Steven Appleby, Nothing is Real at Space Station Sixty Five, London SE11 – Steven Appleby has an exhibition on at the rather secretive Space Station Sixty Five gallery/Art Space over in Kensington, South East London at the moment. Nothing is Real is some kind of retrospective that we’re told “showcases a lifetime of artistic and creative accomplishments” – the crucial thing here, the striking thing, the striking things are Stephen’s latest paintings, those latest paintings are the things that demand the real attention.

Steven, according to the social media strap line, is “a European. I think, write and draw. Thought up Captain Star, Small Birds Singing and a graphic novel Dragman. She, he, her, him… I’m easy!” – And that was really what I thought it was about, cartoons, Captain Star, the weekly NME comic Strip from back there that ran for years, grew and eventually became an animated TV series that Stephen made with animator Pete Bishop and the voice of Richard E. Grant. And then there was the artwork for those Pixies records and beyond that there’s Nancy, she’s always been there with her big smile and that butter that wouldn’t melt look, surely those vouchers are nothing to do with her? Or the peep show? Does she lie in the peep show waiting for the little doors to open behind that msterious black curtain in the middle of the gallery while the exhibition is on? 

Oh there’s loads to explore in here, little corners of delight, comic books in the reading room you could spend hours with, or the bits and pieces on the shelf that have you double checking and then checking again just in case you saw it wrong. And then there’s that film of Nancy walking down the street at night and the request for secrets to draw and there are so many sides to every story. And there she is smiling as you walk around and find more and more (and more) about her.

This is brilliant, I thought it was all going to be cartoons and fun but it is far far far more than that and yes, the really striking things here are the big paintings that surely weren’t expected, not the cartoony ones, the other ones, those recent paintings, those big paintings are beautifully real things.

Those recent paintings are powerful, those paintings are rich, beautifully coloured, painted with energy, they reach out, and yes they are kind of expressive or do I want to say sexy? Those new paintings are intriguing, the stylised lines, the layers, those paintings need to be in a show by themselves, they need to be talking to the viewer without all the other noise and the things that are going on in here, all the other things that go on inside dogs and the tell me things you tell no one else, all of which are fine, but it is the paintings.

The paintings, dare I say the more serious moments, the real moments, the deeper ones, the contemporary art pieces, the bits beyond the (excellent) cartoons and all the (delicious) fun. Hey look, this is a wonderful exhibition, a fine collection or layers to peel back, it is a celebration but it is the unexpected bits, or the bits revealed that really demand attention. There’s three or four recent paintings in here that are something a little extra, Nothing is real? These newer paintings feel very real… (sw)    

Steven Appleby (born 27 January 1956) is an absurdist cartoonist, illustrator and artist living in Britain. She is a dual citizen of the UK and Canada. Her publisher describes her humour as “observational or absurd, with a keen sense of the turmoil of fear and obsession that teems beneath the respectable exterior of most of us.” (Wikipedia)

Nothing is Real is on at Space Station Sixty Five until March 29th 2025. The gallery is open Wednesday until Saturday, midday until 6pm. Space Station Sixty Five is at 373 Kennington Road, London, SE11 4PT (Oval tube)

www.stevenappleby.com / Wikipedia / Space Station Sixty Five

As always do please click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show, or better still go see it and take better photos yourself…