The Conformist

Helen Bullock, Window installation.

Set in the very central Belmacz space, The Conformist is truly an unusual show, linking modern to contemporary artists, as well as art itself to fashion and jewellery design. Main theme of the exhibition is the question on conformity/deviance, and its declination through the passing of time. The twenty-one artists included share a reflection on the moral and aesthetic codes of Western society. Their works are the result of this creative thinking, and they can be of the most different register, from serious to playful, form ironic to melanchonic, from sharp to mellow. Here’s just a taste of what you will find if you go to visit it.

Helen Bullock, coming from textile design, has created a window installation characterised by strong colours, as well as a floor decoration for the lower ground. Her vivid contribution, featuring red brush strokes on the window, torn textile with a floreal (or phallic?) allusion, handmade bracelets and a long knotted cloth hanging from the ceiling is instrumental in driving the viewer inside the exhibition space.

The curator and artist Paul Kindersley has chosen two main sites of inspiration: the first is In Youth is Pleasure (1945), a novel by Denton Welch, a worn copy of which is available to flicker through, dealing with the sensual fantasies and erotic experiences of an obsessive teenager during a non-specified summertime. The second is the flamoboyant figure of Lady Emma Hamilton (1765-1815), well-known for her extravagance and a symbol of Romantic love because of her wretched love affair with Lord Nelson (1758-1805). Her presence is announced to be the red thread of the exhibition since entering the gallery: She enigmatically beams from an etching (copy of a painting by the portraitis George Romney), her head covered with a pure-white veil. Exactly in front of her, Helen Chadwick’s Ruin (1986) parallels an interest in the body as main agent of conformation or not to the mainstream of aesthetics. The late artist’s naked body, in contrast with Emma’s covered attire, twists in an unconfortable yet intriguing pose, while with her left hand she covers her face from direct eye-contact with the viewer, and rests the right hand on a skull, probably referencing Shakespeare. Behind her, a still-image of  fruit decomposition completes the work, where the artist is both photographer and photographed, maker and object, in a game of attraction-repulsion with the viewer that challenges the Platonic conception of beauty as positive attribute.

Two video installations, one by Kindersley himself (Lady Hamilton’s Attitudes, 2014), one by Julie Verhoeven (Phlegm & Fluff, 2015), make use of the body too in addressing, in different ways, questions of genre, sex, perversity, grotesque. I found that watching each of them with the relevant soundtrack, while the other was in silent mode, would give a completely different atmosphere to the entire exhibition. Interesting how different music enables diverse emotional responses to the same space.

Works by David Parkinson.

The exhibition also features some charming pieces of jewelry, like the sophisticated gold string with charms by Julia Muggenburg recalling again Lady Emma in its ancient style. Roman coins, red coral, black pearls and citrine drops, as suggested by James Cahill in his introduction to the exhibition, recall different aspects of Lady Emma’s personality, while the string itself let us face an ambiguity – chastity belt or erotic ankle necklace?

I find The Conformist an interesting experiment of mixing fields. It is imaginative and witty. I won’t steal the pleasure of surprise by giving away too much of it! If you are looking for a fresh, nonconformist show, visit The Conformist at Belmacz show room, until 16th April 2016. Entry is free.

Useful links: http://www.belmacz.com/gallery/

All pictures credits: http://www.belmacz.com/gallery/current

Paul Housley, Head of an English Iconoclast, 2016, glazed painted clay, 8x14x20cm.

PANGAEA II @ Saatchi Gallery

As I entered the luminous space of the Saatchi Gallery with a friend, a week ago, I was suddenly rapt into a quiet, ethereal world, where the silence was not even interrupted by the thundering rain outside, and the artworks on display would simply but blodly disclose themselves in all their beauty, almost challenging you to fade away and leave the stage to the unfolding of their meanings.

The artists presented in the exhibition “Pangaea II: New Art from Africa and Latin America” come from these continents, and some of them had already shown their works in a previous collective exhibition, held at the Saatchi Gallery last year, across Spring, Summer and Autumn 2014. The earlier show was named “Pangaea”, so that the second was clearly linked to the first in the extent in which they both displayed contemporary artists coming from economically developing parts of the world that are miles and miles away from each other, but can reunite through art (as the probably geographically were millennia ago).

The show was divided into different rooms, onto two floors of the gallery, with no explanation whatsoever of the works, which most of the time were presented only by a plain collective label at the entrance of every room, stating the basic information (author, title, year, medium, size). This gave a chance for attentive and meditative looking at the pieces, without focusing on written text as we are so much used to. In this case, though, a bit of knowledge of the background of every artist would have been indispensable to get a better understanding of their works. I had done my homework research before reaching the gallery, so I felt enough comfortable in the sole presence of the artworks, but I am not sure the friend who was with me had the same kind of experience. At any rate, the way the objects were presented, the ubiquitous white light cascading from the ceiling and probably the silent gallery environment itself gave space for personal reflection and I soon lost sight of my mate, getting back to him only at the shop entrance. He told me he had really enoyed the show.

Many of the works contained a political or socio-economical reference to the countries the artist belongs to. Some addressed a blue reflection on burocracy and the way human beings are swallowed by technology and urbanization. Others would tackle the power-games in which an individual must mix him or herself up in in order to gain political authority and prestige. Others again would reflect on the situation of the poorest sections of society.

I particularly felt an association with the series of paintings by Dawit Abebe (1978, Ethiopia), giving a portrait of ailing figures always turning their back to the viewer and to the worldly reality, from which nevertheless they are surrounded in the form of official papers, tickets, ties, …The melancholy they aroused was the same one feels when you ask yourself if this is really the only way things could be.

Dawit Abebe, No.2 Background 1, 2014, mixed media painting, 150×130 cm

Dawit Abebe, No.2 Background 5, 2014, mixed media painting, 150×130 cm

Dawit Abebe, No.2 Background 3, 2014, mixed media painting, 150×130 cm

Ephrem Solomon’s (1983, Ethiopia) Political Game 3 reminded me of a fish in a sea full of sharks:

Ephrem Solomon, Political Game 3, 2012, woodcut and mixed media, 85×86 cm

Armand Boua’s (1978) humble carboards well fitted his reflection on the hinumanity he experiences in everyday-life in Abidjan (Ivory Coast):

Armand Boua, various works, 2013, tar and acrylic on cardboard, 82×95 cm

Other works had a humorous vein than made me openly smile, like Alexandre da Cunha’s (1969, Brazil) nude series, in which the author uses found objects and different media to obtain a painting which is also a sculpture, conveying an ironic message on the way we see and appropriate material objects. I particularly enjoyed this piece:

Alexandre da Cunha, Nude VI, 2012, hats, canvas, thread, 220x300x17.5 cm

A couple of artists, namely Alida Cervantes (1972, California, U.S.A.), Virginia Chihota (1983, Zimbabwe), but also Eddy Ilunga Kamuanga (1991, Democratic Republic of the Congo) dealt with feminine figures in different ways. I felt a strong connection with Virginia’s reflection on marriage and the developing of personal relationships that she conveys through her work Raising Your Own (Kurera Wako). Unfortunately I was not able to take a picture of it, but her delicate, almost phantom-like bride, her white skin almost melting away with the unnatural white background, gave me a sense of strength and impotence at the same time. She stands beside her husband-to-be, both wrapped in an unusual black veil, which shadows them from the viewer and make them close and fearfully intimate. Their feet are bare, and the woman covers her womb with her black hands as a blood stain widens on her white wedding dress.

Eddy’s women are the heroines of the new cultural diversity which is emerging in his hometown, Kinshasa. He is strongly influenced both by traditions and pop culture and the resulting works seems to me vibrant and positive. I really appreciated the use he made of written word in his paintings, a device that conveys particular meanings (if you can read the language!) and helps the old mixing with the new.

Eddy Ilunga Kamuanga, Voile, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 120×100 cm

However, my favourite pieces were the ones welcoming the visitor in the first room of the exhibition. I left them for last because of their power, their marvellous quality as art objects and the activism that they inspire. I am talking about the selection of works by Diego Mendoza Imbachi (1982, Colombia), who links gardening and art-making in a process that juxtaposes the natural elements of the forest with the harmful industrialisation that more and more affects the landscape in South America. Diego truly is a poet, even in the choice of titles. His medium, mainly graphite, reflects his intention of giving space, in some ways, to a reconciliation between human destructivness and natural life. His works, of very large dimensions, make you feel like you really are in some magical forest made up of beautifully crafted, tall, silent trees whose branches resemble in some ways electrical wires. The element of sacred is surely present, it makes you reflect on the beauty and delicacy of nature and on the stubborn dullness of multi-national corporations. After staring at these works, my Greenpeace soul aroused, and even talking about it now, some days after the exhibition has already closed its doors, I still feel a sense of courage, of urgence for doing everything I can to respect the planet. Now I can really start my day in a positive, proactive way.

Diego Mendoza Imbachi, The Poetics of Reflection, 2014, graphite and binder on canvas, 300×600 cm

Pangaea II: New Art form Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, 11 March – 17 September 2015.

Useful links:

The exhibition’s webpage has links to the bios and abstracts of the partecipant artists, and it’s a mine for more information: http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/pangaea_II/

The London Open 2015 @ Whitechapel Gallery

Jane Bustin, from left to right: Tabitha’s Cape, 2014, Nijinksy’s Window, 2015, Nijinksy I, 2014, various materials.

There is currently an exceptional open submission exhibition held at Whitechapel Gallery, which is worth seeing for at least three reasons.

First, the variety of the art displayed. The London Open 2015 is in fact a collection of artworks created by contemporary artists based in London, selected by important names of the artworld such as artist Angela de la Cruz, collector Nicoletta Fiorucci, art critic Ben Luke and gallerist Jake Miller. The selection, made from nothing less than 2133 applicants, picks 48 contemporary artists who give their contribution using many different medias and styles. The result is a fresh dive into the variegated world of contemporary art, passing through installations and sculptures made with the most different materials, to reach to the extremes of video art, live performance and painting. The works are grouped together by themes, affinity and contrast. You may not enjoy every piece that you will encounter in this trip through the galleries, but at least you will definetely appreciate the melting pot of creativity that surrounds you.

Alexander Duncan, Cove, 2007-2015, polyurethane, polystyrene.

Dominic Watson, Are you not Entertained?, 2013, HD video.

Second, the focus on London. The aim of the exhibition is to give voice and international resonance to the living artists who make up the vibrating London art scene. The only requirement to be selected was to be over 26 and to be dwelling in the London boroughs. It is incredible to think of the great response given by the artists, with thousands of submissions from which the curators chose twentyfive female artists, tewntytwo male artists and one collective. The artists themselves, as most of the people livingin London, are from everywhere in the world, their nationalities spanning across the UK, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Peru, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, USA. The London Open really gives you the feeling of London as one of the most important centres of contemporary art in the world, a place where conventional and unconventional ways of creating cohexist in a thrilling dynamism.

Ben Cove, Dissenter, 2015, acrylic on panel.
Ben Cove, Head Construct (2), 2013, oil and acrylic on panel.

Last but not least! The London Open 2015 is not the first open submission exhibition hosted by the Whitechapel Gallery: Back in 1932, the East End Academy (later Whitechapel Open) was hosting the work of all artists living in the area of Aldgate. Later on, the space developed to include artists from all London areas, Whitechapel Gallery becoming a renowned spot where young, promising artists can show their work to a wider audience. This gallery is surely a mecca for whoever may be interested in contemporary art, and especially this exhibition, in line with the gallery’s historical position, displays what we can call the avant-guard of all art based in London. A very useful catalogue by curator Daniel Herrmann and assitant curator Poppy Bowers accompanies and explains both the works and the artists.

An enchanting exhibition, certainly an enriching experience! Don’t miss it.

Zehra Arslan, Obstacle #1, 2015, acrylic, wallpaper paste, photographic paper, plastic on canvas.

The London Open 2015 is on from 15th July to 6th September 2015, in Galleries 1, 8, Victor Petitgas Gallery (Gallery 9) and Gallery 2 at Whitechapel Gallery, 77 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX (Tube: Aldgate East). Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 6pm, Thursdays, 11am – 9pm. Ow, and yes, the admission is free.

Useful links:

The London Open 2015 overview: http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/coming-soon-london-open/