The Shock of the Now - Issue #181
Afternoon All - Welcome to Issue 181 of The Shock of the Now! I hope you’re having an enjoyable week.
This week, the full issue includes ten Recommended Exhibitions, as well as eleven fresh Artist Opportunities.
Additionally, on Friday morning I’ll be publishing The Shock of the Now’s Guide to Deptford X Biennial 2025, exclusively for paid subscribers. That in-depth issue will provide insight into London’s longest-running visual arts festival ahead of the 26th edition introducing a new biennial format, expanding the free festival to 18 days of exhibitions and events held in South East London between 11-27 July 2025. I’ll be covering the commissions; public programme of talks, tours and events; as well as highlighting a curated selection of the festival’s Fringe projects - that brings together artists, community groups, students, local galleries and unique venues. You won’t want to miss it!
I hope you enjoy Issue 181, and if so do forward it along! As always, questions and comments are welcome, so feel free to get in touch, H x
Recommended Exhibitions Opening This Week :
Ben Sakoguchi - ‘Critical Art Theory’ Solo Exhibition - Gasworks, Oval (10th July - 7th September, opening Wednesday 9th August, 6:30-8:30pm)
Gasworks presents Ben Sakoguchi’s debut UK institutional solo exhibition ‘Critical Art Theory’.
“Ben’s characteristic painting style mixes diverse elements of figuration, history painting and Pop art to critique Western cultural values and idealism. Mainly using acrylic on canvas, he reproduces and juxtaposes imagery from film posters, newspapers, comics and internet searches to reveal subtexts of discrimination, mass media exploitation and state-sanctioned violence. By turns comical, sentimental and brutal, the paintings often intertwine politics with aspects of Ben’s own biography as well as stories of famous people ranging from U.S. presidents to celebrities.” - Gasworks
Henry Gibbs & Rebecca Willing - ‘Laughing Twice’ Two-Person Exhibition - Flexitron, Angel (10th July - 9th August, opening Wednesday 9th August, 6-8pm)
Flexitron presents ‘Laughing Twice’, a two-person exhibition by Henry Gibbs and Rebecca Willing.
“Through painterly gestures that give chance to discrepancy and divergence, the exhibition centres on the multilayered implications of the double. There is always something new and unforeseen that emerges from repetition: difference. Attempts to contemplate a painting or drawing’s singularity - through repetition, manipulation, and ambiguity - are undone by the inevitable and infinite plurality of a gesture. The double resists a fixed identity, operating instead as a metaphorical device for navigating intricate relationships between mind and body; eye and hand; the mechanical and embodied. Both artists hide, distort, and fragment imagery through various forms of translation to reflect expression, perceptions of identity and the elusive nature of our relationships with digital networks and systems. These digitised gestures create shadows, rhythms, and variations that haunt aspects of the self and online expression.” - Flexitron
Emma Amos - Solo Exhibition - Alison Jacques, Mayfair (10th July - 9th August, opening Wednesday 9th August, 6-8pm)
Alison Jacques presents Emma Amos’ debut UK solo exhibition.
“Spanning a period of nearly 5 decades of work, this is the first UK solo show of pioneering African American artist Emma Amos (b.1937, Atlanta, Georgia; d.2020, New York). In the 1950s, Amos lived in London, studying at the Central School of Art and Design. Amos combines painting, textiles, and printmaking, often incorporating African fabrics, photo transfers, and vibrant colours. Her work is politically charged and addresses themes of race, gender and identity. Though under-recognised during much of her career, Amos has gained widespread attention in recent years.” - Alison Jacques
Amrit Singh Sandhu-Clayton - ‘I Prefer Living in Color’ Solo Exhibition - The Art Office, Primrose Hill (10th July - 7th August, opening Thursday 10th July, 6-9pm)
The Art Office and cam.contemporarie present Amrit Singh Sandhu-Clayton’s ‘I Prefer Living in Color’, curated by Ciera Alyse McKissick.
“I Prefer Living in Color considers the artist's exploration of legacy, space, time, and transient environments through colour’s capacity to transport and evoke memory, whether it be a meticulously painted patterned rug, or the turmeric coloured canvases serving as the foundation of the physical features of the figures depicted. Influenced by David Hockney’s energetic and dynamic color combinations, Sandhu-Clayton, reimagines black and white family photos to create histories for people known and unknown, touching on her feelings of groundedness and connections to the present.” - The Art Office
Avril Corroon - ‘Glowing Daisy Day’ Solo Exhibition - Kip, Peckham (11th - 20th July, opening Thursday 10th July, 6:30-9pm)
Kip presents Avril Corroon’s solo exhibition ‘Glowing Daisy Day’, the inaugural exhibition at their new Peckham location.
“Avril Corroon makes sculpture, installation, moving-image, performance, and social practice that examine inequity and how architecture manifests governance. She collects and juxtaposes context-specific materials and images to create associative space. She has made cheese from toxic mould, collected 1,800L of dehumidifier water, and performed on a city rooftop as the Airbnb logo.” - Kip