Highlights from London Gallery Weekend 2024
The London Gallery Weekend was held from 31 May-2 June 2024. This unique event celebrates art from all over the globe amidst the scenic London architecture and cultural diversity. The vivacious art galleries feature a multitude of artists and the shows curate walk throughs and opportunities to interact with artists, gallerists, art aficionados and collectors over the three-day extravaganza.
Here are the key highlights:
1. Nan Goldin
Venue: Gagosian Open, 83 Charing Cross Road, London
Gagosian Shop, 28–29 Burlington Arcade
Date: 30 May-23 June
Image courtesy: Nan Goldin & Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian presents an exhibition featuring Nan Goldin’s photographs from the 1970s onward. First, ‘Sisters, Saints, Sibyls,’ is a three-channel video installation, that dwells into the issues of rebellion, the artist’s suicide and death. The film starts with the myth of Saint Barbara, and presents her story as a three-channel projection that echoes the triptych format of classical religious painting. The images of Saint Barbara are accompanied by a voiceover that describes her defiance of her parents’ beliefs, for which she was tortured. The film itself is akin to the real subject of Goldin’s film — her sister, Barbara; who was sent to a psychiatric detention center at age twelve and later took her own life, which prompted Goldin to escape the confines of her home and pursue her passion as an artist.
The venue itself deserves a special mention — once a Welsh chapel, it transformed into ‘The Limelight’ nightclub in the 1980s. Originally built in 1888 by James Cubitt, this landmark has seen many changes and today is home to Stone Nest; an arts organization dedicated to showcasing exceptional and experimental art to the public.
The Gagosian’s Shop in the Burlington Arcade is displaying Goldin’s black-and-white photographs of Boston’s transgender community and also a curated room of books by her favourite artists and writers including publications about her own work.
2. Dayanita Singh
Venue: Firth Street Gallery
Date: 17 May-29 June
Image courtesy: Dayanita Singh and Frith Street Gallery, London
For Delhi-based artist Dayanita Singh — and many of her photographic peers — the book reigns supreme, serving as her primary medium. Her fascination with the archive drives her bookmaking and installation experiments, resulting in “mobile museums” adaptable to various spaces or readers’ hands.
In a departure, Singh unveils her first sculpture devoid of photographs, yet still evoking bookshelf aesthetics and architectural intrigue. Additionally, she debuts wall-mounted “constructed contact sheets,” drawing from diverse photographic subjects like the Ellora Caves and Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp Chapel, as well as her own museum installations.
3. Kiki Kogelnik
Venue: Pace Gallery
Date: 24 May-3 Aug
Image courtesy: Kiki Kogelnik Foundation
“Kiki Kogelnik: The Dance” marks the London debut of the pioneering artist’s work. Drawing from the allegorical Danse Macabre, the exhibition explores Kogelnik’s profound exploration of outer space’s possibilities and perils, alongside her relationship with the abstracted twentieth-century body. Spanning three decades, the showcase presents Kogelnik’s futuristic visual language, conveying the universal fragility of terrestrial life embellished with hearts in kitschy colours.
4. Adam Rouhana: Before Freedom Pt 2
Venue: TJ Goulding Gallery, 59 Riding House St, Fitzrovia
Dates: 30 May to 22 June 2024
Image courtesy: Adam Rouhana
‘Before Freedom Pt. 2’, showcasing 2024 creations, draws from Palestine’s lush spring and fertile land. Adam Rouhana, through photography, challenges supremacist visual narratives, intertwining geopolitics, memory, and reality. The exhibit redefines subjectivity by critiquing dominant representations. Inspired by Amilcar Cabral, it vividly reflects Palestinian life, rejecting domination for collective cultural growth.
Curated by Lobna Sana, it extends Adam’s acclaimed ‘Before Freedom’ series, gaining global attention from outlets like The New York Times and Aperture.
5. Otobong Nkanga: We Come from Fire and Return to Fire
Venue: Lisson Gallery
Dates: 24 May – 3 August 2024
Image courtesy: Otobong Nkanga & Lisson Gallery
For her debut at Lisson Gallery, Otobong Nkanga unveils a mix of sculptures, tapestries, and a sound installation, blending materials like clay, rope, glass, and herbs. Incorporating stones and minerals, she crafts a grand carpet evoking natural landscapes, alongside ceramic towers resembling scorched trees. Amid hints of devastation, there’s a counterbalance of hope — be it in rejuvenating pools, essential oil scents, or purifying powders.
Text by Shalini Passi
Image Courtesy: Nan Goldin, Gagosian Gallery, Dayanita Singh, Frith Street Gallery, Kiki Kogelnik Foundation, Adam Rouhana, Otobong Nkanga and Lisson Gallery
Find out more about London Gallery Weekend, the galleries, and their shows:
https://londongalleryweekend.art/
https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2024/nan-goldin-sisters-saints-sibyls/
https://www.frithstreetgallery.com/exhibitions/227-dayanita-singh/
https://www.pacegallery.com/exhibitions/kiki-kogelnik-the-dance/
https://www.tjboulting.com/adam-rouhana-the-revolution-cannot-be-built-on-dreams-alone
