Tabish Khan, the @LondonArtCritic, picks his top 5 exhibitions to see in London at the beginning of this year. If you are looking for more exhibitions, check out his previous top 5.
Mia Wilkinson: Head of the Table at SLQS Gallery
Distorted versions of the artist and her cat appear throughout these chaotic tableaux, alongside characters designed around terms associated with women – birds, chicks and cows. It’s all set around tables, something women often prepare but rarely have a seat at. There’s a mix of painting and sculpture in a show that’s bawdy, sinister, and satirical. Until 17th January, free.
Seyed Amin Bagheri: Hyle – Dark Light at Ab-Anbar
A decapitated head, what looks to be a traumatic birth and demonic figures. All of these can be found in the graphite drawings on cotton suspended in the gallery. The images are based on Persian mysticism, and neither shows good nor evil, bringing together the beautiful and the monstrous. They remind me of Goya’s black paintings, but with an Eastern spin. Until 24th January, free.
Ryan Gander: I’ve fallen foul of my desire at Camden Arts Projects
Walk past this grand building, and you’ll see a giant black balloon asking why am I so distracted? Or you may not if you’re deep in your phone, despite it being so obvious. There’s social commentary and humour throughout Gander’s art, and that extends to a talking harvest mouse who pokes his head out of the wall and talks to visitors, ignored by the sleeping taxidermied cats upstairs. Until 18th January, free.
Based on collaged photographs of people in his community, Cato creates painted everyday scenes, including drumming, playing a guitar, or socialising at a barbershop. I enjoy how he makes his work more expressive through exaggerated hands and faces, and with the Kerry James Marshall exhibition nearby, there are similarities to be found. Until 18th January, free.
David Shrigley: Exhibition of Old Rope at Stephen Friedman Gallery
How much would you pay for a pile of old rope? David Shrigley is asking for £1m in a hilarious satire of the insanity of the art market. I’m not sure what’s more worrying, that he’s priced it that way or that someone may buy it. The whole gallery also smells of old rope, and the fact that this is so unfitting to a Mayfair gallery makes it all the more fun. Until 17th January, free.
All images are copyright of the respective gallery and artist. SLQS photo: Joanna Wierzbicka. Ab-Anbar photo: George Baggaley. Ryan Gander photo: Tabish Khan.
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Art Critic for both FAD and Londonist. See as many exhibitions as possible and write reviews, opinion pieces and a weekly top 5 for FAD.