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Peer into this doll’s house-sized exhibition at Pallant House and you’ll see tiny works from over 30 leading contemporary British artists, including Edmund de Waal, Tacita Dean, Lubaina Himid and Damien Hirst. None of the artworks is bigger than 20cm, with some being as small as a pound coin.

These miniature masterpieces are on display in a specially designed scaled-down model art gallery, commissioned by Pallant House in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, alongside two earlier model galleries. The Thirty Four Gallery, made in 1934, features works by the likes of Henry Moore, Ivon Hitchens and Vanessa Bell; while The Model Art Gallery 2000, created to mark the millennium, includes works by such celebrated artists as Antony Gormley, Howard Hodgkin and Peter Blake. Together they chart the evolution of British art across eight decades in miniature form.

‘Most of the artists usually work on a large scale and were excited by the challenge of condensing their ideas into a miniature artwork,’ said Pallant House director Simon Martin, who came up with the idea in lockdown, when artists could not get to their studios and many people spoke of being creatively blocked. ‘And by being part of a such a unique history of modern and contemporary British art.’

The range of works on display is extraordinary, from an expressive 9cm nude by Maggi Hambling to a 13cm spin painting by Damien Hirst. Taking over an entire room of the model gallery is a photographic triptych evoking by John Akomfrah evoking his multi-screen film projects. Don’t let the small size of this exhibition put you off. It is a serious show with big impact.

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Dates
26 June 2021 — 24 April 2022
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Viewing Kristy M Chan: Totally Not

This bijou exhibition is bound to lift your spirits, comprising as it does four jewel-toned paintings by Kristy M Chan. Based between London and Hong Kong, Chan fuses figuration and abstraction to explore what she describes as ‘the relationship between a displaced self and the search for a notion of home’. To create her dizzying compositions in oil and oil stick, she draws on a range of inspirations, from her personal experiences to her identity as shaped by both Eastern and Western cultures.

Home in on Arm Wrestling Party No. 2 (2021), a large-scale painting depicting two figures in the middle of an arm-wrestling match – a sport the artist regularly practices. Executed in Chan’s distinctive, kaleidoscopic palette of pinks, blues, greens, corals and indigos, it packs a mighty visual punch.

Also worthy of note is Chandelier and Dim Sum Buffet (2021), which shows Chan unlocking a door with a kitchen knife beneath a glistening antique Chinese chandelier. Her work, she says, is ‘like a hologram of random memories all melting together and having a great time.’

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Dates
08 December 2021 — 15 January 2022
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Viewing David Shrigley: Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange

Step into Stephen Friedman Gallery in Mayfair and you’ll encounter twelve thousand tennis balls arranged neatly on a series of shelves lining the gallery walls. Not surprisingly, the visual effect is mesmerising. It feels as though you’re wandering around a monumental piece of op art. The best part? The installation is interactive. Visitors are invited to bring an old tennis ball and exchange it with a new one on display. Participants are rewarded with a pin badge decorated with its title.

Conceived by British artist David Shrigley, Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange explores notions of commerce and community, while also questioning the traditional roles of art and exhibition spaces. Shrigley says the idea for the work came from playing with his dog. ‘My dog likes tennis balls,’ he says. ‘I throw them and she chases them. [Her interest is] more about exchange than possession.’

Also shown in the exhibition is a large-scale digital clock in the style of those found at airports or train stations. Although the time is shown correctly, the display is out of focus. For Shrigley, the work speaks to those excluded from everyday conventions. A selection of works on paper will also be released online during the show.

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Dates
19 November 2021 — 08 January 2022
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