The Shock of the Now - Issue #72
Afternoon All,
I hope you’re all well and welcome to Issue 72 of The Shock of the Now.
This week's Featured Exhibition is a Portuguese two-parter, covering Anna Woodward and Louis Morlæ’s concurrent solo exhibitions at Galeria Duarte Sequeira. I had the pleasure of travelling to Braga for the opening weekend, enjoying the gallery’s stunning surroundings including a sculpture park housing works by Vanessa da Silva, Julian Opie & Richard Long. Having been aware of the amount of hard work going into each, Anna and Louis' exhibitions didn’t disappoint, with both raising the bar of their respective practices and pairing surprisingly well to offer individual impressions of the utopian/dystopian divide. My thanks to Duarte, Despoina and Ivo for their hospitality!
Alongside, there are seven weekly Recommended Exhibitions and three fresh Artist Opportunities.
I hope you enjoy Issue 72, and if so do forward it along! As always any questions, comments or feedback are welcome, so feel free to get in touch.
All the best, and speak soon, H x
Featured Exhibition: Anna Woodward - ‘A Cloned Realm’ Solo Exhibition & Louis Morlæ - ‘All Watched Over By Emissaries of Loving Grace’ Solo Exhibition - Galeria Duarte Sequeira, Braga, Portugal
For her debut solo exhibition, ‘A Cloned Realm’ at Galeria Duarte Sequeira, Anna Woodward’s world builds against initially abstract backdrops build-up by soak-staining, that signature technique of artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, where watered-down acrylic washes pigment the previously pristine expanse. These looser, freer backgrounds serve in complementary contrast to the density of detail that comes after, an effortless origin before the painstaking painterly perfection applied on top. It is only after that tentacular biomorphic protuberances begin to worm their way across the colour-field canvas. Intrusive and invasive yet marked by a primary palette that appeals to our innate id, candy-coloured like mass-produced plastic playthings. These alien appendages or sentient slimes lead - or mislead - the viewer, able to draw our attention before manipulating and manhandling our gaze. They direct us through Woodward’s labyrinthine landscapes towards island encampments, towering totems or ominous openings. Throughout, gleaming metallic pipes, poles and pillars sprout from the sludge or the stains, industrial evidence of previously civilised inhabitation, the remnants of a man-made past. In one artwork, these polished posts cut across the entirety of the picture plane, obstructing our view and obscuring the wood for the trees. And in Woodward’s paintings, it is imperative to see both wood and trees alike, for while demonstrating a mastery of the minutiae, the bigger picture is never found wanting, each artwork rewarding in equal measure micro and macro.
Just as many pop-cultural post-apocalyptic depictions demonstrate the passing of time by the rapidly re-established natural hierarchy, by plant life repopulating the urban environment in an often absurd abundance, in Woodward’s artworks flowers also have the run of the place. We witness a vegetation takeover of epic proportions, seemingly equally at home sprouting out of the flowing fluorescent slurry as taking root within the stained substrate or wrapping vine-like up the vertical columns. Gone are the decorative, craft-work or feminine connotations frequently allocated to flora, as in their beauty they denote a darker undertone, that of humanity's ceased existence.
As you descend into the aptly named GDS Warehouse space, a sense of the dystopian is just as strong. Here, Louis Morlæ’s ‘All Watched Over By Emissaries of Loving Grace’ establishes an android-inhabited in-between space. A sci-fi service station of sorts, the pit-stop between parallel universes or a Welcome Break from the information superhighway. A place to relax, reflect and, perhaps literally, recharge one’s batteries. A drained droid lies atop a bifurcated bench clad in hand-embroidered cushioning, powered down as if asleep or on standby mode, awaiting enlightenment, its VDU visage displaying a screensaver of mysterious motifs. Another reclines within a circular seating arrangement, the automaton further anthropomorphised with the addition of Brad Pitt’s bald bonce - the living equivalent of a Napoleonic death mask, all the way from a Hollywood prosthetic department - as well as humanoid hands - often cast in place of the head, should facial disfigurement have occurred pre or post-mortem.
The exhibition takes its title from Richard Brautigan’s 1967 poem, originally handed out as a free flyer on the streets of Summer of Love-era San Francisco, that extolled the virtues of a mutually beneficial marriage of nature, humanity and machine, all working together for the greater good (“The Greater Good”). Playing on an ovular screen not dissimilar to a spacecraft’s windscreen or planetary porthole, Morlæ’s latest video work presents a contemporary consideration of the side-by-side subsistence of androids and humankind. What starts as a psychedelic celestial trip amongst a galactic or ocular cosmos and a sinister deserted space station, soon gives way to a skydive descent towards an unspecified city and a subsequent steaming red crater mid-crosswalk. Morlæ adds experimentation with AI and deepfake technology to his artistic arsenal, as Pitt reappears with World War Z-length straggly hair and post-apocalyptic attire, expressing some existential angst or comatic confusion. Later, his aforementioned simulated stand-in proceeds to cut a rug around a stereotypical American shopping mall to a soundtrack produced in collaboration with Charlie Dobney, diverting the attention of the assembled masses to a Louis Vuitton checkout counter or a shelf of Balenciaga Defenders. Finally, in a moment of calm contemplation, we follow a rural road until it reaches sand, cacti and palm trees, supposedly in anticipation of a degree-presentation worthy Part Two…
Recommended Exhibitions Opening This Week:
Nancy Allen - ‘The Closest Witness’ Solo Exhibition - Piccalilli, Sydenham (9th February - 5th March, opening Wednesday 8th February, 6-11pm)
Piccalilli presents Nancy Allen’s solo exhibition ‘The Closest Witness’.
“Her drawing practice includes rubbings; collaged impressions of textures transferred through from the underside. Often the sculptural works share this process of transfer through or between surfaces, imprinting one form onto another. Pliable materials such as foil plates, lace, metal mesh, and papier mache acquiesce to compression and manipulation, but are respected and make suggestions of their own about ways forward. Notions of taste and domesticity, craft and industrial style design come into conversation through patterned surfaces, modular sections and materials of yesteryear.” - Piccalilli
Serena Korda - ‘The Maidens’ Solo Exhibition - Cooke Latham, Battersea (9th February - 17th March, opening Wednesday 8th February, 6-8pm)
Cooke Latham presents ‘The Maidens’, an installation of new ceramic works by British artist Serena Korda.
“In this new series Korda expands upon the world of this imagined giantess, building her a spectral female entourage inspired by Penelope’s twelve handmaidens in the Odyssey. Peripheral characters, the handmaidens aided Penelope in the daily weaving and unravelling of a funeral shroud - a cunning strategy to put off the suitors that accumulated in Odysseus’s absence. Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Penelopiad’, focuses upon the untold female perspectives within this familiar myth. Similarly, Korda reviews the narrative through a feminist lens, placing the maidens centre stage, their murder the ultimate expression of their lack of agency.” - Cooke Latham
Enej Gala - ‘saving chewing gums from mammoth's hair’ - TJ Boulting, Fitzrovia (9th February - 11th March, opening Thursday 9th February, 6-8pm)
TJ Boulting presents Enej Gala's debut UK solo exhibition ‘saving chewing gums from mammoth's hair’, in collaboration with A plus A Gallery, with an accompanying text by Treti Galaxie.
“Three synthetic fur sculptures, shaped like ancient wheelbarrows, lie disjointed on the floor. These tools originally invented to increase human strength, used in agriculture and the military, are crushed by their own weight, and assume anthropomorphic forms. The artificial fur covering them is made of materials derived from petroleum, a substance mainly composed of the dissolution of the bodies of extinct animals. In his research, the artist usually invents new objects and modifies those linked to culture and everyday life, often deliberately sabotaging their form and function. In addition to emphasising unexpected characteristics and hidden potentialities, these transformations are intended to emphasise the impossibility of an equal dialogue between inventor and invented, thus subverting the usual hierarchies.” - TJ Boulting
George Henry Longly - ‘Microgravities’ Solo Exhibition - Nicoletti, Bethnal Green (9th February - 25th March, opening Thursday 9th February, 6-8:30pm)
Nicoletti presents George Henry Longly’s solo exhibition ‘Microgravities’.
“Presenting a new body of work including sculptural collages and video, the exhibition expresses the artist’s interest for life in space, its physical and emotional effects, as well as its representations in popular culture. Here, the artworks are composite assemblages of various materials such as marble, glass, aluminum and wood, in which Longly weaves multiple references ranging from NASA imagery, science fiction and horror film posters to Flintstones characters and moonscape paintings.” - Nicoletti
Laurie Cole - ‘The Shedding of the Bird Suit’ Solo Exhibition - The Viewing Room, Thames-Side Studios, Woolwich (11th February - 8th March, opening Friday 10th February, 6-9pm)
Thames-Side Studios presents Laurie Cole’s solo exhibition ‘The Shedding of the Bird Suit’ in The Viewing Room.
“Laurie Cole is a painter whose work combines ever-changing memories and storytelling. Her work, often autobiographical, forms an ebb and flow of narrative that references back to itself and looks at ideas of femininity, parenthood, comfort, fear and love. Working instinctively, Laurie builds layers of paint and other materials that can be worked into and changed as her ideas progress, aiding the process of self-reflection in her practice.” - Thames-Side Studios
Lucía Pizzani - ‘MERUNTÖ: in the house of spirits’ Solo Exhibition - Bosse & Baum, Peckham (10th February - 25th March, opening Friday 10th February, 5-8pm)
Bosse & Baum presents Lucía Pizzani’s solo exhibition ‘MERUNTÖ: in the house of spirits’, with an exhibition text by Elizabeth Fullerton.
“The research behind this new body of work is a continuation of the artist's lifelong interest in nature, and her history of working as part of the environmental movement in Venezuela. The exhibition recalls the cosmic force and energy which derives directly from the Sun and gives life to all organisms on Earth: this being the root of the Pemon concept MERUNTÖ. The exhibition mirrors the artist’s own life in a state of flux between countries and cultures, and her continuing exploration into points of connection between people and plants that surround us.” - Bosse & Baum
Kemi Onabulé - ‘The Lunatics’ Solo Exhibition - Guts Gallery, Hackney (11th February - 3rd March, opening Saturday 11th February, 3-6pm)
Guts Gallery presents Kemi Onabulé solo exhibition ‘The Lunatics’.
“The Lunatics explores ways in which the moon has shaped mythology, society, politics – from Nigerian visual culture to European imperialism, British environmental folklore to histories of mental health, Ancient Greek legends to sci-fi fantasy.” - Guts Gallery
Artist Opportunities:
iniva and the Stuart Hall Foundation are pleased to announce the sixth Stuart Hall Library Artist’s Residency commencing in May 2023. This residency is a funded opportunity for an artist based in the UK to be in residence at iniva’s Stuart Hall Library over a three-month period from May to July 2023. The selected artist will receive a total sum of £4,750 and given support to pursue their research in the library. Professor Stuart Hall (1932 – 2014) was actively engaged in the arts throughout his life, and in particular the visual arts. He championed the establishment of iniva and chaired its board for more than a decade. Professor Stuart Hall worked closely with artists, filmmakers and photographers, writing about the visual arts, informing critical thinking and influencing public policy on arts education.
Open Call, Summer Exhibition 2023, Royal Academy of Arts. Deadline - Tuesday 14th February.
The world’s largest open submission exhibition is back, featuring work in every medium imaginable. The Summer Exhibition is the Royal Academy of Arts annual celebration of art and artists, run without interruption since 1769. Anyone can submit their work and – if your work is selected by their panel of artists – it will go on display in our Main Galleries. This year, celebrated British painter David Remfry RA takes the reins as exhibition co-ordinator. Remfry’s Summer Exhibition will explore the theme Only Connect, taken from the famous quote in Howards End by E.M. Forster. The Summer Exhibition shows every imaginable medium – from prints, paintings, film and photography to sculpture, architectural works and more – by leading artists, Royal Academicians and household names as well as new and emerging talent. Most of the works are available to buy and sales from the Summer Exhibition directly support the exhibiting artists and the RA’s charitable work, including training the next generation of artists in the Royal Academy Schools.
The Stanley Picker Traineeship, Matt’s Gallery. Deadline - Sunday 19th February.
The Stanley Picker Traineeship, now in its 14th year, is a unique opportunity for a recent graduate or postgraduate to gain valuable professional development experience, working as part of a gallery team. The traineeship is offered on a part-time basis, two days per week over 5 months. The new Stanley Picker Trainee will support Matt’s Gallery on delivering an open-ended, vibrant and responsive programme of exhibitions and projects with artists including Nicola Bealing, Mike Nelson, Jennet Thomas, Carolyn Thompson and Michelle Williams Gamaker. Fixed-term position (5 months, April – September 2023), 2 consecutive days per week (to be agreed, Tuesday – Friday), Bursary of £4,015.20 (equivalent to London Living Wage).
Open Call, Photoworks Writer in Residence 2023. Deadline - Monday 20th February.
Photography+ is Photoworks’ quarterly online magazine. Read by international audiences, the digital publication showcases new writing, imagery, and perspectives on photography. Each issue focuses on a different theme, exploring how photography crosses over with everyday life. Photoworks would like to appoint a Writer in Residence for 2023 to contribute to four issues of Photography+. This role includes working closely with the editor to deliver four articles of approximately 1000 words. The successful writer should have a working knowledge of contemporary photography as well as a willingness to look beyond photography for inspiration. This opportunity suits an early-career writer looking to gain experience writing and publishing online. Photoworks is based in the UK, but writers are welcome to apply from all over the world. This is a paid residency with a fee of £300 per article, with expected outputs of four articles plus online or in-person meetings with the Photoworks team. The opportunity is open to all and runs from March 2023 to February 2024.
Open Call, New Contemporaries 2023. Deadline - Monday 20th February.
New Contemporaries welcome submissions from emerging and early career artists who are final-year students, recent graduates and post-graduate students from UK art schools and alternative learning programmes. New Contemporaries are committed to inclusion and equal opportunities and encourage submissions from artists of all backgrounds, ages, genders, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and from those who identify as having a disability.
Being selected for New Contemporaries programme includes: Exhibiting as part of Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2023 at Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, opening in September, and Camden Art Centre, which will open in December; Participating in New Contemporaries Bridget Riley Artists’ Development Programme; Contributing to our Digital Programme and the opportunity to present work on their channels; Being eligible, as NC alumni, for Studio Bursaries, Residencies, Fellowships, Scholarships and other opportunities; Being part of a network of other participating artists and previous alumni that spans over 70 years.
Open Call, Works On Paper 5, Blue Shop Gallery. Deadline - Tuesday 21st February.
Blue Shop Gallery presents the 5th edition of their free-to-enter open-call online exhibition. In the past few years, Blue Shop Gallery has sold hundreds of works by 300+ international emerging artists, as well as 19 original artworks by 12 different artists into the Soho House permanent art collection and into prestigious collections worldwide.
Open Call, Delphian Gallery. Deadline - Tuesday 28th February.
The Delphian Gallery Open Call is an International competition for all printable forms of artwork. It aims to give a platform to talented emerging artists who are producing exceptional work. The Open Call will culminate with a physical group exhibition for the winners in London in 2023. The first-prize winner will win a solo exhibition with Delphian Gallery in 2023. The Open Call is open to all artists working in a printable format. This includes painting, photography, collage, illustration and many others. The open call is open to International entrants. To submit your work all you have to do is post it on Instagram; Hashtag new posts with #delphianopencall; Tag @delphiangallery in the description; and Follow @delphiangallery.
Open Call, Incubator 2023. Deadline - Wednesday 1st March.
Incubator is a highly adrenalised exhibition programme with back-to-back week-long exhibitions showcasing the work of the most exceptional emerging artists working in London. Incubator are currently receiving applications for their spring programme as part of the 2023 Open Call. The selected artist will exhibit in the month of June. Eligible artists are those based in the UK who have had no more than three solo shows.
Open Call, Hotel Generation, arebyte. Deadline - Monday 6th March.
For the sixth year of Hotel Generation, NEoN Digital Arts, Fact Liverpool and QUAD have joined forces with arebyte to mentor the next generation of digital artists in the UK. Hotel Generation is a yearly UK-wide development programme mentoring young digital artists shortlisted through an open call. The programme culminates in a solo exhibition at arebyte Gallery for one of the participants selected by a panel of esteemed judges in the digital art sector. Responding to the lack of support for young artists during the critical and unproven early stages of establishing a career in the arts, Hotel Generation equips them with the skills to manage sustainable careers. For Hotel Generation 2023, arebyte seek exhibition proposals which respond to the theme of The Body, The Mind, The Soul and offer a critical look at what it means to be human in the digital age; scrutinising how technology affects our physical being, our emotional state and philosophical impressions.
Mark Tanner Sculpture Award 2023-24. Deadline - Saturday 18th March.
The Mark Tanner Sculpture Award is the most significant award for emerging artists working in the field of sculpture in the UK. We seek to reward outstanding and innovative practice in the field of sculpture and are particularly interested in work that demonstrates a commitment to process and materials. The award offers £10,000 in financial support towards the production of new work, plus a funded solo exhibition to an exceptional sculptor. The award also includes a national touring programme, taking MTSA artists to partner venues across the UK.