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Viewing Chantal Joffe: I Remember at Victoria Miro

Chantal Joffe’s exhibition of new, large-scale paintings has just been unveiled at Victoria Miro’s Wharf Road gallery. The works see the painter revisit the 1970s through the family photo album. It is an emotional and evocative journey into the past, contemplating themes of memory, loss, time and the delicate dynamics of family life.

Joffe’s late parents were South African and migrated to the US, where she was born, to escape repercussions for their anti-apartheid activism. The photographs capture the early years of their life in New England, familiar scenes of festivities, birthdays, Christmas, births, holidays, fancy dress – but also the occasional imperfect moment where something is off, sometimes suggested in Joffe’s mother’s gaze, such as a painting where her three daughters sit on the lap of another younger woman.

The work continues Joffe’s persistent interest in painting from photographs, in family and the mysterious ways memory works. “These paintings are a sort of memoir of my childhood and of my family, an attempt at a kind of time travel. When I am making them, it’s almost as if I am existing in that past.” The artist said.

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Dates
14 November 2025 — 17 January 2026

Viewing Second Lives at Fitzrovia

Many famous and leading artists have fascinating pasts – and many, due to life circumstances or otherwise, only set upon their creative career later in life. A new group exhibition, running to 24th November at 14 Percy Street, considers the impact, implication and inspiration behind starting a so-called second life in art.

The exhibition brings together painting, sculpture, photography and installation – more than fifty works are presented in all – by ten artists, all of them shaped significantly by their life experiences and precious careers.

They include Lucille Lewin, founder of Whistles and former Creative Director of Liberty, now creating abstracted sculptural forms; Nicole Farhi, whose celebrated fashion career has evolved into evocative bronze and plaster sculptures; and former The Long Blondes lead singer, Kate Jackson.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s in conversation event between Maryam Eisler and Carrie Scott, and an opportunity to deliver deeper into the journeys and practices of Farhi, Lewin, in a panel discussion lead by critic Hettie Judah on Friday.

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Dates
19 November 2025 — 24 November 2025
The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize, held at London’s National Portrait Gallery, is a powerful celebration of contemporary portrait photography. One of the world’s most prestigious and competitive photography awards, it honors both established and emerging photographers, with a broad and inclusive definition of portraiture that emphasizes personal identity. This year, more than 5,900 images were submitted by over 2,000 photographers from around the globe. After rigorous judging by the panel — artists Sunil Gupta and Tim Walker, art historian and author Katy Hessel, and the NPG’s Sabina Jaskot-Gill, 54 works by 51 photographers were selected for the final exhibition.


At a special ceremony last week, the top prize of £15,000 was awarded to Martina Holmberg for her portrait Mel, from her series The Outside of the Inside. The photo sensitively captures Mel, a burn survivor, in a contemplative state, highlighting themes of resilience, identity, and the diversity of human appearance. Second place (£3,000) went to Luan Davide Gray for We Dare to Hug, an intimate black-and-white image of two older men embracing while third prize (£2,000) was awarded to Byron Mohammad Hamzah for Jaidi Playing, documenting stateless youth in Sabah. In addition, an £8,000 commission was granted to Hollie Fernando for her work Boss Morris, a portrait exploring gender and folk tradition.

The Taylor Wessing Prize continues to provide a vital platform for voices and stories that might otherwise remain unseen — reinforcing photography’s power to document, humanize, and challenge societal norms.

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Dates
13 November 2025 — 08 February 2026
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