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Viewing George Westren: On the Straight and Narrow

Above George Westren

The Wick Culture - George Westren, Untitled, 2001

Above George Westren, Untitled, 2001

The Wick Culture - George Westren, 'Lighting!' 2009

Above George Westren, ‘Lighting!’ 2009

The Wick Culture - George Westren, 'Hidden' 2005

Above George Westren, ‘Hidden’ 2005

The Wick Culture - George Westren, 'Diamonds Uncut'

Above George Westren, ‘Diamonds Uncut’

The Wick Culture - George Westren, 'Chair', 2004

Above George Westren, ‘Chair’, 2004

The Wick Culture - George Westren by Elizabeth Walker

Above George Westren by Elizabeth Walker

Above George Westren

Above George Westren, Untitled, 2001

Above George Westren, ‘Lighting!’ 2009

Above George Westren, ‘Hidden’ 2005

Above George Westren, ‘Diamonds Uncut’

Above George Westren, ‘Chair’, 2004

Above George Westren by Elizabeth Walker

George Westren: On the Straight and Narrow
Saatchi Gallery, London

6 — 25 January 2023
www.saatchigallery.com/exhibition/straight_and_narrow__the_work_of_george_westren_2

In June 2022 George Westren, a little-known artist who sadly died in 2021 during the UK’s Covid lockdown, made news headlines across the world. Why? Because a neighbour recovered Westren’s portfolio of intricate op art drawings from a skip, following a house clearance one year after his death.

Not surprisingly, Westren’s artwork went viral on Twitter, where his story of humble beginnings, homelessness, addiction and eventual salvation through art touched hundreds of thousands of people. Funds raised through the sale of a small run of prints helped to preserve, catalogue and now exhibit Westren’s artwork.

On the Straight and Narrow features more than 40 works from across Westren’s life. You’ll encounter his simple ‘tunnel’ designs, pulsating stars, battling chevrons, interlocking spears and protruding 3D edges, which hover between subtle op art illusion and muscular, graphic clarity. Curated by Alan Warburton, the neighbour who rescued the works, this captivating free and exhibition presents an unparalleled insight into Westren’s life and art.

‘For George, art was a means of transformation and salvation,’ says Warburton. ‘For those touched by his story, it is a symbol of hope in the face of adversity.’ What better way to start the year?

Viewing Koestler Arts: Freedom

The Wick Culture - Koestler Arts private view of exhibition ‘Freedom’ held at Southbank Centre, London, on the 26th of October 2022 Koestler Arts fifteenth Annual UK Exhibition in partnership with the Southbank Centre.

Above Koestler Arts private view of exhibition ‘Freedom’ held at Southbank Centre, London, on the 26th of October 2022 Koestler Arts fifteenth Annual UK Exhibition in partnership with the Southbank Centre.

Koestler Arts: Freedom
Southbank Centre, London

27 October — 18 December 2022
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/koestler-arts-freedom?eventId=907902

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Koestler Awards, Koestler Arts presents an ambitious exhibition of works by nearly 3000 artists in the UK’s criminal justice system curated by Ai Weiwei.

Installed in the Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre, Freedom features works spanning a variety of categories and media that explore the impact of curtailed freedom, while showing the extent of human resilience when put in extreme circumstances.

‘This exhibition focuses on the role that the act of thinking and creating plays in life under constraints,’ said Ai, who visited different prisons in the UK including HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs which is situated next to the Koestler Arts Centre. ‘I hope that this exhibition can inspire people to reflect upon the loss of freedom and those that continue to create art to fight for space in life and freedom of expression despite adversity.’
The exhibition space will take the form of 15 cell-like spaces that are based on the size of a typical cell in a UK prison, with each cell containing between 78 and 131 artworks. At certain points during the day, quotes from displayed artists will be played out loud.

‘I’ve seen on countless occasions how art can be a space for personal liberation and growth,’ said Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre. ‘A belief that is made manifest by the extraordinary work of Koestler Arts.’ We can’t think of a better exhibition to get behind.

Dream Es Devlin, Come Home Again, 2022

Es Devlin, Come Home Again, 2022

In a career than spans more than 25 years, Es Devlin has made her name creating immersive artworks and dazzling stage sets for the likes of Kanye West, Adele and Beyoncé. Her latest large-scale public artwork, described as an illuminated choral sculpture, is about London’s endangered species. Commissioned by Cartier, it takes the form of a sliced dome and is covered in Devlin’s intricate drawings of each of London’s 243 priority species, including moths, birds, beetles and wildflowers.

On select evenings at sunset, London-based choral groups of the diaspora will perform choral evensong from within the illuminated sculpture. It also features a recording of the animals’ names and QR codes within each of the choral tiers that provide more information about the priority species, choral music and London Wildlife Trust. ‘Dome originally meant a home,’ says Devlin. ‘The works invites us to see, hear and feel our home, our city as an interconnected web of species and cultures, to learn and remember the names and sing those under threat into continued existence.’ Come Home Again will be on display from 21 September to 1 October 2022 in the garden at Tate Modern.