Venetia Berry has developed a name for herself as an exciting young painting talent. A graduate of Leith School of Art and the Royal Drawing School, she is perhaps best known for her abstract nudes rendered with gestural brushstrokes in her distinctive watery palette. In these figurative works she looks to ‘reverse the male gaze, challenging the archetypal sexualised female nude.’

But she’s also a celebrated ceramicist and printmaker, and has collaborated with luxury art and lifestyle brands, including Paradise Row, Matches Fashion and Partnership Editions. She’s exhibited in group and solo shows around London and completed artist residency programmes in Italy in both 2021 and 2022.

Now she’s enjoying a solo show at Alex Eagle’s gorgeous concept store on Lexington Street. Liminal features a new body of abstract paintings that invite a feeling of calm and meditation. Painted in soothing pastel tones, they reference the female form yet are open to interpretation. It’s not to be missed.

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?