George Blacklock, Alchemy at Flowers, Cork Street, London, Jan 2026 – For his new show, Alchemy, London-based Blacklock presents a series of works that emerge from what he calls the “studio narrative” – a process that moves between discipline and improvisation, instinct and constant vigilance. For Blacklock, painting is not a means of illustrating pre-formed statements; instead, as the artist reflects, “I believe that my paintings do not depict or represent ideas, they are the ideas.”

Off to Cork Street on a dark wet Friday afternoon in January, the first day of George Blacklock’s just opened exhibition. Opening nights at Flowers are just way too dark to ever see anything, the lighting is dark at the best of times in their Cork Street space, when the place is full of bodies it is almost impossible so the Friday after the Thursday night before it is. These latest bold pieces feel both instinctive and (carefully) constructed, careful and meticulous and at the same time deliciously free, almost carefree. Almost (and of course they’re not carefree). Shapes, gestures, conversations within the frameless frame of the canvas; complex, easy, so easy to look, to enjoy, to enjoy listening to those conversations within each painting rather than be drawn into them.

Apparently Blacklock doesn’t see himself completely as an abstract painter. I guess in the strong shapes that do kind of dominate his work we could see something a little more complex, that we could or should be looking at the relationships of those shapes and musing on where they come from? Where he finds them (if indeed he does)? Whatever it is, the overriding feeling is that it is a delight to look, and especially in here surrounded by a room full of his paintings, surrounded by the shapes and the rich use of not always obvious colour that is there in his paint and the way he uses that paint. I really like the way George Blacklock uses both paint and colour, the liberating decisions he makes, as some kind of painter myself, it is just a pleasure to be alone in here on a Friday afternoon spinning around from one piece to another and just really enjoying this without having to overthink any it. Sometimes it is just about enjoying the rich combination of things that make us a collection of paintings, about just enjoying the intuitive processes that make up a collection of George Blacklock paintings… (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 George Blacklock exhibition tuns until 7th February 2026.

Previous Flowers Gallery coverage

As always, please do click on an image to see the whole thing or to to run the slide show…