Who to Watch: Helen Carmel Benigson

Helen Carmel Benigson, Super Wet, 2011

Last night I walked into Rollo Contemporary and witnessed a private viewing like I’ve never seen before. There was a poker game being played, visceral videos of dance offs, and later on in the evening Princess Belsize Dollar did a performance for us rapping. Princess Belisize Dollar is the alter-ego of Helen Carmel Benigson. The exhibition is over saturation, and completely overwhelming. The pop colours and noise are hard to drown out, but after all that’s the idea.

Beyond the pink there is much more to the work. Working around the themes of the body, identity, space and borders Benigson takes her work to a new place, examining feminism is a post-feminist world. This world is honest and unashamed.

Most of the photographic works were taken in either Israel or South Africa both of which relate to Benigson’s biography. Her works depend on layers — both layers of narrative as well as layers of images — some of which come from the internet, some of which she has taken herself.

The exhibition’s feature work is Queen of the Scene which is a loud and bright video. Filmed in Peckham and Israel, the film takes us through 3 separate narratives which all link together relating to the empowered woman (think cheating on boyfriends, partying hard, and dancing).

Benigson is going places — she’s definitely an artist to watch, and at this stage still very affordable with works starting around £1,500. The exhibition is open until 13 January, but I do suggest you go see it.

 

What to See: 28 – 30 October

Tom Thomson The Jack Pine, 1916 1917 Oil on canvas, 127.9 x 139.8 cm National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

Now that there has been a break from Frieze, its time to see all the new exhibitions. October is arguably the most exciting month for new openings. For exhibitions at major galleries it is great as we all get a couple extra months to see them all. For this weekend I would suggest:

1. The Dulwich Picture Gallery is a stunning gem in the rough (though Dulwich is not so rough) down in South East London. Recently they opened Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. This really is a wonderful exhibition and the first time to see these works out of Canada since the 1930s.

2. George Condo: Mental States has opened at The Hayward, having traveled from The New Museum in New York this is his first major retrospective. Having been on the scene since the 1980s this exhibition really delves into his style. While humuorous and provocative; he also reflects on Western relationships with painting. There is more than meets the eye with his work.

3. On the lines of fictitious portriture is Jonathan Wateridges canvases on view at All Visual Arts. Different to Condo, as these works are figurative almost in a hyper-sensory style; however the scenes and characters are completely fabricated. He paints as though he is creating a movie-set, each work has details superseding a typical portrait.

4. Grayson Perry has an exhibition on at the British Museum which seems to be a cabinet of curiousities. Shown alongside with other works in the museums collection his vases with wity phrases, and tapestries highlight the idea of craftsmanship while still maintaining a high aesthetic affect.

5. On a very different level is Jacob Kassey on view at the ICA. Pegged as the art worlds new darling as his prices has sky rocketed in a very short time. This has typically not been seen as a good thing. That said; his works speak for themselves. This is his first solo institutional exhibition for the American arist and it features his pared back canvases that are at once painting and sculpture.

Thoughts on Frieze 2011

The overall feeling this year at Frieze was that galleries were playing it safe. Personally I don’t think this was a bad thing because the focus shifted from more difficult works such as film and installation to a more commercial type of art; mainly painting and photography. What I thought was great about it, was there was a lot of really strong painting. In recent years, this shift has taken place, often blamed on the recession but I think it also has to be noted that artist’s are painting a lot more, the medium is back and as strong as ever.

John Kørner, The Flood, Courtesy of Victoria Miro

A couple of highlights for me included John Kørner’s The Flood. If you’re not familiar with his work, he really is one to watch. Shown at Victoria Miro, he is still rather young and based in Copenhagen, Kørner’s canvases are rhythmic and descriptive. The Flood depicts a figure walking through a flooded street with their bicycle. The narrative is left at that as the figure has neither a face nor hands so identity, gender, and emotion are all stripped away. I found over the week I kept coming back to this painting and each time enjoyed it more. Retailed around EUR 35,000 Kørner is still affordable.

Rashid Johnson, Wanted, Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth

Another standout artist Quintessentially Art has been following is Rashid Johnson. He has had a continuous build up of critical attention starting in 2001, which is reaching another inflection point this year. You can see how Johnson’s work at the world’s best contemporary art event, the Venice Biennale, while on a more commercial note he was one of the highlights of Hauser & Wirth’s booth. The work Wanted reflects the viewer, while assembling a variety of esoteric items that together form an expression of the African American experience in America, peeling back layers until a universal core is revealed. At USD 75,000, Wanted promises to be a worthwhile purchase, as the artist is moving to the next level of his career.

George Condo, French Maid, Courtesy of Xavier Hufkens

George Condo is another favourite of ours. With major presence in both the UK and US right now he’s about to launch into the next level of his career. At the fair Xavier Hufkens had a beautiful canvas entitled French Maid painted in 2005. This painting really reflects Condo’s fascination with Picasso, the cubist period as well as incorporating various facets of history of art into his works. At USD 375,000 the Condo market has steadily climbed for decades and that’s the direction I think it will keep going in.

Gerhard Richter, Strip (CR921-1), Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery

Ever so topical right now is Gerhard Richter, especially as his exhibition just opened at the Tate Modern. That said, his Strip (CR921-1), painted this year really is spectacular. Marian Goodman confidently had this work for sale, and I don’t think she regretted it. At the end of the fair it still hadn’t been sold (asking price was GBP 1.5 million), but it was on hold for a museum. Expanding on his colour studies this painting takes it to the next level using a rigorous system of parallel lines. In the painting there are 8190 strips which are mirrored and repeated creating patterns within the work. This new series of his, I think will continue for a while — meaning now is the time to buy them!

FRIEZE: What to go See

We’re coming up to the most exciting time of year in London, but the most difficult part is to figure out what to see!

Obviously Frieze is number one on everyone’s list but I thought I’d take a moment to highlight some other things going on in the city that are worth checking out. Lots of these are running only for the duration of the fair, so make sure you go next week!

 

1.  The Museum of Everything was the highlight of Frieze Week for the last 2 years – and this year it has taken over Selfridges! Check our their windows on Oxford Street, the show downstairs in the Ultralounge & the shop in the Wonder Room on the ground floor. They’ve even taken over the old hotel next to the Food Hall. Over 450 artworks from artists across the globe.

The Party of Everything is on the 11th October and a serious invitation only happening with rumoured brass bands and sounds by legend Norman Jay.

For more information, and more specific details on events visit www.musevery.com

2. White Cube is opening their third location in London. This will make it one of the largest galleries in the city, and with such an impressive roster of artists it will interesting to see how they treat the new exhibition space which has been said to be much larger, and more suited to creative exhibitions versus to the typical white walls we often see at galleries. Opening with a group exhibition featuring Andreas Gursky, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Robert Ryman among others.

The gallery launch is on Tuesday 11th October, 7-9pm at 144 – 152 Bermondsey Street.

Jay Jopling has been credited with making Hoxton the place for galleries to be when opening his first space there. Let’s see whether this opening will have the same effect.

For more info: www.whitecube.com

3. For a sensory break from paintings and photographs head over to Super Design which is a platform and exhibiting space for artists working more in design, but combining the more functional objects with a visual arts twist. Currently in it’s fifth year, it is considered to be London’s most important and innovative exhibition of contemporary design-art pieces.

Taking place at The Dairy — King’s Cross the raw space will definitely allow the works to shine.

For more info: http://www.superdesign-london.com/

4. SUNDAY is the young fair. Arguably having taken Zoo’s place after that left, although having been to both, I’d say they’re very different in their own accord. Located at P3, the exhibition space in a converted car park, it offers a refreshing change of pace compared to Frieze which after a few days feels overly familiar. Whereas here, you really have no idea what to expect. A short walk away, it’s worth checking out to see some of the younger names on the Brit scene today. Artists include Simon Fujiwara, Chirstian Jankowski and Ryan Gander.

For details: http://sunday-fair.com

5. House of the Nobleman presents something quite a bit different than the others. Imagine walking into a beautiful, reconstructed house on Regents Park. Imagine you living in that house, and what how you would want it to be decorate. This is along the lines of what The Return offers — a home setting with the best names adorned on the walls: Richter, Bacon, and Picasso among others. Sculptures done by Zaha Hadid, and Degas. This is how living should be!

Entrance is by appointment only http://www.houseofthenobleman.com/events.html

6. In typical form, Bruce High Quality Foundation is popping up in the East End, this time at IMT Gallery on Cambridge Heath Road. Looking at archives it examines contexts and ideologies within the present and compared to their predecessors. Given the location, I imagine this will be quite text based which often become the exhibitions which resonate with viewers for longer.

http://www.imagemusictext.com

7. AVA has become a Frieze highlight over the past couple of years. Perhaps then, it’s a good thing they’re changing up their format before it becomes to predictable, and not exciting anymore. This year rather than doing one of their amazing group exhibitions (anyone remember last years in the old Sierra Leone embassy?), they are putting on two solo exhibitions. Jonathan Wateridge will be featured at their home location on Omega Place, and Charles Matton is moving to a pop up location. Both of which should be good shows given the strength of the artists featured. That said, I will miss the group exhibition!

http://www.allvisualarts.org/

8. If all these temporary spaces are making your head spin, the Tate Modern will offer a change. The Unilever Series will be open until April, so while there is no rush to go, it’s still exciting to see it while its still new. Tacita Dean will be opening on Monday 11th October. Although details have not yet been released of what to expect, we can be certain to see film installations. Looking forward to see how she transforms the space!

Small Art: Pablo Delgado

Photograph: Pablo Delgado and Audrey Gillan/Guardian

I must admit Street Art is  not my favourite genre.  I think this is me just being cynical — it’s not what I see on the streets and walls that I don’t like. I do. In fact I like it a lot. Living in East London I’ve become immune to this as every day new things are being done, old things are being changed and the art that adorns pretty much every possible space is in constant flux. It is more the commercial side of the genre which I don’t like, mainly because I find it hypocritical, and most of it doesn’t make any sense.

Anyway, to be honest, that is neither here nor there, what I really wanted to share is the street artist Pablo Delgado. I first noticed his work just around the corner from my flat. On the sidewalk there is a man about 4 inches tall in a top hat leading a giraffe. I believe the images are actually stickers which Delgado has pasted onto the walls, but the shadows he paints onto the sidewalk emphasizes their stature and presence.

This one appeared a few months ago, and since then I have noticed them all around the area. They always bring a smile to my face.

Just Saw: Falling Up at the Courtauld Gallery

Cornelia Parker, 'Neither From Nor Towards', 1992. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London, (c) the artist, Frith Street Gallery, London

The Courtauld Gallery puts on such a wide range of exhibitions that it’s hard not to stop by often, especially as their permanent collection is one of my favourites in the city. Currently their feature exhibition is Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril: Beyond the Moulin Rouge. However, this is not the exhibition I went to go see. Drawn by the title Falling Up: The Gravity of Art, I stopped by last week to see what it was about. In a small room on the ground floor, no more than 15 works have been selected and displayed which all investigate the themes of gravity in art. Ranging from Contemporary photographs, to Old Master paintings it really is a testament of curating.

The works themselves are quite interesting too. The featured installation is a Cornelia Parker work which is a collection of bricks suspended on wires of all different lengths. Reminiscent of a Damien Ortega work though Parker puts her own twist and ideology into it. Here she intervenes to arrest time and gravity. Using bricks which she found and collected in Dover which were remaining remnants of the local houses, an ambiguity builds as to whether she is reconstructing the houses in their original form, or depicting them as they are being destroyed. Either way it is a contemplative piece and fits well into the curated show.

On the walls surrounding Parker’s installation is a selection of other works supporting the theme. A stunning Peter Paul Rubens is a definite highlight. The Descent from the Cross (1611) depicts Christ being taken down from the cross after crucifixion. His body is collapsing and succumbing to gravity and yet none of the figures around him show any visible constraint of his weight. As such he appears to almost be floating in mid-air, and his pale skin glows with a luminosity which shows his mystical nature.

Another supporting work is Wolfgang Tillmans Dan. The figure seems to be in an impossible stance, balancing on one leg with the other one perfectly and invisibly behind him, as in some sort of expert yoga pose. It happens to be an extraordinary optical illusion, but I will let you figure that one out for yourself!

It really is a great exhibition both in terms of the strength of the works and the curatorial ideology behind it. Only open until 4th September, I do urge you go down and see it for yourself.

 

Just Saw: Thomas Struth at the Whitechapel

Thomas Struth, "Pantheon", Rome

Thomas Struth — one of the best known contemporary photographers just opened a stunning retrospective at the Whitechapel Gallery in East London. The exhibition shows around 70 photographs from his oeuvre which started in the 1970s and continues to date. While the subject matter is diverse, there is a distinct theme which links all the stages of his career. He has said he has been deeply influenced by Bernd and Hilla Becher, the infamous German duo who took the genre of cataloguing to a new level, investigating the beauty in things which are normally viewed as boring and familiar (think water towers, oil refineries and warehouses). Struth similarly catalogues elements in life, however his photographs, in my opinion, are much more striking. Playing with angles, perspective, time and space they all evoke a strong emotion from the viewer — whether it’s a claustrophobic fear while looking at wires in a space shuttle, or a city scape which is so beautiful but you can’t quite figure out where Struth as the photographer was standing.

The exhibition begins with some of his most famous photographs including Yosemite National Park, which looks so fake, it seems it’s the set of a movie. One of the most interesting photographs I found in this section was of Time Square. It’s an image most people are familiar with, both timeless as the Square will never lose it’s iconic value, of the place to visit whilst in New York but also of an exact time. The clues and elements are all there for the viewer, and you can take what you want out of it. It was taken at such a precise angle however that it becomes almost impossible to miss a couple of things such as the movie poster saying the film is due out in theatres on 4th August, the flag hanging on a telephone pole advertising New York city in 2000, the clock with the time, the weekly forecast on the screen — all of these elements can place you at almost an exact time and date that the photograph was taken. Juxtaposed with the image next to it of Tienanmen Square where there is no indication at all of when this image was taken it exemplifies the precision to his method, and the things he chooses to include and disclude.

Upstairs there is a room dedicated to family portraits. A genre that is often overlooked, and yet I found this part of the exhibition to be so fascinating. Struth went around the world taking family portraits — it amazes me how these portraits vary from place to place. In Shanghai for example, the elder men are all placed in the front with the rest of the family surrounding them. They all have serious expressions on, and all evoke a sense of pride in being there. The American family on the otherhand are all sitting either on couches or on the floor — some are barefoot, but they all look comfortable and smiling. To me this indicated, family portraits mean different things to different cultures.

Stuth, like the Becher’s catalogues his various subjects, and when seen in conjunction this becomes increasingly apparent even though his subject range is vast. He demonstrates his irrefutable skill to capture not only an image, but an essence of the subject.  This is an exhibition I highly recommend you visit this summer!