I guess there’s some kind of concept behind it? – “Emalin is pleased to present Heavy Ground, a solo exhibition by Özgür Kar (b. 1992 in Ankara, Turkey; lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands). This is the artist’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. Heavy Ground comprises a new video consisting of hand-drawn animation, debuting the artist’s first film work, alongside a series of works on paper” – And yeah, some animated buzzing fly trapped on some glue and some bits of paper lying about or proped u against the wall of the rather historic EastLondon space. Here’s a #43SecondFilm. I guess it looks kind of exciting for a moment or two when you walk up those twisty stairs
It really is cold in East London today as well as being dishearteningly overcast and miserably wet, there’s a rather inviting 55 bus back to Hackney and the warmth of the studio waiting over there, do need to check out the recently opened group show at the Benjamin Rhodes Gallery on Old Nichol Street though and I did want to take another look at that show at Kate MacGarry‘s place before this year’s Condo ended. There’s a four artist group show called Conversation at the Benjamin Rhodes space featuring paintings from Roger Kite, Sharon Hall, Eva Bosch and the always excellent Tricia Gillman.
The gallery is on the small side, with four artists sharing it there isn’t really scope for any of them to really spread out. Roger Kite’s recent solo show in this gallery was a bright show, almost dazzling as you came in, bright, radiant, dancing, shimmering, hard to get a feel for his work in this group show with only two or three pieces and it is the same for all four artists really. You kind of need to know them already and as much as I love pretty much everything Tricia Gillman does, it really is when she goes big that her work really really come to life and you might not get it if these small treats in this show were to be your first taste. Sharon Hall‘s geometric paintings feel rather human, rather inviting, it might be her colours, her proportions maybe? Her symmetrically ordered portions, in here this time it does seem to be the warm yet rather cool colour (flavoured by Italian light so it seems). Eva Bosch is a very colourful Catalan painter, born in Barcelona. At present Eva lives and works in London with regular visits to her home town in Catalonia, it feels like Catalonian work, tastes of Palaeolithic paintings from caves and rocks in Spain, hints of iron oxide in her red paint that does kind of talk in positive way with Roger Kite’s greens. The show that opened at the end of January goes on until March 22nd and once again I really don’t understand why these small shows go on for so long? I don’t think I’ve ever put on a show that’s lasted as long as a month and after three weeks I’m eating the walls and ready to burn the place down. Worth dropping in and as good as Conversation is, you not really getting any of the four painters at full volume.
And back to Kate MacGarry Gallery, I did promise to return after the mention in the Exploring this year’s Condo London and beyond Pt.2 piece and it was pretty much a last chance to check out the Being John Smith exhibition and I did go back and I did stand there and watch the film, it had been pretty much impossible on the opening day, the gallery was the busiest of the Galleries on the opening day of this year’s Condo – I did watch the film (all the way through), I did ponder the various John Smiths I had encountered throughout my life and how ugly the Tate and Lyle factory was and I did look at the pieces on the wall and I did stroke my chin, I probably scratched my bum without realising I was doing so and then after quite a bit of time spent I left the gallery and walked home in the cold and the wet and the gloom of East London, walked back home to bang out words about that wonderful David Hepher show that had made the cold wet Saturday afternoon in early February so worthwhile… (sw)
Benjamin Rhodes Arts is at 62 Old Nichol Street, London E2 7HP. The Conversation show runs funtil 22nd March 2025. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday Midday until 6pm.
Previously on these pages
As always, do click on an image to enlarge, see the whole image or to run the slide show…
THE ORGAN 
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