Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery
10 July – 8 December 2024
William Hogarth’s series of eight satirical paintings, A Rake’s Progress, produced between 1732 and 1734 tell the story of the heir of a rich merchant, Tom Rakewell, who wastes all his money on gambling, prostitutes and loose living in London and winds up in Fleet Prison, and eventually, an asylum. The paintings were purchased by Sir John Soane’s wife originally for display at Pitzhanger, but they were moved to Lincoln’s Inn Fields when the family relocated there.
More than two centuries on, six large-scale tapestries by Grayson Perry inspired by A Rake’s Progress, will hang at Pitzhanger, bringing history full circle. The Vanity of Small Differences offers offer a contemporary take on the Hogarth riches to rags tale, depicting a fable of class, decorum and taste, via protagonist Tim Rakewell, with characters and objects drawn from Perry’s experiences while filming his TV series All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry in various locations across the UK.
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Dates
10 July 2024 — 08 December 2024
Viewing Tender pencil portraits of Black men by Curtis Holder capture intimate moments
Above One Man and His Dog by Curtis Holder, coloured pencil and acrylic gouache on paper, 120 x 120 cm, 2022
Above Echoes of Eshu III by Curtis Holder (PRINT VERSION), coloured pencil on paper, 150 x 121 cm, 2024
Above Echoes of Eshu II by Curtis Holder (WEB VERSION), coloured pencil on paper, 150 x 121 cm, 2024
Above A Reading of The Problem With My Normal Penis by Curtis Holder, coloured pencil on paper, 121 x 109 cm, 2022
Above
Above One Man and His Dog by Curtis Holder, coloured pencil and acrylic gouache on paper, 120 x 120 cm, 2022
Above Echoes of Eshu III by Curtis Holder (PRINT VERSION), coloured pencil on paper, 150 x 121 cm, 2024
Above Echoes of Eshu II by Curtis Holder (WEB VERSION), coloured pencil on paper, 150 x 121 cm, 2024
Above A Reading of The Problem With My Normal Penis by Curtis Holder, coloured pencil on paper, 121 x 109 cm, 2022
Guildford House Gallery
6 July – 28 September 2024
Rising star Curtis Holder – former winner of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year – unveiled a large new body of work at Guildford House Gallery this week. Portraits of Brotherhood features Holder’s multi-layered pencil portraits that seek to capture intimate moments in the lives of his subjects, delving into their shared history and experiences.
Each artwork is born from personal conversations between the artist and his subjects, who come from all works of life, and are all Black men. Presented together they explore the multifaceted nature of identity and contemporary masculinity, in contrast with pervasive societal stereotypes that often negatively impact Black men.
Art historian Kathleen Soriano sees Holder as “a bright, pulsing light. He brings a freshness and there’s something really new and exciting about what he’s producing.” We agree – watch this space for Holder’s work at The Wick soon.
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Dates
06 July 2024 — 28 September 2024
Viewing The tallest Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin in Kensington Gardens
The Round Pond
Kensington Gardens
9 July – 3 November 2024
Her pumpkins have popped up in parks, galleries and museums all over the world, and are one of Yayoi Kusama’s most popular works – and now London is host to the tallest pumpkin the Japanese artist has made to date, a 6 metre tall beauty that will sit next to the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens until November in all its dazzling glory.
Celebrated for her immersive, hypnotic installations, sculptures and paintings, the kabocha, or pumpkin, has been a motif in Kusama’s works since 1946. They take many forms, colours and shapes, but always appear covered in Kusama’s trademark polka dot pattern. The kabocha harks back to Kusama’s childhood in Japan, and in particular the squash fields that surrounded her family home. Pumpkins can be seen as a kind of stand-in for the artist herself.
But what does Kusama love about pumpkins? They are ubiquitous but unique, hardy yet humorous. “Pumpkins have been a great comfort to me since my childhood”, Kusama has said. “They speak to me of the joy of living. They are humble and amusing at the same time, and I have and always will celebrate them in my art.’