Walking around the Whitechapel Gallery last Thursday evening, I was trying to think if there had ever been a time when I had left an exhibition there, feeling unfulfilled. I don’t think there has been. The curators just seem to always put on a good show. I think this is the case for the Barbican (where I visited on Saturday) too.
Despite filling just two modest sized spaces of the Whitechapel Gallery, the current exhibition of work by artist and activist Peter Kennard (until 19.1.25), leaves a big impression. His clever use of a scalpel, carefully cutting and juxtaposing found political imagery, communicates his thoughts powerfully, hitting the spot every time. I remember enjoying two other collage exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery, John Stezaker in 2011 (although it feels like yesterday!) and the work of Joseph Cornell, which, having searched online must have been the joint exhibition, ‘Worlds in a Box’ in 1994, on my teacher training year, but it’s only the work of Cornell I remember from it.
There are also currently two, larger exhibitions showing at the Whitechapel Gallery; the mid twentieth century work of Brazilian artist Lygia Clark, and a show in response to her work, by Sonia Boyce. I hadn’t seen Clark’s work before, and, as is often the case when seeing something new with no expectations, I loved it! I particularly liked the section of abstract collages. If you like mid-century modern art and design, I highly recommend you visit, especially on a Thursday evening between 6-9pm, when all the exhibitions are free to enter.
On Saturday I enjoyed ‘The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998‘ at the Barbican (until 5.1.25). Two floors of thought provoking artwork, mostly painting and photography, made between ‘two transformative events in India’s history: Indira Gandhi’s declaration of a state of emergency in 1975 and the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998.’ The paintings of Bhupen Khakhar have stuck in my mind the most, but as photomontage and collage seemed to have been the theme of the week, I also enjoyed these interesting works by C. K. Rajan.
I didn’t have time to go into the free Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum exhibition in the Barbican’s Curve Gallery, but it looks great!