Our top picks of exhibitions together with cultural spaces and places, both online and in the real world.


All, Art, Auctions, Exhibitions, Travel & Hospitality, Initiatives

Viewing Frank Bowling and Sculpture

Frank Bowling is best known for his abstract paintings that fuse personal memories and a sensual use of colour. Think his iconic ‘map paintings’ produced from the mid 1960s and his arresting ‘pour paintings’ made by pouring paint down an inclined surface. But he has also produced sculpture and sculptural paintings. ‘Painting has to release certain sculptural aspects, but it also has to retain aspects of the sculptural to hold its own on the wall, in order for it to be a thing,’ the artist once said.

This exhibition is the first to focus on Bowling’s sculptures and the sculptural aspects of his paintings. Curated by Sam Cornish, it brings together sculptures from the late 80s and early 90s, many of which have never been seen before, alongside paintings, archival and audio-visual material that reveal the artist’s keen interest in materiality.

Highlights include his welded steel forms, notably King Crabbé and Buibul, both from 1988, and Mummybelli (2019), a canvas with a dense, object-encrusted surface.

It’s gratifying that this previously unexamined side of Bowling’s career is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

Share story
Dates
15 July 2022 — 03 September 2022

Doing Superfutures: Visions for the future

For a dose of arresting art, hop along to Selfridges, where you’ll find an exhibition of 13 experiential works by leading contemporary artists, brands and thinkers that explore and imagine tomorrow’s world. Curated in collaboration with Berlin’s Reference Festival and installed across the London store, Superfutures prompts visitors to consider how we might live, what we might look like and how we will behave.

‘The Superfutures exhibition will present past and future universes, full of mutation and cohabitation, blurring boundaries between the organic and crafted, between human and machine, and existing outlooks and normative gestures into reshaping our future,’ says Mumi Haiati, Founder of Reference Studios and Reference Festival.

As you meander around the store, you’ll encounter an installation of sculptures by Estonian artist Katja Novitskova, examining the relationship between technology, biology and ecology; and a specially commissioned display of five inflatable sculptures by Monira Al Qadiri, which is paired with a selection of oil-drill shaped Murano glass sculptures.

This is the future of retail, so don’t miss out.

Share story
Dates
14 July 2022 — 16 October 2022

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.

Share story
Dates
05 July 2022 — 06 August 2022
READ MORE
The Wick Culture - Shezad Dawood

Happenings Chain of Hope at Saatchi Gallery

Happenings
The Wick Culture - Daniella Celine Williams and Yube Huni Kuin from the Amazon. Photo by Nick Harvey.

Happenings Sacred Land at Saatchi Gallery

Happenings
The Wick Culture - Comedian, Maurizio Cattelan

Happenings Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian

Happenings
The Wick Culture - David Bailey, Mary McCartney and Brandei Estes at Claridge's ArtSpace

Happenings 'DOUBLE EXPOSURE: David Bailey & Mary McCartney' at Claridge's ArtSpace

Happenings
The Wick Culture - Courts and Fields 4 ©Ishkar
Objects of Desire

Object Courts and Fields 4 rug, by Christopher Le Brun

Design
The Wick Culture - Viewing Kristof Santy: La Grande Bouffe
Dream & Discover

Discover Roy Lichtenstein, Paper Shopping Bag