London's Art Reviews
What’s On, London? 8th – 11th June 2017
Ian Cater, Chief Features Writer
Last weekend was a tragic one for London. But we can’t let mindless, hateful morons stop us doing what we do best: making the most of the amazing things this great city has to offer everyone – whatever your tastes and interests. We carry on. We must and we will. With that in mind, the next few days offer plenty of opportunities for Londoners to seek escapism, to laugh and to marvel at the creative contributions people make to our shared culture every day. Continue reading »
Tony Law: “My goal is to create an hour where everyone’s laughing – all of us – but nobody really knows why.”
Next month award-winning absurdist Tony Law brings his comedy-art to Soho Theatre for two nights of surreal silliness at the start of a national tour. In his latest show – A Law Undo His-elf What Welcome – Law whisks the audience away on a wild trip into his imagination: a world of jokes, stories and performance art. Although he rarely disappoints, Law told Ian Cater that he believes he’s back to his very best, which is welcome news from a true master of his craft.
Given the vast number of comedians holding mics in pubs, theatres and stadia across London on any night of the week, it’s hard to describe any as truly unique. But in Tony Law’s case, the cap fits perfectly. The Canadian – who’s lived in London for nearly 30 years and now sees himself as a ‘citizen of the world’ – has perfected an unusual blend of comedy and absurdist art which audiences lap up without always understanding the reasons.
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Tony Law: A Law Undo His-Elf What Welcome, 21st – 29th October 2016 at Leicester Square Theatre
Tonight, award-winning absurdist comedian Tony Law brings his special brand of comedy-art to Leicester Square Theatre for seven nights of surreal silliness with new show A Law Undo His-Elf What Welcome. The Canadian, known as one of the most unique performers on the comedy circuit, whisks his audiences away on a trip into his imagination – a world of jokes, stories and performance art.
Although Law rarely disappoints, he told Ian Cater that he believes he’s back to his very best: welcome news from a true master of his craft.
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Yayoi Kusama Exhibition at Victoria Miro until 30th July
By Ian Cater, Chief Features Writer
The new exhibitions of Yayoi Kusama‘s work at Victoria Miro‘s galleries at Old Street and Mayfair are a big deal. Kusama is one of the most important living artists, having heavily influenced the New York avant-garde art scene of the 1960s and still described by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people on the planet.
More than that, Kusama’s work represents much of what’s great about modern art: sometimes unarguably stunning in its visual impact and use of modern techniques; at other times, divisive in its understatement and apparent ease of reproduction.
The collection on display in N1 captures this contrast perfectly, showcasing some of her latest sculptures, paintings and mirror room installations to good effect with Kusama’s two key themes – the idea of infinity, and the yellow and black pumpkin motif – featuring heavily throughout. And, although perhaps not to everyone’s taste, the exhibition succeeds in engaging you in an important discussion about what art should mean to both the artist and the viewer.
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PortugArt Exhibition in Mayfair, 1st – 15th April 2016
By Ian Cater, Chief Features Writer
The PortugArt Project has delivered a new exhibition in Mayfair showcasing the best of contemporary Portuguese art in a classy and understated way.
PortugArt – the brainchild of Mara Alves – seeks to promote established and new wave Portuguese artists. More than that, it explores what binds them together: the nation’s soul. Highlights include Duarte Vitória’s Vitreous – a typically intense and visceral portrait – and the more urban, but captivating submissions from Alvarenga Marques and Paulo Moreira.
Alves hopes to extend the exhibition’s stay in London beyond next week, but our advice: catch it while you can.
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‘The Maids’ at Trafalgar Studios
By Shannon Rawlins
The Maids is an energetic, tense, self-loathing tale of revenge and desperation. Loosely based on Christine and Lea Papin’s real-life murderous revenge on their employer, Jean Genet’s play returns to London after a twenty-year absence, revived by The Jamie Lloyd Theatre Company, paired with translation from Benedict Andrews and Andrew Upton.
The gifted cast command Genet’s play in a new direction. Claire (Zawe Ashton, Fresh Meat, Misfits) and Solange (Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black) are the titular characters, portrayed for the first time as maids of colour, adding an interesting aspect to an already intriguing story.
The servants switch from role-play to their true selves throughout, crawling into the mistresses’ dresses, using foul language to convey their downtrodden lives to the audience. It’s sometimes difficult to differentiate who is mimicking whom. Having said that, this is the only fault I can pick out of the superb stage show.
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Sony World Photography Awards: See life as it was meant to be seen
The Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House provides an extraordinary and dynamic glimpse into the thriving world around us. Now running in its eighth year the world’s largest photography competition is running from April 24 – May 10.
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Arcelor Mittal Orbit: See London differently
Now a firm part of London’s ever evolving skyline the Arcelor Mittal Orbit situated within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a towering mark of construction. The UK’s tallest sculpture, the work of artist Anish Kapoor and architect Cecil Balmond, the Orbit is an inspirational construction, with some inspirational views of the city below.
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