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Viewing Kristof Santy: La Grande Bouffe

A carton of eggs, a succulent strawberry and a steaming coffee pot: this is an exhibition dedicated to the simple pleasures of everyday gastronomy. The 17 new paintings currently on display at Unit London are by Kristof Santy, the Belgian artist best known for his use of flat planes, bright colours and universal imagery that eludes any sense of narrative.

Inspired by a range of artists and aesthetics, from Philip Guston and Jean Brusselmans to Pop-Art and folk art, Santy considers himself a visual translator of the everyday. ‘The expressive way of painting plain subjects felt like an enormous freedom to me,’ he once said of his distinctive aesthetic.

Shown alongside close-up paintings of kitchen essentials like toasters, coffee pots, graters and corkscrews are larger works depicting points of sale such as a butcher’s shop and a fresh fish stall. There’s also a vibrant painting of a moored fishing boat, featuring a nonplussed dog and a trio of hungry birds eyeing up their prey. Not surprisingly, La Grande Bouffe is a visual feast to be savoured. Enjoy.

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Dates
05 July 2022 — 06 August 2022

Doing Ilana Savdie: In Jest; Danica Lundy: Stop Bath; Louise Giovanelli: As If, Almost

A trio of solo shows lands at White Cube Bermondsey this month. In Jest, the first solo exhibition in London by Colombian artist Ilana Savdie, features new large-scale paintings and drawings which look at themes of performance, transgression, identity and power. Inspired by the Colombian ‘Carnaval’, she explores theatrical themes relating to the circus, as well as repeating motifs including curtains, hooves, balls and hoops.

Danica Lundy’s first exhibition at White Cube, meanwhile, includes a group of monumental paintings — produced in the wake of her father’s death — that employ disorienting perspectives and narratives to explore the inner workings of bodies, machines, power structures and loss. Expect compositionally complex paintings filled with a rich bank of references, from the epic to the banal, and the torrid to the ecstatic.

Then there’s an exhibition of new paintings by Louise Giovanelli which explores new modes of devotion and worship — notably the cult of celebrity — in an era when so much of society is disengaged from religious and spiritual belief systems. Also on show are paintings that explore themes of performance and social rituals such as drinking.

These are three very different shows, but all are well worth a visit.

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Dates
08 July 2022 — 11 September 2022

Viewing The Male Gaze: From Larry Stanton to Now

Explore the power of the male-on-male gaze at The Artist Room this July as works by a radical group of contemporary artists go on display alongside unseen drawings by Larry Stanton, the New York-based portrait artist who tragically died in 1984 of AIDS-related complications, aged just 37.

Over the course of his short life, Stanton documented in his sketches and paintings the liberating pre-AIDS queer scene and the bohemian spirit in the city and beyond. ‘People make their own faces and Larry knew this instinctively,’ said Stanton’s friend and artist David Hockney.

Elsewhere, you’ll find works by Kenneth Bergfeld, Jimmy DeSana, Paul P. and Leon Pozniakow, the multi-disciplinary artist who draws inspiration from personal memories to explore the gay experience and love. Also included are works by Cary Kwok, who is best known for his graphic drawings which depict erotic — even fetishist — scenes.

Shown together, these works reveal the beauty found in fleeting and unexpected encounters. The result is superb and will leave you wanting more.

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Dates
05 July 2022 — 30 July 2022
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