SHOWnews: The Transformative Power of Libido, A Life Well Lived, the Female Form and More

Le Féminin at Opera Gallery

Nothing is as examined nor as enigmatic as the female form, a topic Opera Gallery's latest exhibition Le Féminin weighs in on by comprising paintings, sculptures, video installations, and drawings that dive into themes circling ideas of identity, strength, and vulnerability. Honing in on how artists (Niki de Saint Phalle, Catherine Viollet, and Andy Warhol included) have interpreted the female figure from 1900 to 2024, the exhibition acts as a riveting study into how gender and identity have intersected within the art world over the last century - an ever-pertinent conversation that gains momentum each waking day. From Marc Chagall's signature poetic iterations that give way to dreamlike portraits of women to Julian Opie’s minimalist video installations and Tom Wesselmann's pop-infused paintings, both of which reflect on contemporary identity and societal norms, the road is as wide as it is long, with more interpretations that inevitably exceed your expectations.

Le Féminin at Opera Gallery is open to the public until 19 June.

Base Materialism at Albion Jeune

Since Albion Jeune threw open its doors to a new generation of art enthusiasts and artists alike by christening its opening with an exhibition by Danish artist Esben Weile Kjær two years ago, the gallery has made a name for itself in championing artists from the ground up. That said, newfound artists aren't the only focal point of founder Lucca Hue-Williams' attention, whose latest exhibition, Base Materialism welcomes back seven previous exhibiting artists for a tender yet transformative show rooted in 'the raw aspects of being'. More than just existing within the realm of wanting to redefine art, Base Materialism offers up a new way of thinking - not only by questioning human existence - but also opening up the prism through which we see the world thanks to works by artists Ambera Wellmann, Cindy Ji Hye Kim, Fin Simonetti, Ivana Bašić, Rachel Rossin, Shuyi Cao and Shuo Hao. From the unstable to the abject, the erotic to the excess, a myriad of themes are explored in limitless ways. One thing that shadows over all? Resistance.

Base Materialism at Albion Jeune is open to the public until 30 August.

To Improvise A Mountain: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Curates, Touring From Hayward Gallery to Leeds Museums and Galleries

In the art world, there is an order to how things are done that is obeyed by everyone, from large institutions to independent venues alike, and it goes something like the following: a director directs, a curator curates, a painter paints. Everyone else does everything else that needs to be done. Disrupting this archaic order by overstepping the traditional role of the curator altogether, the Hayward Gallery's touring exhibition To Improvise A Mountain spotlights the curation of renowned painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, whose work sits alongside a plethora of other greats including Bas Jan Ader, Pierre Bonnard, Samuel Fosso, Peter Hujar, Lisa Brice, Walter Sickert, David Wojnarowicz to reflect Yiadom-Boakye's own journey, comprising ways of seeing, thinking and being by throwing her creative process into the spotlight. The result? Different geographies are explored by different generations of artists, all heralding different styles across different artistic practices - performance, painting and photography, especially, all of which are rooted in the spirit of the exhibition, stemming from a fragment of poetry in the 1970 Miles Davis recording Inamorata: ‘Who is this music that which description may never justify? / Can the ocean be described?’

In a statement to press, Yiadom-Boakye noted her established respect for the artists in the show by commenting: 'My logic, patterns, relationships and decisions are guided by intuition and a means of thinking through what is felt. That's how I wanted to approach this show. And I wanted to bring together works by artists whose vision beguiles me: fellow poets, dreamers, thinkers and wanderers. It is humbling and a dream to show amongst them.' We all have our own set of principles and inspirations that help us steer the driving boat that is life. What's more profound than being able to learn through the lens of one of Britain's foremost painters working today? Not much.

To Improvise A Mountain: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Curates is a Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition curated by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye with Hayward Gallery Touring. The exhibition is currently on show at Leeds Art Gallery, where it will be opened to the public until 5 October before touring to the MK Gallery in Milton Keynes between 25 October and 8 February 2026, and Nottingham Castle between 20 March and 21 June, 2026.

Douglas by Amanda Moström at Rose Easton

Ask four different physical therapists how energy is stored in the body and you'll likely receive four different answers. But what about our libidinal energy? We know which parts of the body respond to such forces, but as for the mind? Tackling this and all things concerned with eroticism (more chiefly its often subtly humorous and psychosexual undertones) is artist Amanda Moström, who has returned to East London's favourite independent art establishment (yes, obviously we mean Rose Easton) to present Douglas, a show made up of multi-media works exploring the movement of libidinal energy through our bodies and psyche.

Drawing on the premise of libido being a vital life force rather than the Freudian contrary, Moström’s work does more than just evoke sexual desire, it examines how psychic energy moves through us, subsequently becoming trapped, redirected, or liberated depending on the who's, what's and why's of this world. For most, our inhibited desires are abstract (despite the physical effects that come with passing thought). Combating this, Moström's art seeks to give form to the invisible currents of desire, re-anchoring the artist's approach towards libido not just as a drive but as a creative force.

Douglas by Amanda Moström at Rose Easton is open to the public until 25 June, 2025.

New Age at Selfridges

We are so obsessed with the idea of ageing, it's all we can talk about. Retinol, botox, LED face masks, suncream, £300+ skincare, £500+ skincare, gua sha, night oils, day oils, morning oils, wear-this-product-pre-workout-oils, now-use-this-product-post-workout-oils. We are haunted by the beauty industry every time we open any social media app. It's exhausting, it's exhilarating, it's boring. And trust us when we say no one is more bored than the early-career artists, ceramicists and filmmakers who Selfridges has invited to consider ageing in a new light by framing their art in a series of spectacularly curated window displays.

'We are seeing a shift in life as we know it – people live longer, retire later, have second careers and side hustles, and approach ‘adulthood’ overall with a sense of optimism', notes the department store's press release. In light of this, Selfridges are throwing into question what celebrating a life well lived means, titling their newly art-centred window displays ‘New Age’. Believing there to be four chapters to a life 'well lived', each specially commissioned artwork and film celebrates key milestones, changes of direction and the epiphanies that bless us each day on earth. 'Selfridges has always championed new artists and new ways of thinking', noted Selfridges head of concepts Emily Derrick in a statement to press. 'We hope that visitors will think about the big questions we are proposing, and maybe it will prompt a new approach to life and living longer!'

New Age will be on display at Selfridges until 24 June.