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Viewing The Royal Academy explores art’s colonial history

The Wick Culture - Lubaina Himid RA, Naming the Money, 2004
Mixed media installation with sound, dimensions variable
National Museums Liverpool, International Slavery Museum, Gift of Lubaina Himid, 2013
Courtesy the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and National Museums, Liverpool
© Spike Island, Bristol. Photo: Stuart Whipps

Above Lubaina Himid RA, Naming the Money, 2004 Mixed media installation with sound, dimensions variable National Museums Liverpool, International Slavery Museum, Gift of Lubaina Himid, 2013 Courtesy the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and National Museums, Liverpool © Spike Island, Bristol. Photo: Stuart Whipps

The Wick Culture - Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Portrait of a Man, probably Francis Barber, c. 1770
Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.8 cm
The Menil Collection, Houston
Photo © Hickey-Robertson, Houston

Above Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Portrait of a Man, probably Francis Barber, c. 1770 Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.8 cm The Menil Collection, Houston Photo © Hickey-Robertson, Houston

The Wick Culture - Kerry James Marshall Hon RA, Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Himself, 1776, 2007
Acrylic on PVC panel, 71.1 x 55.9 cm
Paul & De Gray
© Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: James Prinz Photography

Above Kerry James Marshall Hon RA, Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Himself, 1776, 2007 Acrylic on PVC panel, 71.1 x 55.9 cm Paul & De Gray © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: James Prinz Photography

The Wick Culture - Tavares Strachan, The First Supper (Galaxy Black) (detail), 2023
Bronze, black patina, gold leaf, 217.3 x 928.6 x 267.9 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Courtesy of Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. Photo: Jonty Wilde

Above Tavares Strachan, The First Supper (Galaxy Black) (detail), 2023 Bronze, black patina, gold leaf, 217.3 x 928.6 x 267.9 cm Courtesy of the artist and Courtesy of Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. Photo: Jonty Wilde

The Wick Culture - John Singleton Copley RA, Watson and the Shark, 1778
Oil on canvas, 183.5 x 229.6 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Mrs George von Lengerke Meyer
Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Above John Singleton Copley RA, Watson and the Shark, 1778 Oil on canvas, 183.5 x 229.6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Mrs George von Lengerke Meyer Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Wick Culture - J. M. W. Turner RA, Whalers, c. 1845
Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.6 cm
Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund

Above J. M. W. Turner RA, Whalers, c. 1845 Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.6 cm Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund

The Wick Culture - Kara Walker Hon RA, no world, from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters, 2010
Etching with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite and drypoint on paper, 60.6 x 76.8 cm
British Museum, London
© Kara Walker, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers

Above Kara Walker Hon RA, no world, from An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters, 2010 Etching with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite and drypoint on paper, 60.6 x 76.8 cm British Museum, London © Kara Walker, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Sprüth Magers

The Wick Culture - Francis Harwood, Bust of a Man, 1758
Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle, 69.9 x 50.2 x 26.7 cm
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program

Above Francis Harwood, Bust of a Man, 1758 Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle, 69.9 x 50.2 x 26.7 cm The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program

The Wick Culture - Ellen Gallagher Hon RA, Whale Falls, 2017
Oil, acrylic, ink and paper on canvas, 188 x 202 cm
The Ekard Collection
© Ellen Gallagher
Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Photo: Ernst Moritz

Above Ellen Gallagher Hon RA, Whale Falls, 2017 Oil, acrylic, ink and paper on canvas, 188 x 202 cm The Ekard Collection © Ellen Gallagher Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Ernst Moritz

The Wick Culture - Sonia Boyce OBE RA, Lay back, keep quiet and think of what made Britain so great, 1986
Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper, 152.5 x 65 cm (each)
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London
© Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024

Above Sonia Boyce OBE RA, Lay back, keep quiet and think of what made Britain so great, 1986 Charcoal, pastel and watercolour on paper, 152.5 x 65 cm (each) Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024

The Wick Culture - Hew Locke RA, Armada, 2017–19
Installation: wood, textile, metal, string, plastic, rubber, paper and paint, dimensions variable
Tate. Purchased with assistance from Tate International Council and with Art Fund support 2021
Courtesy the artist and Ikon Gallery. Photo: Stuart Whipps
© Hew Locke. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024

Above Hew Locke RA, Armada, 2017–19 Installation: wood, textile, metal, string, plastic, rubber, paper and paint, dimensions variable Tate. Purchased with assistance from Tate International Council and with Art Fund support 2021 Courtesy the artist and Ikon Gallery. Photo: Stuart Whipps © Hew Locke. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024

Above Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Portrait of a Man, probably Francis Barber, c. 1770 Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.8 cm The Menil Collection, Houston Photo © Hickey-Robertson, Houston

Above J. M. W. Turner RA, Whalers, c. 1845 Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 122.6 cm Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund

Above Ellen Gallagher Hon RA, Whale Falls, 2017 Oil, acrylic, ink and paper on canvas, 188 x 202 cm The Ekard Collection © Ellen Gallagher Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Ernst Moritz

Entangled Pasts, 1768 – now: Art, Colonialism and Change

Royal Academy, Piccadilly, W1
3 February – 28 April 2024

The Royal Academy unpicks the threads that tie art to Britain’s colonial history in Entangled Pasts, drawing on its own collections and loans from other organisations. It brings together 100 artworks – spanning from the foundation of the RA in 1768 to now – to examine the role of art in shaping narratives of empire, enslavement, resistance, abolition, indenture and colonialism, while reckoning with its own complex links to these movements.

Contemporary perspectives come courtesy of artists, including Yinka Shonibare, Sonia Boyce, Barbara Walker and John Akomfrah. Among the highlights are Hew Locke’s haunting fleet of ragged ships suspended from the ceiling, reflecting the movement of people across time, and John Akomfrah’s 43-minute visual assault, Vertigo Sea, in which images of historical tragedies – from slave killings to drowned migrants – are cut with scenes from nature. Horrifying yet captivating in equal measure.

Viewing Gerhard Richter’s hypnotic abstractions at David Zwirner

Above

The Wick Culture - Gerhard Richter
11.8.2023 (3), 2023
Colored ink and pencil on paper
© Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter 11.8.2023 (3), 2023 Colored ink and pencil on paper © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

The Wick Culture - Gerhard Richter
17.7.2023, 2023
Colored ink and pencil on paper
© Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter 17.7.2023, 2023 Colored ink and pencil on paper © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

The Wick Culture - Gerhard Richter
15.5.2023 (2), 2023
Colored ink and pencil on paper
© Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter 15.5.2023 (2), 2023 Colored ink and pencil on paper © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

The Wick Culture - Gerhard Richter
Aladin (Aladdin), 2010
Lacquer behind glass, mounted on Alu-Dibond
© Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter Aladin (Aladdin), 2010 Lacquer behind glass, mounted on Alu-Dibond © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter 11.8.2023 (3), 2023 Colored ink and pencil on paper © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter 17.7.2023, 2023 Colored ink and pencil on paper © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter 15.5.2023 (2), 2023 Colored ink and pencil on paper © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

Above Gerhard Richter Aladin (Aladdin), 2010 Lacquer behind glass, mounted on Alu-Dibond © Gerhard Richter 2024 (25012024)

David Zwirner, 24 Grafton Street, W1
25 January – 28 March 2024

Head to David Zwirner to lose yourself in the mesmerising smudges, smears and drips of German artist Gerhard Richter. Coloured lacquer swirls behind glass and clouds of ink billow across paper in the exhibition, which includes works made from 2010 up until August last year.

Coinciding with his three-venue exhibition in the Swiss Alps, the London show charts the progression of his work in recent years, including one of his largest ever Strip “paintings” – made by abstracting his work on a computer and digitally printing it – as well as oil paintings made just before he decided to focus on drawing and installation, as spotlighted in the show. At 91 years old, the German artist continues to surprise.

Viewing Barbara Kruger’s verbal vim at the Serpentine Galleries

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You.,(Installation view, 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South)

Above Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You.,(Installation view, 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South)

The Wick Culture - Untitled (Taxis), 2024. Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South). Photo: George Darrell.

Above Untitled (Taxis), 2024. Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South). Photo: George Darrell.

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Remember me), 1988/2020 (stills), Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 23 sec. 350.1 × 250.1 cm 137 7/8 × 98 1/2 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Remember me), 1988/2020 (stills), Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 23 sec. 350.1 × 250.1 cm 137 7/8 × 98 1/2 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger, Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., Installation view, Los Angeles County Museum of Art – LACMA, Los Angeles, March 20-July 17, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: Museum Associates/LACMA

Above Barbara Kruger, Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., Installation view, Los Angeles County Museum of Art – LACMA, Los Angeles, March 20-July 17, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: Museum Associates/LACMA

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our Leader), 1987/2020, Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 24 sec. 350.1 × 200.1 cm 137 7/8 × 78 3/4 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our Leader), 1987/2020, Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 24 sec. 350.1 × 200.1 cm 137 7/8 × 78 3/4 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger Untitled (No Comment), 2020 Three-channel video installation, colour, sound, 9 min. 25 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (No Comment), 2020 Three-channel video installation, colour, sound, 9 min. 25 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (No Comment), 2020, Three-channel video installation, colour, sound, 9 min. 25 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger Untitled (The work is about...), 1979/2020 Single-channel video, silent, 5 min. 38 sec. Installation view, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, June 30-August 12, 2022, Courtesy the artist, Sprüth Magers and David Zwirner Gallery, Photo: Maris Hutchinson

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (The work is about…), 1979/2020 Single-channel video, silent, 5 min. 38 sec. Installation view, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, June 30-August 12, 2022, Courtesy the artist, Sprüth Magers and David Zwirner Gallery, Photo: Maris Hutchinson

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger Untitled (Artforum), 2016/2020 Two-channel video installation, silent, 4 min. 42 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (Artforum), 2016/2020 Two-channel video installation, silent, 4 min. 42 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You.,(Installation view, 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South)

Above Untitled (Taxis), 2024. Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South). Photo: George Darrell.

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Remember me), 1988/2020 (stills), Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 23 sec. 350.1 × 250.1 cm 137 7/8 × 98 1/2 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our Leader), 1987/2020, Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 24 sec. 350.1 × 200.1 cm 137 7/8 × 78 3/4 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Barbara Kruger: Thinking of ~~You.~~ I Mean ~~Me.~~ I Mean You
Serpentine South, Kensington Gardens

1 February – 17 March 2024

The godmother of pop art arrives at the Serpentine Galleries this week in all her loud-mouthed glory. Barbara Kruger’s pithy text statements and images spew out of the Serpentine South and into Kensington Gardens in a riotous stream of consciousness in Thinking of ~~You.~~ I Mean Me. I Mean ~~You,~~ the American artist’s first institutional show in London in over 20 years. It features installations, film, soundscapes and banners, as well as public screens courtesy of Outernet Arts.

As you step inside, the decibels immediately rise, courtesy of an audio chorus of greetings, emotions and sentiments that accompany you on your journey. Kruger often borrows language and images from advertising, graphic design and the media to probe the mechanisms of power, gender and capitalism. In Untitled (No Comment), 2020 – making its UK premiere – she splices together snippets of footage found on social media, with questions and quotes from French philosopher Voltaire and American rapper Kendrick Lamar in a three-channel video work. Steel yourself for a verbal and visual onslaught. Trust us, it’s worth it.