TOP 5 SHOWS IN LONDON (OCTOBER) BY SHALINI PASSI
London certainly has been the hub for contemporary art with major galleries introducing creative geniuses. October has been nothing short of exciting this year for art enthusiasts, with Frieze running parallely. White Cube, Timothy Taylor, Barbican, Lisson, and Thaddaeus Ropac presented us with some phenomenal solo shows.
THEASTER GATES, Oh, The Wind Oh, The Wind, WHITE CUBE, LONDON
‘My hope was to strip the material back to its most basic form then call forth the potency of ritual, utility and philosophy and end up at new bodies of work and new ways of thinking about other forms.’
– Theaster Gates
Oh, The Wind Oh, The Wind is an exhibit by White Cube London, featuring works by sculptor Theaster Gates. The artist works across various sculptural mediums and installation art. He aims in abridging art and life. He often collaborates with various creative geniuses for his projects to push the boundaries of how we perceive art. He explores engender racism, and the denigration of Black identity through his artforms.
ANNIE MORRIS, TIMOTHY TAYLOR, LONDON
Annie Morris is a multi-disciplinary artist based in London. She is popularly known for her colorful Stack series of sculptures which are manually molded spheres casted in bronze. She commenced the Stack series in 2014 which was a form of catharsis for her grief over a personal event of stillbirth. Morris’s Stack series of sculptures immediately lights up any space. These sculptures are metaphoric of hope and creativity. This exhibit is a solo show of Annie Morris at Timothy Taylor, London, ongoing from 6 October – 13 November.
SHILPA GUPTA, Sun At Night, BARBICAN, LONDON
For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit (2017–18) is an experiential art installation and soundscape which is a part of the current exhibit at the Barbican called Sun at Night. Exhibited at the Barbican, it comprises 100 microphones suspended from the roof. Following the number, 100 metal spikes pierce a paper each, inscribed with a poetic verse. The writings are by a poet incarcerated for their creative writings and voicing their opinions. This acts as a metaphor for reality, voices, and opinions being silenced. The papers include poems from the 8th -21st centuries. This particular work by the artist has been very well received globally, furthermore, critically acclaimed. There are few more works exhibited at Barbican, The show is live from 7 October until 6 February, 2022.
ANISH KAPOOR, LISSON GALLERY, LONDON
This exhibit at Lisson Gallery sets a tone apart with Anish Kapoor’s new series of paintings that present a new visual language. The common ground in previous and current visual language is the ritualistic nature, further explored. Through the new series of paintings, the artist has zoomed into the human psyche through forms of flesh and blood. Kapoor had created this set of works during the dire pandemic, based out of his studio. The installations furthermore dwell into the primal identity. The exhibit also includes a few unseen works by the artist. The exhibit started on 14 September and runs until 30 October 2021 at Lisson Gallery, London.
Ron Mueck 25 Years Of Sculpture, THADDAEUS ROPAC, LONDON
Ron Mueck’s sculptures were exhibited for the first time at Thaddaeus Ropac titled ‘25 years of Ron Mueck’. The show enables us to understand Mueck’s artistic journey of 2.5 decades. The artworks included the human life cycle from pregnancy (via Pregnant Woman, 2002), birth (via Mother and Child, 2003) to adulthood (Youth, 2009-11) and death (via Dead Weight). The narrative running through the hyper-realistic sculptures is heart-felt and emotive. This exhibit is live at Thaddaeus Ropac London, until 27 November, 2021.
Text by Shalini Passi
Image Courtesy: Shalini Passi, Barbican and Timothy Taylor
Find out more about the shows, galleries and artists:
https://ropac.net/exhibitions/600-ron-mueck-25-years-of-sculpture-19962021/
https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2021/event/shilpa-gupta-sun-at-night
https://www.timothytaylor.com/exhibitions/annie-morris-1/
https://www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/anish-kapoor-f45a2ea5-2851-4c49-bdb9-597df8019cb9
https://whitecube.com/exhibitions/exhibition/theaster_gates_masons_yard_2021
