This week is packed with private views and talks around London—so many, in fact, that we had to list not one, but two openings on Tuesday.
With so much good art on offer, it’s been difficult to hand-pick our selection. But we present you with our top art event of the week, followed by a few more options for those with some extra stamina.
TUESDAY April 28
Private view of Theaster Gates “Freedom of Assembly” at White Cube Bermondsey, from 6 to 8pm.
The Chicago-based artist keeps going from strength to strength. Just days before presenting a new ambitious body of work in the Arsenale at the 56th Venice Biennale, Gates is opening a solo exhibition at the Bermondsey branch of White Cube.
In “Freedom of Assembly,” the socially-engaged artist will tackle the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble, and the free exercise of religion.
This conceptual exploration will be formalized in several new series of sculptures, a large-scale presentation of tar paintings, and a series of pots and figures made with clay—a material in which Gates has a long held interest.
Other materials employed by Gates in his sculptures come from disused buildings in his own neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side. Originally trained as an urban planner, Gates rose to prominence in the last decade thanks to his large-scale urban renewal projects in depressed areas of the US (see Apply to Live in Theaster Gates’ Chicago Artist Housing Project and Theaster Gates-Commissioned Mural Painted Over in Chicago).
Last January, Gates won the sixth Artes Mundi award. But, in an unusual token of generosity, Gates decided to share the £40,000 cash prize his fellow nominees (see Theaster Gates Splits Artes Mundi Prize Winnings with Nominees).
Theaster Gates “Freedom of Assembly” will be on view at White Cube, 144-152 Bermondsey Street, London, from April 29-July 5.
Also on TUESDAY
Private view of Alexander Calder “Primary Motions” at Dominique Lévy, 22 Old Bond Street, London, from 6 to 8pm.
The London gallery will display a single, extra-large mobile by the legendary American artist, measuring more than two meters high by four meters long (See Rare, Mesmerizing Alexander Calder Sculptures at Dominique Lévy).
WEDNESDAY April 29
Ahmet Ögüt “Happy Together: Collaborators Collaborating” opens at Chisenhale Gallery, 64 Chisenhale Road, London. The exhibition runs from April 29-May 31.
On Saturday, Öğüt staged a public discussion at the gallery, bringing together collaborators from various professions and nationalities. Chisenhale was transformed into a TV studio, where the discussion was staged and filmed. The exhibition will present a film documenting the event in the setting where it took place.
THURSDAY 30 April
Private view of Frances Stark “Sorry for the Wait” at Greengrassi, 1a Kempsford Road, London, from 6.30 to 8.30pm.
In “Sorry for the Wait,” her fifth show for the London gallery, the American artist will present an audiovisual installation accompanied by a series of wall-based works.