PENGUINS!!! š§
I donāt know if that gets your attention, but it sure gets mine. Iāve been patiently waiting for The Great Waddle of Worcester to officially open ever since I heard about it last year. It didnāt disappoint. In fact, the only gripes I can even come up with are that itās located about 6 hours away (round trip) and has too many penguins to be able to properly enjoy them all in one afternoon. Would I go back again? Absolutely. Will I? Probably not, given the cost and time to do so. But I took 280 photos so that I donāt have to! My detailed review should be ready later in the week, but if you want a sneak peek Iāve added some photos to my Outdoor Sculpture Trail Guide.
Visiting Worcester was a long but enjoyable day out, because summer is the perfect time to go exploring. Especially since most of the art world goes into hibernation in August. However, if youād prefer to stay in London to see some art, this weekās shows are all in Fitzrovia and still open, but please do double check opening days/times before you plan any visits.
Issue 118
This week is a focus on Fitzrovia. Featuring: Brian Dawn Chalkley at Lungley; Ilona Szalay at Arusha; Agata Przyżycka at Sarah Kravitz; J. Carino at PM/AM. Plus three more shows that recently made the Roundup, all based a short walk away from the four in this weekās issue.
Read the full issue online for mini-reviews of each show, with over two dozen photos!
More Reviews:
In addition to the Roundup, hereās a show I recently reviewed:
Joy Labinjo - We Are Briefly Gorgeous @ Southwark Park Galleries
I am alone in the gallery but surrounded by love.
What else, and what didnāt make the cut?
Thereās not much to list in this section since my recent focus was only on Fitzrovia where there are now over three dozen galleries ā yes, really! ā but many are now shut for the summer or I had already seen their most recent shows. In addition to the ones in the Roundup, two that I attended were short-run affairs now ended.
Popular venue-for-hire Fitzrovia Gallery hosted a pop-up for a recent RCA grad who had some superb charcoal and watercolour drawings.
Recently opened ST.ART Gallery hosted the ā(Actually) Attainable Art Fair!ā which had a Ā£600 limit for any single work of art. Although nothing really blew me away, a few things caught my eye and the quality of the work was generally commensurate with the price point and early emerging artist demographic. What was truly impressive, however, was the overall organisation and presentation of the event. Many artists were on site to discuss their works, everything was clearly labelled and easy to view, and they even created a full colour guidebook with bios of every artist. This st.art-up event was just as professionally run as some of the much larger, annually recurring fairs, and it was free! Iām hoping that it was successful for both artists and gallery as it really showed that a lot of effort went into it.
Alas, not much effort was made at Des Bains to answer their door at 3pm on a Friday afternoon despite multiple rings of their buzzer. Should I go back and try again? š¤
Anonymous Art Anecdotes
Humans pass gas at least a dozen times a day, which might explain why museums and galleries are so well ventilated. But just like my sarcastic criticism I try to keep my wind to myself until Iām well outside the premises. Occasionally, howeverā¦
Last week I went to visit Paul Purgasā very dimly lit, immersive installation at the Dilston Gallery. When I arrived at the lobby the invigilator led me to the space, opened the door and advised me to be careful because it was dark inside. I let my eyes adjust then found a place to sit on the old alter while I listened to the sonic elements.
I blame the deep tones that resonated and reverberated around the old church and through my body, but Iām not ashamed to say I briefly added a short tone of my own. I figured it was safe to let one out because it was dark and I was alone. Exceptā¦ I wasnāt.
A short time later I carefully navigated my way back to the door which unexpectedly openedā¦ by the same invigilator who had let me in earlier! I didnāt realise they quietly snuck into the shadows and stayed inside while I was with the work. I wondered if theyād heard my acoustic accompaniment, but I wasnāt about to ask.
Looking aheadā¦
Hereās a variety of East-ish London shows that are open or opening soon.
āEarth Beneath Her Feetā, a solo show of new pigment works by Sarah Needham, is at Broadworks from 30 July - 11 August.
Haricot Galleryās summer party is on Wed 31 July from 6-8pm, and the current show āBreeze Blocksā runs until 17 August.
Submit to Love at Headway East London is home to more than 40 artists living with a brain injury, who re-discover their creative talents and develop unique styles and techniques. They are having an Open Studio from 5-8pm on Thu 01 August where you will be able to see and buy artworks and merchandise made by the artists and enjoy refreshments from the cafe. Free, but registration required.
Dreamscapes at Hypha Studios East (50 Celebration Avenue, Stratford E20 1DB) is anlready open and runs until 17 August.
CORNERED by Marc-AureĢle Debut is at The Bomb Factory Holborn (99 Kingsway,Ā WC2B 6QX) is already open and runs until 26 August.
PS ā Thank you!
I just wanted to say Thank You to everyone that likes and/or comments on these newsletters. The Substack stats let me know who are the repeat readers and which of you have clicked a link, but itās your own feedback that means the most. Thank you!