The Shock of the Now - Issue #189
Afternoon All - Welcome to Issue 189 of The Shock of the Now! I hope you’re having an enjoyable week.
This week, the full issue includes seventeen Recommended Exhibitions, as well as eleven fresh Artist Opportunities.
Additionally, tomorrow morning I’ll be publishing The Shock of the Now’s Guide to South Bermondsey Art Trail 2025, exclusively for paid subscribers. That in-depth issue will provide insight into the two-day programme that celebrates the diverse range of artists and creatives working in the area of South Bermondsey. Now in its seventh edition, I’ll be providing comprehensive coverage of all open studios, exhibitions and events, you won’t want to miss it!
I hope you enjoy Issue 189, 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 :
Suzanne Song - ‘Interfold’ Solo Exhibition - White Cube, Mason's Yard, St. James's (4th September - 3rd October, opening Wednesday 3rd September, 6-8pm)
White Cube presents Suzanne Song’s debut UK solo exhibition ‘Interfold’, as part of the gallery’s ‘Inside the White Cube' series.
“White Cube opens a solo presentation of new paintings and works on paper by Korean American artist Suzanne Song (b. 1974). Featuring a muted colour palette and precise, minimal lines, Song’s practice explores the conceptual idea of ‘space’ with geometric works that blur the boundaries between illusion and reality. 'Inside the White Cube' is a series of exhibitions showcasing work by non-represented artists at the forefront of global developments in contemporary art.” - White Cube
Faith Hughes & Michael Sandford - ‘Portable Keyhole’ Two-Person Exhibition - Flexitron (4th September - 3rd October, opening Wednesday 3rd September, 6-8pm)
Flextrion presents ‘Portable Keyhole’, a two-person exhibition of work by Faith Hughes and Michael Sandford (above), curated by Jean Watt. Alongside the exhibition, in collaboration with Watt’s curatorial project A Place to Rest which situates artworks in unusual spaces, Hughes and Sandford will have works placed within the grounds of St Silas Church, located opposite Flexitron on Penton Street.
“The show brings together new works from both artists. Borrowing its title from Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954), where a camera lens becomes a “portable keyhole” into the private lives of others, the exhibition explores how both artists have developed methods of accessing intimacy from afar in their image-making. Hughes’ miniature tile paintings of scenes extracted from found imagery are paired with Sandford’s large-scale chalk drawing which uses hacked surveillance footage as its source. The works reveal a shared language, a shared desire to still moments that are lost to time.” - Jean Watt
Toyen - ‘Dreaming in the Margins’ Solo Exhibition - Richard Saltoun, Mayfair (3rd September - 4th October)
Richard Saltoun presents ‘Dreaming in the Margins’, the debut UK solo exhibition dedicated to TOYEN (1902–1980).
“Recognized as one of the most enigmatic and fiercely independent figures in Surrealism, TOYEN (1902–1980) was born Marie Čermínová in Prague. She adopted a gender-neutral identity early in life, rejecting societal conventions - a position reflected throughout her work and public persona. This exhibition brings into focus the depth and breadth of Toyen’s graphic work - including illustrated books, prints, drawings, catalogues and archival materials - making it one of the most comprehensive presentations of this part of her oeuvre ever compiled.” - Richard Saltoun
Alberto Giacometti & Mona Hatoum - ‘Encounters’ Two-Person Exhibition - Barbican Centre, Barbican (3rd September - 11th January)
The Barbican Centre presents the second exhibition in their ‘Encounters: Giacometti’ series, pairing sculptures by Alberto Giacometti with works by contemporary artist Mona Hatoum.
“Mona Hatoum presents a mix of pre-existing and new artworks alongside her own selection of Alberto Giacometti’s sculptures, opening up connections and dialogues across generations. Integrating historic works by Giacometti within her own installations, Hatoum responds to Giacometti’s work, with a focus on the motif of the cage, themes of domestic and hostile environments, and how these spaces affect the viewer of the artworks. Hatoum’s work often looks at issues of displacement, marginalisation, exclusion, and systems of social and political control. Alberto Giacometti is one of the most significant European sculptors of the 20th century, known for his distinctive, elongated sculptures which experiment with the human form.” - Barbican Centre
Ollie White - ‘Something Borrowed’ Solo Exhibition + Grace Mattingly - ‘Dancers’ Solo Exhibition - Haricot, Shoreditch (5th - 27th September, opening Thursday 4th September, 6-8pm)
Haricot presents Ollie White’s solo exhibition ‘Something Borrowed’ (above) and Grace Mattingly’s solo exhibition ‘Dancers’, the latter accompanied by a text from Georgia Stephenson.
“Ollie White see’s the boxed shoes as more than just artefacts, inspiring them to explore the ways in which an object can begin to act like a body, and how the shoes can act as characters, people, or gestures in a scene. Through the portrayal of the shoes in a box, Ollie creates anthropomorphic tension, showing the box as not just a container for an inanimate object, but as a room or a frame for a living, breathing scene.” - Haricot
“Grace Mattinglyʼs latest body of work playfully celebrates shifting bodies, identities and desires in a wet-on-wet approach to painting. The figures (dancers) within these works are in a constant state of ‘becomingʼ, from animal to human, and possibly even to monster. Itʼs not clear at which point in the transformation that weʼre invited to watch, only that these creatures are caught in flux” - Georgia Stephenson