SHOWNews: Your Weekly Arts Bulletin
EXHIBITION
In the Seams by Søren Arildsen at The Artist Room
'I believe there are certain moments that take hold of you; it might not be clear to you in the moment, but your subconscious has already bookmarked it. And it returns to you like a midnight tide, washing over you and pulling you back out' describes artist Søren Arildsen. Emerging from the heat of his Stay Still exhibition at Bricks Gallery last summer, Arildsen is returning from his midnight tide with a new series of oil paintings titled In the Seams, where artist-made porcelain frames hug earthy oils of Arilden’s memories and daydreams, invoking a comfortable familiarity. If you’re super keen, you could even wear the pictures, as Plaster magazine is collaborating with Arildsen for some limited-edition t-shirts.
In the Seams at The Artist Room is open to the public from March 26 to April 26. T-shirts will be available to buy at the opening today, between 6 and 8pm. More information is available here.
EXHIBITION
$ID3FA££ $YNDR0M3 by Louis Morlæ at Rose Easton
Since 15 March, Rose Easton has been occupied by the industrial sculptures of Louis Morlæ for his new exhibition $ID3FA££ $YNDR0M3 - otherwise known as Sidefall Syndrome. Visitors are invited into an imagined world where gravity has shifted, and the very fabric of our existence has been thrown off-centre. ‘It’s about allowing others to enter the space and have these disjointed, asynchronous experiences with the object’, Morlæ said in a previous interview, referencing how his bionic forms stand in opposition to the corporeal body, purposefully invoking the feeling of anxiety. ‘These works engage with the sensation of guttural fear but also the elation that you might feel when you’re in free fall,’ adds Morlæ. It’s a sort of doomsday, tinfoil hat occasion. You have to see it to believe it.
$ID3FA££ $YNDR0M3 at Rose Easton is open to the public from 15 March to 26 April.
EXHIBITION
Motel Nudes by Lorena Lohr at Soho Revue
We suggest you bring a magnifying glass to this one because it’s quite small. No really, it's micro, not macro. Following her Desert Nudes series, the artist Lorena Lohr is exhibiting a new collection of beautiful yet minuscule paintings in a show titled Motel Nudes. Tiny naked ladies peer out of antique portholes, languid in luxurious reverie. Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out how to be a good feminist: is my short skirt empowering or demeaning? Is going braless too sexual, or freeing? These ladies don’t care. Maybe they’re playing up to the male gaze, but they’re also reclaiming power. Stomachs at ease, smoke rings circle their seraphic bodies. You almost want to be them, or at least hang them on your wall. Cool, calm and nude, the ladies invite you into their world, but only as a visitor. There is no space for another character - and not everyone is wanted anyway. Apart from you, you're invited!
Motel Nudes at Soho Revue is open to the public from 19 March to 19 April.
EXHIBITION
Selah by Gabriel Moses at 180 Studios
‘He is, I think, the most exciting photographer of his generation,’ says Nick Knight, as he reminisces on his brief meeting with Gabriel Moses. ‘This is a young man who is having a meteoric rise to fame.’
At 26 years old Moses is - very much already - one for the history books. Don't believe us? Friday will mark the opening of his latest exhibition at 180 Studios titled Selah; his biggest yet. Even better, tickets are yet to sell out, which means if you missed Moses' previous exhibition, Regina, there's still time to immerse yourself in his work - and grab a ticket while you can! We promise this isn't one to miss. Among the usual velvet and midnight hues, a new film will premier titled The Last Hour which follows a young man's journey in pursuit of solace and redemption and although we won't say much, we will say its intense beauty will make you weep. ‘There’s something which flows through Gabriel’s work which is a sort of music,’ says Nick Knight. ‘It’s glorious'. Surrender to the sublime beauty of Selah, and you will not look back.
Selah at 180 Studios is open to the public from 28 March until 27 July. Tickets start at £15.
EXHIBITION
Significant Signatures at Waddesdon Manor
Nowadays, the practice of letter writing seems to be reserved for rather over-the-top Instagram posts, or seen as something that can ‘romanticise your life.’ Fortuitous texting is second nature, and the efficiency of printers make writing by hand seem silly. Alas, couldn't you argue that the modern invention of type means we’ve lost an element of ourselves? The curve of our letters, the individuality of a signature, and the freedom of a blank page have been switched for blue screens and coded numbers. In the fin de siècle period of the 1880s and 1890s, the value of a wet signature was something of a sensation. The practice of letter collecting was at its peak, and nobody had a more prized selection than Baron Edmond de Rothschild.
Stashed in his family home at Waddesdon Manor, the hoard lay undisturbed until just last year. Inside letters were discovered from historical celebrities like Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and Lord Byron (1788-1824), which Rothschild had purchased for goodness knows how much. In celebration of their newly acquired treasure, Waddesdon Manor are exhibiting the letters in their Family Room from 26 March to 2 November: It’s a glitterati occasion, and everyone’s invited.
Significant Signatures at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, is open to the public from 26 March to 2 November.
EXHIBITION
Salt Marsh Hay by Beau Gabriel at C.G. Williams
Wild countryside scenes of summer jaunts, equestrian antics, and casual nudes have roamed into Bloomsbury’s newest addition, the C.G. Williams gallery, which opened its doors to the public for the first time on 21 March. Born from a promiscuous mixture of New England sea shanties, the poems of Louise Glück and baroque musical forms, Salt Marsh Hay is effectively a five act play, reinterpreted in painterly form. The actors? Old lovers, friends and family, frozen on canvases. Their words? A poetic triptych by novelist Sophie de B. It’s an allegorical celebration of moments lost and time passed with Bea Gabriel reaching for a life already lived. Reviving childhood memories, Salt Marsh Hay touches on Gabriel’s relationship with his home and struggle with depression. It’s both deeply personal and a depiction of the wider human experience. Perhaps we’re all a bit prone to nostalgia, but not all of us can depict it so beautifully.
Salt Marsh Hay at C.G Williams is open to the public until 25 April.
EXHIBITION
Anxious to Please by Ottolie Landmark at Photo Book Café
In recent years, kinks have sashayed their way from the bedroom into art and fashion. No longer a taboo, clubs like Torture Garden and Electowerkz are rites of passage in London’s nightlife circuit. Everyone seems to have a bit of latex in their wardrobe and Danish photographer and SHOWstudio contributor Ottilie Landmark is certainly one who would know. She has straddled the saddles of voyeurism and fashion photography for a long time, burning her place on the scene with Sinéad O'Dwyer, and capturing quarantined OnlyFans models for i-D in 2020. To fund her new book Anxious To Please, Landmark is hosting a weekend exhibition at London’s Photo Book Café. Expect erotic readings, voyeuristic snapshots, and risqué artist panels.
All prints on display will be available to purchase, and funds raised at the three day event will go towards supporting the completion of Anxious To Please. The opening is on 28 March 18:00 - 22:00 GMT. For an hour of erotic literature excerpts, come at 14:00 on 29 March. Ticked your fancy? Learn more here.