Now that the UK art scene has found time to catch its breath post-Frieze, we thought we would take a moment to share with you 10 contemporary artists who should definitely be on your radar. Keep reading to discover more. London Art Fair is a leading platform for exhibitions in London, featuring multiple curated sections. Join us 17-21 January 2024 to discover all that’s on offer. Tickets on sale now.
Anna Perach (b. 1985, USSR) is a Ukrainian born Israeli artist who is known for her attention-commanding figural sculptures, installations and performance works. Living and working in London, UK, Perach has exhibited internationally at prominent galleries including White Cube, Saatchi Gallery, ADA Gallery and Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art.
Shadi Al-Atallah’s work explores ‘the performativity of cathartic spiritual practice by drawing connections between the Queer ballroom scene and folkloric dance traditions from African diasporic communities in the Arabian Peninsula’
Born in Saudi Arabia in 1994 and now working in London, Al-Attalah received their MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art in 2021. They create large-scale figurative paintings characterised by dark, distorted figures and dynamic movement.
Zarins’ figurative paintings and works on paper explore human relationships and intimacy with undertones of nostalgia, tenderness and isolation. The compelling profundity of her work is complimented by her rich, vivid palettes and inviting depth within these layered canvases. Visit our Instagram for an exclusive studio tour and interview with the artist herself.
‘An exciting new voice on the London art scene’, Zach Toppin is a multidisciplinary artist who studied Art History at Edinburgh and Fine Art at Camberwell College of Arts. Their work is teeming with symbolism and cultural references, creating narratives surrounding emotions, gender, sex and love. The artist has exhibited at a number of notable exhibitions, both group and solo, the most recent of which was Tales from the Riverbank at TIN MAN ART, Cromwell Place.
Kirsty Harris’ multi-media works span from large un-stretched oil paintings on linen to interactive audio works, machine woven tapestries and everything in between, with the subject matter always surrounding the imagery and data collected on the atom bomb. In an interview with Lizz Brady, when asked what her paintings are about, the artist responded;
“The decisive moment, a meditation on a split second.
That split second iconically representing our race to self destruction.
The beauty and awe of the landscape, the dust, the glow, the force of the explosion.
The myths surrounding characters in this masterplan to kill ourselves off.
The fight for survival.
We’ve shown ourselves THE END.”
“My painted landscapes can be read as a reaction to materialism – a poetic attempt to dream oneself into a life not dominated by material things and to imagine an alternative world in which other laws apply.” – Xiaochi Dong
Xiaochi Dong’s distinctive tonal works use a reduced colour palette to create temporal and spatial distance in his abstract depictions of natural forms, inviting the viewer’s imagination to complete the picture.
Jhonatan Pulido’s work draws inspiration from a quest to encapsulate the ever-changing socio-political landscape of his native Colombia following the devastating aftermath of the Civil War. Both vibrant and poetic, his compositions explore abstraction through the lenses of time, memory, place and the experience of conflict.
Known for being the artist behind the iconic cover artwork of Frank Ocean’s 2016 album Blonde, not to mention being the first photographer to win the Turner Prize, Wolfgang Tillmans has exhibited at globally renowned galleries and museums including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and Tate Modern, London. His highly technical and aesthetic works combine intensive preparatory research and fascination with the foundations of the photographic medium with a deep engagement and observation of the world around him.
Describing her early years growing up as a black girl in Texas with immigrant parents, Agbor’s works convey the ongoing challenges of expressing a complex identity that involves navigating her Nigerian heritage whilst being raised in the American South. In the words of the artist herself;
“this Southern part of me also battled with the knowledge of the bloody history of the South and overall; America. I wasn’t given the space to be multifaceted and when those identities conflicted. It left me confused as to who I was and where I belonged in this world. My paintings are an ongoing exploration of my experience and how my existence being black relates to my environment.” Agbor explores the beauty of blackness and the beauty of her subjects by pairing them with bright colours. By painting these figures, Agbor is exploring different societal challenges that affect black people whilst reflecting on her own struggles. “My paintings are an ongoing exploration into my experience and how my existence being black relates to my environment…my paintings attempt to explore the dichotomy and the phenomena that is “blackness” – what it means to experience blackness as a woman.”
“Ecologically, man cannot ignore what feeds him socially, politically, economically and most importantly spiritually”
– Linda Lieberman
Lieberman is a Scottish born sculptor, photographer and mixed media artist living and working in London. Her constantly growing body of work is inspired by the ecology of the ocean, the human condition and the relationship between the two.
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The gallery is delighted announce the opening of their new gallery in Hampshire with an inaugural ‘Winter’ exhibition.
Jenna Burlingham Gallery has expanded with a move to a much larger building, Rope House, on the same street as their original space in Kingsclere. This was once a 19th-century rope merchant’s home and workshop and now has the feeling of an informal townhouse. With open galleries at ground level and drawing rooms upstairs, paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramics are displayed throughout as part of interior settings.
Sumi, or Japanese ink, has been used for Oriental calligraphic works and paintings for a long time. The need for works in Sumi, an art form backed by a long unbroken history, remains strong.
In contemporary art, which is filled with an indiscriminate mix of materials and representation techniques, works produced based on Sumi are specifically referred to as “Sumi_ism” and at #7 exhibition a collection of works from Reiko Tsunashima and Sogen Chiba, Mizuho Koyama are displayed from this field.
Kerlin Gallery are delighted to present ‘Stuck on dawn,’ Marcel Vidal’s first solo exhibition at the gallery.
Celebrated for his diverse practice and immersive sculptural installations, the exhibition brings together three series of work in Marcel Vidal’s first exhibition dedicated exclusively to painting.
A review of Ikon’s artistic programme in the 1990s, presenting work by 40 artists who showed during this period. With Elizabeth Macgregor as Director, Ikon’s outlook was increasingly international, whilst also showing an eclectic mix of British artists including Basil Beattie, Permindar Kaur, Keith Piper, Yinka Shonibare, Georgina Starr and Mark Wallinger.
Contemporary painter Paul Ettedgui (b. 1967) lives and works in London, having exhibited at a number of prominent UK galleries and Art Fairs. After a foundation at Camberwell School of Art he then completed a degree in Fine Art at
Antonio Pichillá is a contemporary artist whose work is influenced by the rich history of textile making by the women of his native Guatemala. Focusing on the ever-developing connections between western contemporary art and the vernacular tradition of craft, the
The art world is fired up for a non-stop month ahead, as Frieze marks its 20th anniversary in London this October with its most international edition yet. Fill your calendar with October’s offering of a diverse array of artistic experiences
