Issue 128 - Great expectations
Issue 128 - Great expectations
w/c 21 October 2024
Let’s talk about expectations.
It’s a topic I’ve been thinking about because everyone I’ve spoken to in the past few weeks has asked me what I thought about Frieze. The short answer is that there weren’t enough artworks that caught my eye from across an aisle and made me make a beeline into the booth. It’s not because the art was bad. It’s because my sky high expectations weren’t met.
From the very first iteration 21 years ago Frieze established itself as the preeminent fair for contemporary art. Showing cutting edge works from both established blue chip and young upstart galleries, Frieze was the place to have your mind blown by some of the most avant-garde artists working today. Unfortunately, the post-COVID years have seen almost all the booths play it a bit too safe. The results — and not the sales, because there are always sales — speak for themselves. Most reviews of Frieze, including from galleries I’ve spoken to, are the equivalent of shrugging your shoulders and going “meh”.
At the other end of the spectrum the experience is inverted, which is why I spend so much time seeking out independent shows and new venues. Unlike the mega Mayfair galleries, where I expect the highest production quality, London has quite a few venues-for-hire where I walk in with my fingers crossed hoping works will at least be hung straight. I don’t always set my expectations at the lowest level, but I’m also not assuming my mind will be blown. Consequently, I spend a lot more time examining work and asking questions about the artist’s practice and intentions, and I often find the experience a lot more rewarding because of it.
Most places I visit, however, land somewhere in-between those extremes and that’s when expectations are arguably the hardest to meet, because they become subject to a variety of nuances too long to list in this not-so-short into. For now I’ll just say that regardless of where I end up my hope is always the same. I just want to have an engaging and emotional experience. Ideally I’ll be wowed.
So… what do you expect when you set out to see art?
Issue 128
Eggs, Hell, India and an anniversary. In London you can find a group show for anything! Featuring group shows at Barbican, Maximillian William, TJ Boulting and Unit London.
Read the full issue online for mini-reviews of each show, with 32 photos.
More Reviews:
Here’s a show that inspired me to write a full review:
Alexis Peskine - Forest Figures @ October Gallery
Peskine’s third solo presents an exciting evolution to his practice.
What else, and what didn’t make the cut?
I saw 28 shows last week. Yes, twenty-eight! In addition to the five linked above, here’s some one-line reviews to help you decide what else you might want to see.
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👍🏻 IF YOU’RE IN THE AREA — but don’t go out of your way…
Bobbi Essers at Unit London and Nelleke Cloosterman at Indigo+Madder are both exploring some very interesting concepts with layering but I’d like to see these pushed much further. Right now they land somewhere in the ‘clever’ category.
Bomb Factory, PEER and Soft Opening all have shows with some ok sculptural installations but far more interesting videos. Set aside some time to sit and enjoy them if you plan to go.
Commonage / No Show Space — Salt lick blocks, silk covered curved mirrors, bluetooth headphones hacked to be speakers and watery bogs. There’s a lot of experimental fun in this show spread across two nearby galleries.
Workplace — Pei Wang’s enigmatic paintings look like stills from a David Lynch film.
Hauser & Wirth — Jack Witten makes me dizzy, literally. Are these really painted and is there a legitimate reason to make art that could trigger an epileptic fit? That’s probably an easier debate than George Rouy. The kid’s got talent but I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. Dare I say it… but I doubt these works would be hanging in H&W if they had been made by a female painter.
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👎🏻 NOPE — you can give these shows a skip:
Carl Kostyal - The 3D printed plaster statue is kinda cool, but the “paintings” make Slawn look like Picasso.
Huxley-Parlour — Wins last week’s award for the images that I used the most to make snarky jokes in my group chats.
Modern Art — In almost every instance the machine process to make the works was more interesting than the output.
Pace — I got yelled at by security for shining my iPhone torch at the Robert Longo glass while trying to see the colours more clearly. The Genesis Belanger ceramics are good, but are they craft?
Pilar Corrias — Three shows. Two venues. One underwhelmed art critic.
Rhodes Contemporary — I arrived to find a sign that said “ring bell for entry” but the preview through the window didn’t entice me to do so.
Sherbet Green — The four works by five artists go very well together, but none of them were to my taste.
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🛑 NOW ENDED — it’s too late to see these…
I quite enjoyed the shows at Fitzrovia Chapel, Muse at 269 and Union Gallery, which should come as no surprise as these three venues are pretty dependable. If you haven’t been to any of them, they’re worth a visit.
Anonymous Art Anecdotes
I decided to visit the gallery that I wrote about in last week’s anecdote. I made sure to arrive at least a few hours after their stated opening time, on a day when their website indicated they should be open. They were not.
Later that evening I discovered they posted an advance apology on social media about being closed. I didn’t see it, because I don’t have time to triple check web, socials and tea leaves just to ensure galleries adhere to their own hours. Luckily for me they happened to be located within a cluster of other venues I was visiting, so it’s not like I went out of my way to be let down. My frustration was limited, but my confusion was off the charts. That’s because when I buzzed to get access… someone answered!
Buzzer voice: “Hello?”
Me: “I’m here to see the art show. Is it open?”
Buzzer voice: “There’s nobody there.”
Me: “Isn’t the gallery open today?”
Buzzer voice: “You need to call them.”
In last week’s anecdote my art friend arrived on a day when they weren’t open, and like me they rang the buzzer and had a very similar chat. The buzzer, by the way, is not one of those new-fangled WiFi-enabled video devices that can be routed to a smart phone. It’s an old fashioned, metal mechanical button with a bad speaker behind a rusty grill. That means it’s hardwired to somewhere in the building.
I’m starting to wonder if the gallery is actually just some ambitious art student in his bedroom, and his father is getting very annoyed by all his artsy friends coming round and buzzing when he’s supposed to be doing his homework.
I mean… who the hell keeps answering the buzzer?
Looking ahead…
Hurry! These two shows end on Saturday 26 October…
The Gallery Entry Game
How many of you are actively looking before you walk in the gallery?
Here’s this week’s challenge. What gallery is secured behind a heavy steel door?
Go on, have a guess. It’s easier than trying to open that door!
Good luck! The answer will be in next week’s newsletter.
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79% of you knew that last week’s gallery was Camden Art Centre, and I am super impressed since the image I used wasn’t even the entrance. Well done, everyone! 👏
What else would you like to see / read / know?
Thanks for making it all the way to the end of my Newsletter. Did you like what you read? Was there something else you expected? Leave an comment and let me know!
I had to Google to make sure it was a real gallery and you hadn't made it up as a joke to see who clicked on it. 🤣
Hi Darren
Thanks for going to see the Dante’s Inferno show at Unit Mayfair.You are right the work selected was not made for the show but it works. By the way I had the same response to the Bobbie Essers show although I really liked meeting her ( we are both Dutch), the idea/ composition was interesting but the execution a bit light weight for my taste. That said she was hailed as artist to watch by Frieze magazine and her show sold out on the opening night.