August is here, and the summer holiday season is in full swing. For those enjoying a London staycation or travelling to one of our regional cultural hotspots, London Art Fair brings you our top recommendations for your go-to guide of art in the UK this month. Highlights include: two group shows curated by artists Hedley Roberts and Mark Titchner; an exhibition exploring the influence of women artists from the North East, and a stunning exhibition of prints at Flowers Gallery. Also as a special note, we invite you to have a day out and discover Battersea Park. Read on for more…  

New Art Projects

Places Faces and Spaces The show presents a selection of works exploring portraiture, identity politics, race, gender, contemporary landscape, realism, abstraction and still life. Works on display were suggested by Hedley Roberts and propose a new look and investigation into contemporary painting being made in the UK today. Artists on display come from a variety of national and independent art schools.    Closing 25 August  

Nunnery Gallery

Invitation to a Rave from Mark Titchner This year’s Bow Open Show, which presents a curated selection of the Bow Arts’ studio and education artists annually, features selection of some of the most exciting young talent working in London today. The exhibition was curated by artist Mark Titchner and features 24 artists working across painting, photography and sculpture. Closing 26 August  

LLE

Nightswimming Exploring how the lack of light has been a constant feature in the creation of artwork, Nightswimming brings together contemporary works that reach into the darkness and question how the lack of light affects the work and what this means to the viewer. The exhibition was curated by LLE Gallery in association with the BEEP Painting Biennial and will be presented at Mission Gallery. Closing 08 September  

Flowers Gallery

Dialogues This show brings us a selection of works by Fiona Grady, Tess Jaray, Bridget Riley and Carol Robertson in which silkscreen printing has been used as a vital method to investigate the interactions of colour, form, space and light. As part of the exhibition artist, Fiona Grady has completed a drawing installation painted directly onto the gallery walls, comprised of a rhythmic sequence of geometric shapes. Closing 08 September  

Workplace

Women Artists of the North East Library This activation of Women Artists of the North East Library* is available to the public as an evolving exhibition, library, and platform for events and discussions, aimed at exploring the influence of women artists associated with the North East, both regionally and further afield. Throughout the project artists and the public will be invited to nominate Women artists and donate material that they think should be added to the Library. Closing 09 September  

Pallant House Gallery

Virginia Woolf: an exhibition inspired by her writings This major touring exhibition, explores Virginia Woolf’s perspectives on feminism and creativity through the work of 80 female artists from 1854 to the present day, including Barbara Hepworth, Eileen Agar and Claude Cahun. In this exhibition connections are both literal and suggested, offering a powerfully visualization of the influence of her ideas, legacy of her thinking and its relevance to society today. Closing 16 September    

Featured Article

While London basks in sunshine, it’s the perfect time to catch some great public art on show across the capital and this month we take you to Battersea Park. On view, the outdoor sculpture installation by artist Nicolas Deshayes and the first institutional solo exhibition of artist Charlie Duck. Both events are presented by The Pump House Gallery, who are also inviting visitors to create layers of abstract drawings with artist Mónica Rivas Velásquez as part of their educational programme: Drop in to the gallery’s Project Space. After enjoying a morning of art why not head to Pear Tree Café for a spot of brunch. You can also learn more about Nicolas Deshayes installation at Battersea Park’s Pleasure Gardens in Art Daily's article.     Image Credits: Image 1: Ithell Colquhoun, Alcove 11, 1948, oil on board, collection Richard Shillitoe © By kind permission of the Noise Abatement Society, Samaritans and Spire Healthcare. Image 2: Rob Reed, The Allotments no.7 (Detail), 2017. Courtesy of New Art Projects. Image 3: Lena Brazin, Invitation to a rave, 2017. Courtesy of Nunnery Gallery. Image 4: Casper White, Next day (George) (Detail), 2018. Courtesy of LLE Gallery. Image 5: Tess Jaray RA, Thorns - Blue on Yellow (Detail), 2017. Courtesy of Advanced Graphics & Flowers Gallery. Image 6: Women Artists of the North East Library installation view at Workplace Foundation, Gateshead. Photo: Miles Thurlow. Courtesy of Workplace. Image 7: Frances Hodgkins, Wings over Water, 1930. Courtesy of Tate © Tate, London 2018. Image 8: Nicolas Deshayes at the Pleasure Gardens, 2018. Photo: Eoin Carey. Courtesy the artist and Pump House Gallery. *Women Artists of the North East Library is an artist-led project that brings together donated material, including: books, art, images, letters, oral histories and music, to form a usable resource that contributes to the history of women artists working in the region. The Library was initiated by recent graduates Holly Argent & Rene McBrearty in 2017 and is currently hosted by The Northern Charter in Newcastle.