Gustav Mertzger at The Serpentine
From tomorrow
Gustav Metzger’s “auto-creative” and “auto-destructive” art involved antics like spraying acid on nylon and building objects only to tear them down, dosage each shape the materials made on their way down forming new works. A bit theoretical, although interesting, but he also engaged in art activism, displaying work to do with the Vietnam war. His work is even said to have influenced the guitar-smashing meme in rock music, started by The Who. This retrospective covers almost a lifetime of work.
Now You See It at the Cafe Gallery
This lovely little gallery tucked away in the middle of Southwark Park is squeezing lots of new artists into its show “Now You See It”. Works from Cecilia, Bonilla, Jemima, Brown, Lucy Clout, Timo Kube and Katy Merrington among others explore the tricks a camera can play on you and quite what can be considered real.
Focus on the Rainforest at Kew Gardens
From Wednesday
Award-winning photographer Daniel Beltrá is exhibiting his stunning photographs of the rainforest in the fitting surroundings of Kew Gardens, starting Wednesday September 30. It seems like our generation has been trying to save the rainforests our whole lives and yet the counter on the homepage of the Prince’s Rainforests Project shows how quickly it’s still being destroyed. The exhibition is designed to raise awareness and is also extremely easy on the eye. Rainforests are actually quite frightening and full of spiders, and getting there pollutes the atmosphere, so this is the best way to appreciate their special beauty.
You must also check out Vivienne Westwood’s contribution to the project:
Once Viewed From Afar at Gallery 27
There was a time in the arts when work on the British countryside was the main source of inspiration for artists and writers. It has since become viewed as either twee or been used mainly as a counterpoint to urban environments. Artists Sarah Crew and Chris Holman are returning to the appreciative mold of artist, revelling in the idyllic, the beautiful, the nostalgic about the countryside. Using paint and photography, they create characters – think an updated Animals of Farthing Wood. There’s a story being told here, by the most familiar creatures inhabiting the country we live in.
Pop Life: Art in the Material World, Tate Modern
From Saturday
The artists on display in Tate Modern’s “Pop Life: Art in a Material World” exhibition are so influential on the world of advertising and prevalent in any satire on art, that sometimes works by artists like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin can seem a bit over-familiar. This exhibition acknowledges the way our recent art has wormed its way into popular culture and happily taken its place there, with bright, bold images that are easy to co-opt into the material world it contends that we live in.
Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy
All week
This mega-artist’s new exhibition works with the actual fabric of the building to create mind-bending works like his “Svayambh”, shown above in France, a long path made of wax. There are lots of new works for dedicated fans and the grand scale makes this a brilliant way to introduce yourself if you are a recent convert.
ShowStudio: Fashion Revolution, at Somerset House
Fashion Week is over but this stellar exhibition, also located in Somerset House, scampers on. Garnering rave reviews, especially from our own fashion section, this mix of video, mannequins and allsorts celebrating nine years of the Showstudio.com website. Some of its content has appeared online before, but much is new and everything is fashion inspiration incarnate.
Categories ,Anish Kapoor, ,Cafe Gallery, ,Chris Holman, ,Damien Hirst, ,fashion, ,Kew Gardens, ,Prince’s Rainforest Project, ,rainforest, ,Royal Academy, ,Sarah Crew, ,Showstudio, ,Tate Modern, ,Tracey Emin, ,video, ,Vivienne Westood
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