Warning: Latex
w/c 13 July 2026
Over the last month I started noticing something I’d never previously seen at art exhibitions: latex warning labels.
I’ve seen a lot of art with latex over the years but had never once seen an alert. Maybe I just hadn’t been paying close enough attention? Because from my vantage point latex has, seemingly overnight, become the new peanut allergy. (Readers of a certain age are now fondly reminiscing about stuffing their face with salty peanuts on an airplane while fanning away the cigarette smoke from the nervous flyer in the next seat.) I’ve been asking around as to why this is and although I haven’t yet heard a satisfactory answer for the recent prevalence of signage one thing is clear: a latex allergy isn’t just something that causes itchy eyes or sneezing.
Latex can trigger anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition that can cause throat swelling and serious difficulty breathing. “Be still my heart” might be one of the best compliments someone can give when they see a work of art, but causing your audience to literally lose their breath is not the type of outcome an artist wants to be known for.
One final note: all the signs I’ve seen have been at student degree shows.
I’d love to hear from other art visitors/galleries/curators/etc. if this as a new/recent thing, or have latex warnings been there all along and I just never noticed?
More Reviews:
Here’s another student degree show recap in case you missed it. It was good!
Newcastle University BA Fine Art 2026 London Showcase
Highlights from a highlights show.
Short reviews of everything I saw last week.
If you’re new or need a refresh: here’s an explanation of the ratings categories.
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👍🏻 IF YOU’RE IN THE AREA — but don’t go out of your way…
Miłość - Zach Toppin (Haggerston) — The intimate objects, personal mementos and banal practicalities featured in these still life paintings made me feel like I was snooping around the flat of a enigmatic neighbour who left me their keys to water their one single plant while they’re away. 🗓️ Until 08 Aug
Phillida Reid - Prem Sahib (Tottenham Court Road) — If sitting in a cool, dimly lit room watching the shadow of a dog slowly sniff its way along the walls sounds like an ideal way to escape the London heatwave, then have I got the show for you! It’s actually quite engrossing, thanks to the ominous white noise soundtrack and the occasional morphed shapes that make you wonder if maybe, just maybe, you’re not watching a fanciful puppy but the spectre of a gallery demon. 🗓️ Until 25 Jul
Royal Drawing School - Frank Bowling (Shoreditch) — Sketching and drawing are an integral foundation for all artists, and these early works and archival photos provide a fascinating insight into the approach and ongoing process of one of Britain’s greatest living abstract painters. 🗓️ Until 22 Aug
Seventeen - Autopsy (group show) (Haggerston) — If you’ve ever got sucked into an online conspiracy theory rabbit hole then you’ll love this exhibition, which has strong ‘internet troll basement flat’ vibes, chocolate made with breast milk, and the actual model that features in The Alien Autopsy Scandal. 🗓️ Until 15 Aug
The Showroom - Harold Offeh (Edgware Road) — Performance art is tedious but I’m still recommending this show because (A) all the videos run simultaneously and are mostly short, and (B) Offeh’s works are incredibly amusing and highly satirical without dipping too many toes into the land of farce, a tricky balance in work that is loaded with social critique. 🗓️ Until 15 Aug
Tate Britain - Hurvin Anderson (Pimlico) — A new artist for me that felt incredibly familiar. Partly due to the repetition throughout both his career and this show, but also, as I am theorising, his ‘ghostly’ washed out approach to landscapes and figurative has proven incredibly influential to the emerging generation of artists working today. 🗓️ Until 23 Aug (£ ticketed)
Tate Britain - James McNeill Whistler (Pimlico) — Yes, you’ll see Arrangement in Grey and Black, No.1 (aka Whistler’s Mother) but this retrospective of an influential and contentious artist (he famously sued critic John Ruskin after a bad review!) is a comprehensive overview that includes many drawings, some absolutely fantastic etching and dry point prints, and a recreation of The Peacock Room, the artist’s only surviving decorative interior, along with an audio clip that recreates/imagines the controversy it caused. 🗓️ Until 27 Sept (£ ticketed)
Anonymous Art Anecdotes
Actual e-mail reply sent to me after I shared the link to my review:
“Thanks so much for the kind words Dan!”
Praise is praise, but no one named Dan writes, or has ever written, for London Art Roundup.
Looking ahead…
Note: Most galleries close for an August summer break, which is why many of the shows opening this week have an extended run on the calendar.
England 🏴 v 🇦🇷 Argentina — 15 July, 8pm UK time
Backyard Biennial East by Whitechapel Gallery — 15 Jul - 06 Sep
Richard Pettibone @ Timothy Taylor — 16 Jul - 21 Aug
Andrew Salgado @ BEERS — 17 Jul - 15 Aug
Brent McKeever @ SETAREH — 17 Jul - 03 Sep
James Lomax @ Sid Motion Gallery — 17 Jul - 05 Sep
Scarlet Topley and Ed Ruscha @ Interval — 18 Jul - 05 Sep
Want more options? The Art Listings Arms Race has an overview eighteen platforms that provide London art show listings, plus more are mentioned in the comments.
The Gallery Entry Game
Well done if you correctly recognised last week’s entry was Sylvia Kouvali, located at 12a Bourdon Stret, W1K 3PG, because almost all the units along the mews look identical as they were built ~1890s as stabling for the carriage-owning residents of nearby streets. The gallery originally opened in 2007 in Istanbul under the name Rodeo, which it kept until Kouvali’s eponymous rebrand in 2024. The small space often packs a big punch, frequently showing experimental works that challenge traditional artistic assumptions. And the original tiled interior is gorgeous!
Check your inbox on Friday morning for another new entry entry! (That’s not a typo.)
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 a comment and let me know!
I have no idea if the latex warnings are new to art, and worrying if they are given, I've known about latex allergies my whole adult life - in my dissection days, you had the choice of nitrile gloves if you had a latex allergy.