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


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Viewing London Art Fair

If you’re looking to spruce up your space this spring, head down to London Art Fair, where you’ll find over 100 galleries showcasing modern and contemporary art. Works by such celebrated names as Henry Moore, David Hockney and Bridget Riley are shown alongside pieces by emerging artists including RCA graduate Theodore Ereira-Guyer and multi-media artist Abraham Kritzman.

When it comes to modern art, make a beeline for Gilden’s Fine Art Gallery and Thomas Spencer Fine Art, where you’ll find a previously unseen work by John Nash and a large 1970s gouache by Mary Fedden. Contemporary art lovers should look to Stoney Road Press and Jealous Gallery, which presents a new print edition by David Shrigley. For textiles and sculpture, head to Thompson’s Gallery and James Hyman Gallery, which is bringing a unique hand-woven tapestry by RB Kitaj.

Not to be missed is this year’s themed section, which explores the intersection of visual art and music. Curated by Candida Stevens, it features everything from abstract works referencing the riff of jazz music with off-key colour to figurative compositions, woodcuts and porcelain sculpture. Also worthy of note is the non-selling exhibition, Myth-Making and Self-Fashioning: Women Artists from the New Hall Art Collection, which features over 20 women artists including Maggi Hambling, Eileen Cooper and Miriam Schapiro.

But be sure you save some time for Photo50, the fair’s annual showcase of contemporary photography; and Art Projects, the fair’s section dedicated to the freshest contemporary talent from around the world. It’s worth checking online for more information about the accompanying talks programme too.

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Dates
21 April 2022 — 24 April 2022

Viewing Layla Andrews: Good Company

If you haven’t yet heard of Layla Andrews, you soon will. Her large-scale abstract and expressionist portraits have caught the eye of Barack Obama and Stephen Fry and been included in a number of small exhibitions around the UK. Now she’s the subject of a solo show at Soho Revue in London.

Good Company brings together a collection of surreal group scenes, selected still lives and sculptures which celebrate the importance of joy, conviviality and human interaction after a time of hardship, uncertainty and solitude. Crabs, crocodiles and cowboys populate her scenes of revelry, painted with bold colours and expressive brushstrokes.

One work shows croco-musicians playing to an imaginary audience; another depicts crocodiles and a panther tucking into a feast of shrimps and wine. Also on display is Rachel, a monumental lobster sculpture that the artist made during her time as artist in residence in Brixton Village. Made from recycled rubbish and second-hand materials, Rachel is one in a series of crustaceans named after a key female family member.

There’s something playful and absorbing about these compositions — and a dose of light-hearted fun is always a good idea. Hop to it!

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Dates
14 April 2022 — 30 April 2022

Viewing Girls Girls Girls at Lismore Castle

Curated by the Irish fashion designer Simone Rocha, Lismore Castle’s summer show of works by female artists looks at the female gaze from multiple viewpoints, while also exploring femininity and its subversive characteristics across forms and media, including art, sculpture and photography. ‘I respond to work that documents but also transports the viewer to another place,’ says Rocha. ‘The female spirit and experience has been a strong focus of my work from the beginning.’

Works by Louise Bourgeois, Genieve Figgis and Cindy Sherman are shown alongside gorgeous pieces by Harley Weir, Francesca Woodman and Luo Yang. Not to be missed are the three whimsical paintings titled Wishful Self-Portrait by the brilliantly talented Sian Costello.

What strikes is the jaunty dialogue between the works on display. ‘I am interested in exploring how the works engage with each other,’ Rocha says, ‘as a thread of the natural world, uncanny self-portraiture or the sense of a haunting reality lingering just below the surface.’ We promise it merits the trip to County Waterford.

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