Here we go again then, on with another Five Art Things thing, on we go and never mind the bliss or the selfies in front of the art or whatever we said last time. 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: Blink – Room Share 7 at Peckham Safehouse – There another of those rather good short sharp Blink group shows in the the wreckage of Peckham Safehouse this weekend, as always information is vague and besides the luck of Instabloodygram’s draw, rather none existent and all a little too cool for school (let’s hope the labelling is a little better this time, never did find out who painted those really good paintings in the last one). Safehouse One and Two are a couple of semi detached houses in Peckham that are pretty much little more than shells of former homes, I guess at some point soon they’re going to be demolished, for now they make for great art galleries and especially in terms of artist-led shows with all the stripped out floors and distressed walls. If we have it right then this is the seventh Blink? The shows only last for one weekend, a different artist acting as curator taking on each of the five or six rooms in one of the houses and filling that room with the art of their invited artists, so you end up with forty or so artists and if you’re lucky you get to put a name to that piece or pieces that really grabs you. The opening night can be a little crowded, the lighting is awful, well it is a derelict space, and be warmed contact lens wearers, all them feet do kind of kick up dust storms from the plaster that’s fallen off the walls. Labelling issues and the slightly aloof too cool for you art school attitudes aside these shows tend to be really good and well worth your time, indeed the last one featured in our best art things of the year round up at the end of 2024. Our advise is avoid the opening night unless you want to hang out with a load of slightly snobby art student types and not see the art for the people standing around talking in front of the pieces and head over for the weekend and hopefully good light and not so many people for what should be, based on previous experience, a highly rewarding couple of days of art

Blink Room Share 7 happens in Safehouse 1, 139 Copeland Road, Peckham SE15 3SN. Hopefully there’s something good happening at Safehouse 2 next door as well. The opening so called “Private View” – these things hardly ever are private and usually open to everyone – is on Friday 25th April 6-9pm and then the space is open on Saturday and Sunday 26/27th April, midday until 6pm

Previously on these pages…

ORGAN THING: Last night’s rather recommended Blink show at Peckham’s Safehouse, there’s some gorgeous paintings in here, if you get a chance over the weekend, and it really is a case of blink and you miss it, it is only on for this weekend…

ORGAN: The twenty art things that stood out in 2024 – Tracey Emin, Lee Bae, Ken Currie, Jeffrey Gibson, those Safehouse shows, Working Girls at Gallery 46, Bianca Raffaella, Ernest Cole, Sadie Hennessey, Peter Kennard, Carol Bove and…

A small flavour of Blink last time around….

Meanwhile in Hoxton…

2: Ripley Fletcher, Harbour at Filet – Debut solo show by Ripley Fletcher, exploring queer folklore and myth through watercolours on wood and poetry. With live reading and artist talk at the private view.

“Harbour is the debut solo exhibition by Ripley Fletcher, a recent Fine Art graduate from Chelsea College of Arts. Their work invites viewers into imagined landscapes rooted in queer folklore and mythology — now accompanied by a newly published anthology of poems that further expands the world they have created. Ripley’s practice blends storytelling and anthropological research narrated by poetic inquiry. Through textured watercolour paintings on wood and lyrical writing, they explore themes of gender fluidity, memory, and the mythologies that shape identity. Join us for the Private View on Saturday 26 April, 5–8pm, featuring a live poetry reading and artist talk. The exhibition continues over the weekend, open daily 11am–7pm, and is free and open to all”.

Filet is at 103 Murray Grove, Hoxton, London, N1 7QF. Private View on Saturday 26 April, 5–8pm. The exhibition continues over the weekend, open daily 11am–7pm, “and is free and open to all”. Filet on Instagram / Ripley Fletcher on Instagram

3: Penge Rooftop Gallery have announced another two viewing days – “There will be two viewing days of fresh artworks for the general public Sunday 27th April and Sunday 4th May from 10-2 at the roof of the Blenheim Centre. Access will be outside the lifts on Level 2.  Viewing is free and no booking is required! We will be there during this time to discuss the artworks with anyone who wishes to come and enjoy over 150 artworks from this community initiative we have had so much fun being a part of”. Although, we do have to ask, is this another case of artists being used and more artwashing to distract from the gentrification? The artwork in the image is by Envol

Penge Rooftop Gallery is at Blenheim Centre, 140 High St, Penge, London SE20 7EU

4: Agriel Ness – Sympatheia at A Mini Bar in Hackney – Agriel Ness has a solo show opening on 26th Apr 2025, 7.30pm until  10.30pm  – “Step into a sanctuary of myth, memory, and transformation as photographic artist Agriel Ness brings her evocative world to A Mini Bar in Hackney for a night to celebrate the end of one era and the beginning of another.  The Great Sympatheia of the New Feminine explores the sacred entanglement between personal experience and collective memory, where femininity, resistance, and rebirth weave together through the potent symbolism rooted in the surreal. Drawing on trauma- both personal and collective- Agriel reclaims the ancient Stoic term Sympatheia—the interconnectedness of all things—through a distinctly feminine lens. This intimate exhibition offers a glimpse into her upcoming book and fine art series, Sympatheia, a work that unravels and rewrites narratives historically violent toward women, recasting them as stories of defiance and ancestral power.  Rooted in surreal self-portraiture and intimate collaborations, Agriel’s work becomes both ritual and revelation—a visual space where pain is transmuted, and new myths are born”.

A Mini Bar In Hackney is found at 173b Stoke Newington Rd, London, N16 8BP. no information about how long the show is on for, watch this space, we’ll try and find out, exhibitions there generally go on for a month… More Agriel Ness here

5: The Way Forward: Derek Boshier and the Sixties at Gazelli Art House – 25th April until 28th June 2025 – “Gazelli Art House London is pleased to present The Way Forward: Derek Boshier and the Sixties, the first posthumous solo exhibition dedicated to Derek Boshier (1937—2024), curated with renowned art historian Marco Livingstone”.

“The exhibition focuses on works from the 1960s and charts the transformations in Boshier’s worldview and visual style, in parallel to wider changes in society. This landmark presentation revisits Boshier’s pivotal transition from pioneering Pop figuration to bold geometric abstraction, a shift catalysed by his travels to India in 1962 under a Commonwealth scholarship.

Among the first exponents of British Pop Art, Boshier distinguished himself from contemporaries such as Peter Blake and Pauline Boty through his unique brand of satirical social commentary. Together with fellow RCA students David Hockney, Allen Jones, Peter Phillips and R.B. Kitaj, he participated in the landmark Young Contemporaries exhibition at R.B.A. Galleries London in 1961, which propelled Pop Art to public prominence.

As early as 1963 Boshier had developed a distinctive approach to abstraction, embracing shaped canvases and vibrant geometric compositions. Moving away from his earlier more figurative Pop works, Boshier began employing dynamic colour contrasts and layered forms to create spatial ambiguity and a sense of movement. Although aligned with the aesthetics of post-painterly abstraction in the US by artists such as Kenneth Noland and Ellsworth Kelly, Boshier’s pieces are infused with the experiences when travelling in India, alongside the British Pop iconography he was so instrumental in shaping.

Complementing the presentation of Boshier’s paintings from the 1960s in the gallery’s main space will be a selection of works by artists who were also part of the contingent at the Royal College of Art associated with the rise of Pop Art in Britain: from the 1959 intake with Boshier are R. B. Kitaj, David Hockney, Allen Jones and Peter Phillips; Pauline Boty, who began her studies a year earlier in the Stained Glass department and became a fast friend; Patrick Caulfield, who arrived at the College a year after Boshier; and three artists, Peter Blake, Joe Tilson and Richard Smith, who had completed their studies at the College in the mid-1950s but who became friends, mentors, and sources of inspiration to the younger artists including Boshier himself. Ken Russell’s celebrated BBC film Pop Goes the Easel, which introduced Pop Art to the general public, featured Boshier alongside Blake, Boty, and Phillips”.

Gazelli Art House is at 39 Dover Street, London, W1S 4NN. The Gallery is open Monday to Saturday, 10am until 6pm. The show runs from 25th April until 28th June 2025

Previously –

ORGAN THING: Derek Boshier, Icarus and K Pop at Gazelli Art House, pop art for right now – Where were we? After that ridiculously early…

ORGAN THING: A Pauline Boty film – Pauline Boty, the British 60’s pop artist pretty much written out of history until recently – will be on BBC Four on March 3rd…

And while we’re here –

Steven Appleby – Dragman: The Story Behind The Book at Space Station Sixty-Five is a talk on Friday April 25th, 5pm to 7pm,, 

“Space Station Sixty-Five is pleased to invite you to a special event all about the graphic novel Dragman, by Steven Appleby. Illustrated with drawings, cartoons, comic strips and images from his life, Appleby will deliver a talk about how his obsessions, as well as being a secret cross dresser, fed into much of his artistic work. All these themes ultimately led to the creation of the character Dragman – first in the Guardian (in 2002) and ultimately in the award winning graphic novel (2020). The talk will be followed by a conversation with broadcaster and journalist Alex Fitch and there will be an opportunity for questions from the audience. Complimentary drinks and refreshments will be available during the event. Book your free tickets here“.

Steven’s rather recommended show at the space now goes on until Saturday 10th May 2025. Here’s more about it…

ORGAN THING: Steven Appleby’s Nothing is Real at Space Station Sixty Five Gallery, a little more real than you maybe expected…