Bianca Raffaella – She Cannot Fade at Flowers, Cork Street – September 2025 – Is that the slightest of hint of the London Art Scene stirring? We are just about entering September, the bigger galleries are staring to wake from their Summer hibernation, a hibernation that seems to have been reinforced by the lack of the strong alternatives and worthwhile artist led shows of previous sunny years. Most of Cork Street is still asleep or on holiday or running the shows they’ve been running during Summer months, the windows are covered in preparation for whatever comes next at the big Stephen Friedman space after that Jaune Quick-To-See Smith exhibition First Thursday evening of September, of Cork Street and the surrounding area, only a couple of galleries appear to be open tonight, the homeless are making good use of a few of their doorsteps, there’s someone trying to get some sleep under one of those flags that people seem to be rather proud of at the moment.
We’re in this part of town for Bianca Raffaella‘s She Cannot Fade in the basement at Flowers, Cork Street – do miss their now never open Kingsland Road space, saw so so many good shows in there back before they made it by appointment only, haven’t been in there since they last opened for just one day for that excellent David Hepher show at the start of the year, such a shame, having to make an appointment does kind of feel like you’re wasting their time. Enough of appointments and much missed East London spaces, we’re in the West End for another Bianca Raffaella exhibition (for which we must thank Flowers, these things should never be taken for granted as we have said before). Not quite the follow up to her wonderfully expansive January show in the main upstairs street-level gallery at the same Cork Street space, tonight a slightly smaller affair in the still space-rich basement (well not so space-rich tonight, it is rather full for the opening).
Her previous show was all about her big paintings, about seeing what Bianca Raffaella sees, about an experience that is almost impossible to share, an experience beautifully shared. This time she’s experimenting with monoprints, collaborating, well it looks more like a helping hand than a collaboration; “Following her first major solo exhibition at the gallery earlier this year, the latest presentation will see Raffaella build on the foundational themes of memory, perception, and fragility that anchor her practice. Executed in collaboration with master printmaker Richard Spare, these innovative works push the limits of traditional printmaking, using the under-explored medium of acrylic monoprinting. Working wet-on-wet with layers of acrylic and water, Raffaella paints directly onto reflective copper plates, primarily using her fingertips, before the surface dries, capturing fleeting impressions in quick, expressive gestures. This spontaneous, tactile process reflects her lived experience of visual impairment, translating uncertainty into a physical and creative act”
– I do rather like that she’s now experimenting with her (already) found painterly language, that she’s already needing to push on, to push further, to see as it were, to see what she can do as an artist. Not sure how well this show works if this is your first real life encounter with her work, if you don’t know Bianca Raffaella’s background, but then maybe it does? I’ve been to her talks, I’ve listened to Tracey Emin talking about her, I’ve stood silently almost nose touching her big paintings, maybe if this is your first encounter it really works? Not sure how much the printing technique takes away from the way she directly uses paint so beautifully? I do like these pieces, i do like this show, it feels like an interesting side step. I do like that the wetness is still there, it is still very very much Bianca Raffaella and her subtle palette, her calmness, I most definitely like this show, I need to think about it, I like having to thing about it, I need to go back again now I’ve had time to digest it, she is one of my favourite painters of the last couple of years. I’m not sure if her work is fragile? it feels rather strong to me.
There is another opening at Flowers tonight; “Nadav Kander is a London-based photographer, artist and director renowned for his portraiture and large-format landscape photographs”, photography on the whole doesn’t excite me like paint does, the show looks interesting, it looks like an exhibition to be alone with and tonight for the open you can hardly get through the door let alone see the art properly or hear yourself think about it, a show to return to on another day. And off to the Kearsey and Gold and the opening at their Cork Street,gallery, the other space of the the many on West End street actually opening a show tonight, more in a moment, this is a non-stop (rather thankless) operation… (sw)
Here’s another #43SecondFilm…
Flowers Cork Street is found at 21 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LZ. The Gallery is open Monday to Saturday, 10am until 6pm. The Bianca Raffaella exhibition runs from 5th September until 11th October 2025
A link to the full list of works, including framed images: Bianca Raffaella – She Cannot Fade
We have of course covered Bianca Raffaella’s art (and indeed her thoughts) on these pages a number of times over recent years…
Previous Flowers Gallery coverage on these pages
As always do please click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show
THE ORGAN 
One response to “ORGAN THING: Bianca Raffaella’s She Cannot Fade at Flowers Cork Street, she’s already needing to push on, to push further, to see as it were, to see what she can do…”
[…] Actually I did drop in during the opening night, dropped in on the way back from Cork Street and Bianca Raffaella’s She Cannot Fade opening at Flowers, only to find the same old story of participating artists shooting themselves in the […]