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

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Viewing Kristy M Chan: Totally Not

The Wick Culture - Kristy M Chan, To be treated like a pair of white shoes,
2021

Above Kristy M Chan, To be treated like a pair of white shoes, 2021

The Wick Culture - Kristy M Chan, To(e)tally (K)not, 2021

Above Kristy M Chan, To(e)tally (K)not, 2021

The Wick Culture - Kristy M Chan, Chandelier and Dim Sum Buffet, 2021

Above Kristy M Chan, Chandelier and Dim Sum Buffet, 2021

Above Kristy M Chan, To be treated like a pair of white shoes, 2021

Above Kristy M Chan, To(e)tally (K)not, 2021

Above Kristy M Chan, Chandelier and Dim Sum Buffet, 2021

8 December 2021 — 15 January 2022
The Artist Room
https://theartistroom.com

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.’

Viewing David Shrigley: Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange

The Wick Culture - David Shrigley: Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

Above David Shrigley: Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

19 November 2021 — 8 January 2022
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
https://www.stephenfriedman.com/exhibitions/

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.

Viewing Julian Opie: Collected Works/ Works Collected 

The Wick Culture - Julian Opie, Winter Night (2021)

Above Julian Opie, Winter Night (2021)

The Wick Culture - Julian Opie, Collected Works/Works Collected (2021)

Above Julian Opie, Collected Works/Works Collected (2021)

The Wick Culture - Julian Opie, Valeria I (2018)

Above Julian Opie, Valeria I (2018)

Above Julian Opie, Winter Night (2021)

Above Julian Opie, Collected Works/Works Collected (2021)

Above Julian Opie, Valeria I (2018)

6 November 2021 — 6 March 2022 
Newlands House Gallery, Petworth
 https://newlandshouse.gallery

If you’ve not yet been to Newlands House now’s the time to hop on a train south. Locatea beautiful Georgian townhouse in the charming town of Petworth, the gallery stages exhibitions centred on great artists of the 20th century. Now’s the turn of British artist Julian Opie.

Collected Works/ Works Collected brings together over 100 objects from Opie’s personal collection, ranging from Ancient Greek and Roman statutory, to Egyptian sarcophagi, manga sketches and contemporary pieces by the likes of Kara Walker. It also includes a curated selection of Opie’s own sculptures, paintings and films made over the past 20 years.

The dynamic, cross-category display shows the ways in which Opie’s interests as a collector have influenced his practice as an artist. ‘When I am stuck for decisions, I get up and look at some other art and find a solution right there,’ Opie has said. ‘The work of others pushes me beyond what I know and assume, it suggests new logics and approaches and makes me feel not so alone in this strange endeavour.’

Among the highlights on display are Opie’s animated LCD portrait Ruth smoking 2 (2006) and his recent metal sculptures Deer 2 and Dog 4 (2020), which are installed in the garden alongside Yoko XIX (2006) by Don Brown. Also featured in the exhibition are portraits by Joshua Reynolds and George Romney, medieval armour, prehistoric Native American tapestry and original Studio Ghibli (anime) prints.

Perfect for your next day trip from London!