LAF Recommends exhibitions for this November that look at the influences and effects from the world around us, both in Modern and Contemporary art.
The solo exhibitions of Desmond Morris at Beaux Arts London and Aleksander Żyw at The Scottish Gallery, explore how both artists were influenced by war and how this translated into their life’s work. Whilst solo shows by Ben Nicholson at Piano Noble and Catherine Kurtz at The Redfern Gallery, display works were the artists are responding to their immediate and personal surroundings.
On the photographic scene, exhibitions by Takashi Arai at Purdy Hicks Gallery and Paul Graham at Huxley-Parlour, explore repetitive themes devoted to their life passion of photography.
DESMOND MORRIS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
At 92 years old, Desmond Morris began painting as a form of escapism during World War II and has continued his work during lockdown.
For this exhibition, Morris has drawn influence from his many TV programmes about animal and human behaviour, along with his extensive years as an academic zoologist.
Closing 12 December
BEFORE & AFTER
This exhibition displays the profound effect that war had on Aleksander Żyw’s work by presenting us an insight to the devastation and suffering of war.
The show presents a collection of smaller ink and wash works from 1934 to 1951, presenting the everyday routines of soldiers, along with rich oil abstracts narrating the post war landscape.
Closing 25 November
DISTANT PLANES
This show curated by Dr Lee Beard focuses on the carved reliefs and landscape drawings made by one of Britain’s leading modernists, Ben Nicholson.
During his time in Switzerland, Nicholson’s response to his surroundings of striking landscapes and historical sites had a resounding influence on his work. The exhibition includes important museums loans.
Closing 29 January
PINNED
Through a series of paintings, artist Catherine Kurtz invites the viewer to examine the delicate balance of vulnerability and fragility in every detail of her subjects and own responses.
Using material as a metaphor to explore the expectations imposed on women, the exhibition pushes the pressures of femininity and the role women are expected to inhabit.
The full exhibition will be available to view in the new year.
1000 DAYS / 1000 MIRRORS
The exhibition is a two part series of works by Takashi Arai that use the daguerreotype silver plate photographic process.
During World War II, Japanese women would embroider senninbari or ‘one-thousand-stitch waistbelts’ for soldiers as good luck charms. Arai depicts each single stitch of a senninbari by producing one daguerreotype plate a day, a homage to the women who made the stitches.
Closing 8 December
A1 – THE GREAT NORTH ROAD
This solo show presents Paul Graham’s 1983 series of photographs captured as Graham travelled repeatedly along the ‘Great North Road’.
The road spanned he full length of England up to Edinburgh, using a large format camera Graham recorded the people, buildings, and landscape of early 1980’s Britain, producing transformative series in the history of photography.
Closing 18 December