SHOWNews: Your Weekly Art Bulletin
ARTIST RESIDENCY
Sister by Studio Ashby Funds The Talent of Tomorrow With New Artist Residency Scheme
The arts, and - more importantly - funding for the arts, has never looked so dire meaning artist residencies have become vital in supporting the talent of tomorrow. Stepping in to lead the way and carry the torch is Sister by Studio Ashby whose recently announced exhibition programme champions contemporary female artistry by bringing together four pioneering women artists from all over the world. Each artist involved (Lily Bertrand-Webb, Anne Griffith, Amber Moir, Anico Mostert) has been hand-selected by founder Sophie Ashby and will also be granted the opportunity to exhibit work at Sister by Studio Ashby’s historic showroom, The Blewcoat School, in London’s St James’. First up? London-based photographer Bertrand-Webb whose voyeuristic photo series The Flâneuse is an ode to Virginia Woolf's famously coined ‘street haunting’; the simple act of a woman leaving the things that define us at home to become ‘part of that vast republican army of anonymous trampers' in one's city. Poetic while highly observant, Bertrand-Webb's photography ignites all the senses, if not least our curiosity.
EXHIBITION
Benjamin Spiers Exhibits Surrealist Fantasy In Venice
It's no secret that open-source AI software platforms like Midjourney or DALL·E Mini share near identical similarities when it comes to aesthetics and influence - many of which imitate the surrealist styles of Salvador Dalí or Edward Hopper. Alas, what if an artist came along that disrupted such a system? Creating work so unbelievably brilliant it would take some convincing for society to believe an AI model wasn't involved... welcome to the fantastical world of Benjamin Spiers, where Rene Magritte's dream-like hazes are fabulously replicated not only in style but in medium too. Yes - we're talking real oil paints people. Armed with a knack at surprising, shocking, wowing and of course, wooing, there is seemingly nothing Spiers can't do. Don't believe us? Travel to Venice before 7 September to bask in the the artist's inscrutably surrealist glory and see for yourself. For more information, click here.
AUDIO-VISUAL EXPERIENCE
Art Duo NONOTAK Team Up With Lumen Studios To Create Their Own Eclipse
Marking NONOTAK's first solo exhibition in London, ECLIPSE - an all-encompassing audio-visual experience - is set to envelop Londoners in a boundary-pushing synthesis of art and technology with the help of Lumen Studios, resulting in a series of mesmerising installations that'll have you in a trance all night long. 'Through the experience of ECLIPSE, we would like visitors to realise the power and impact of light on visual perception when combined with space and sound. Light, considered by us as a matter we sculpt, will express itself in its different forms throughout three installations curated for this experience' the creative duo said in an exclusive statement to SHOWstudio. If you're interested in the limits (or lack thereof) regarding light and sound, watch this space as day becomes night and night becomes day. For more information, click here.
EXHIBITION
David Zwirner Pays Attention To The Lives of Women and Girls In Exhibition By Sosa Joseph
Pennungal: Lives of Women and Girls is an incredibly touching, biographically-driven show that features a collection of paintings by Indian artist Sosa Joseph, whose work pays special attention to reveal intricately woven women-focused histories and communal stories. Reflecting on Joseph’s experiences and observations of the treatment of women and girls from her hometown of Parumala, this exhibition - the artist's first in Europe - aims to examine the societal and structural limitations that have long been imposed on women, a notion made all the more chilling coupled with Joseph's honest words; 'the entire upbringing of girls back then seemed to focus on "what not to become," with little emphasis on "what to become"'. For more information, click here.
EXHIBITION
Artist Don Brown Proves It's Never Too Late For A Late Summer Breeze
The flower has long been a subject of endless intrigue to artists anywhere and everywhere, with Don Brown being no exception thanks to his up-and-coming show at Sadie Coles titled A Late Summer Breeze, which depicts all things floral. Acting as a continuation to his solo exhibition of black-and-white flower paintings as seen in his 2023 exhibition at the gallery, Fleurs, Brown's fascination with mother nature is explored once more yet this time, in colour. Think of the most fabulous Redouté print you've ever laid eyes on then imagine it made up to fit the 21st century. This is only a small promise of what Brown's work offers and so if one thing is for sure, it looks like we're not the only ones experiencing a late summer breeze this upcoming September... for more information, click here.
EXHIBITION
Why James Capper Is An Artist You Need To Know
What happens when an artist combines painting with engineering and industrial processes? As it turns out, quite a lot. Confused? So are we - but thankfully Albion Jeune's latest exhibition Curve-based Syntax, featuring the sumptuous work of James Capper is here to save the day. Capper, whose abstract and intensely rich works are the result of custom-fabricated hydraulic machines rolled to distribute industrial marine paint across paper, is no stranger to modernism or science, for that matter. Grounded in Capper’s own research into speculative engineering, natural evolution, and biomimicry, Curve-based Syntax is a reflection of the physical capability machines have that allows them to imitate the Pattern Alphabet: a series of shapes used to catalogue the diversity of plant and animal species, which illustrate the way nature grows and forms from its most basic elements. Modern art at its finest. Watch this space for more information to come soon.
EXHIBITION
Emma Stern Urges You To Fall Down The Rabbit Hole
What happens when you fall down the rabbit hole? We're unsure of the fate that may meet us but Emma Stern isn't, after all, her latest show at Half Gallery in New York City is a miraculous orchestration of such possibility, where unknown characters lurk, waiting to act. Act on what, you ask? Again, we don't know. But Stern does - Stern knows a lot and so do her own characters which exist in Stern's made-up fantasy world. We'll say no more but we'll leave you pondering such rabbit holes existence for now. As for Stern's paintings? A joyous display of female sexuality influenced by too many factors to list here. Why don't you go see the show to find out for yourself? You certainly won't regret it. For more information, click here.