The TMH Edit: seven free art exhibitions to see this October
October is here – and as any art aficionado will know, so is the imminent opening of Frieze London 2022. Naturally, then, we’ve got art on our mind and are delighted to be dedicating this month’s edition of The TMH Edit to the best exhibitions in London and beyond, so that you can get your cultural hit, whether attending the global fair or not. And best of all, they’re all free…
Frieze Sculpture, Regent’s Park, London
Take a stroll through Regent’s Park this month and you might just be confronted with an enormous tower of deflated scarlet balloons. Part of ‘Frieze Sculpture’, artist Shaikha Al Mazrou’s aptly titled Red Stack is, in fact, made of steel and is her largest piece to date – and it’s one of our highlights from the annual outdoor exhibition.
Now in its 10th year, the 2022 edition features a line-up of 19 international artists – including Alicja Kwade, Emma Hart and Ugo Rondinone – whose work is positioned within the beautiful setting of one of London’s grandest parks. A number of themes set the tone for this year’s presentation: from poetry and nature to spirituality and folklore. Unlike Frieze London, which is over in less than a week, the sculptures remain on show until 13 November. Name a better place for an autumnal walk.
Pictures: Shaikha Al Mazrou, Red Stack, 2022
Zadie Xa: House Gods, Animal Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness at Whitechapel Gallery, London
Step into Zadie Xa’s immersive installation at the Whitechapel Gallery and you’ll find yourself inside a traditional Korean home known as a hanok. This timber-framed structure is wrapped in multi-coloured hand-dyed linens, which are stitched together to form a patchwork, alluding to the Korean tradition of jogakbo. Entitled ‘House Gods’, the exhibition explores the home in the context of identity and belonging, drawing on the artist’s own lived experiences, as well as spiritual practices within Buddhism and Korean shamanism.
Using choreographed lighting and audio, Xa enshrouds the room with a ghostly presence. The artist reimagines the space as a hub for the spirits of artworks, artists and the people who once passed through the building by creating ‘another realm’ or ‘dreamscape.’ We know where we’ll be for Halloween. On display until 30 April 2023.
Pictures: Zadie Xa. Photography: Benito Mayor
Louise Bourgeois: Drawing Intimacy 1939-2010 Hauser & Wirth, Somerset
Fans of Louise Bourgeois who made it to the Hayward Gallery’s recent retrospective of the artist needn’t fear seeing the same work twice. For ‘Louise Bourgeois: Drawing Intimacy 1939-2010’, a new exhibition at Hauser & Wirth in Bruton, Somerset, is displaying an extraordinary collection of paintings, sculptures and works on paper that have never been exhibited before.
Arguably one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Bourgeois often centred her work around her own intimate experiences and selfhood – and this particular show spans the entire breadth of Bourgeois’ diverse oeuvre, highlighting the sensitivity, strength and uniqueness of her vision. In the artist’s words: “It is not an image I am seeking. It is not an idea. It is an emotion you want to recreate, an emotion of wanting, of giving and of destroying.”
While you’re there, visit the landscaped perennial garden designed by Piet Oudolf (also home to the impressive Radić Pavilion) or stay indoors and enjoy a Sunday roast at Roth Bar and Grill, the gallery’s in-house restaurant, which pairs delicious farm-to-table food with contemporary art. The exhibition runs until 2 January 2023.
Pictures: Louise Bourgeois, Untitled (Orbits and Gravity), 2009. Photography: Peter Butler
Tschabalala Self: Home Body at Pilar Corrias, London
Tschabalala Self has been busy: the American artist, celebrated for her portrayals of Black female figures, has an exhibition spanning two gallery spaces and her first public sculpture commission coming to London this month.
Opening 6 October at Pilar Corrias’ outfits in both Fitzrovia and Mayfair, ‘Home Body’ sees Self riff on the colloquial term for introvert. Working across a diverse range of mediums, including painting, drawings and sculpture, as well as functional art objects, such as reimagined tables and chairs, Self has created intimate vignettes of the home to explore how domestic spaces form the site for self-expression and performance.
If that sounds like your thing, visit the artist’s large-scale bronze sculpture, positioned within the Thomas Heatherwick-designed Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, north London. Depicting a seated figure on a monumental scale, the work examines the tensions between private space and the public sphere and was commissioned by Avant Arte. ‘Home Body’ is on display until 17 December.
Pictures: Tschabalala Self, Leisure Man in Yellow Collared Shirt in Yellow Room, 2022
British Art Show 9, various galleries, Plymouth
‘British Art Show 9’, the roving exhibition overseen by Hayward Gallery Touring that happens every five years, brings together 47 contemporary British artists – from Cooking Sections to Sin Wai Kin and Oliver Beer – working from 2015 to the present day for its 2022 iteration. Having previously made stops in Aberdeen and Wolverhampton, the final showcase is taking place in Plymouth, Devon, from 8 October, across four different galleries: Karst, Mirror at Arts University Plymouth, The Box, and The Levinsky Plymouth at University of Plymouth.
There is a trio of interconnecting topics at the heart of this exhibition, which artists were invited to respond to: imagining new futures; tactics for togetherness; and healing, care and reparative history – all of which feel even more significant today, in light of the pandemic and Brexit, than they did when they were decided upon. British Art Show 9 aims to embrace and respond to the local history of the city in which it’s being hosted – and in Plymouth, the show is inspired by the migration of bodies, peoples, plants, objects, ideas and forms. Plus, there’s a daily film schedule. On until 23 December.
Pictures: Sin Wai Kin, A Dream of Wholeness in Parts (still), 2021
Amy Sherald: The World We Make at Hauser & Wirth, London
Savile Row might be best known for sharply tailored suits, but it’s also home to some of the most influential international galleries in London. One that’s worth making a particular beeline for this month is Hauser & Wirth, which is hosting Amy Sherald’s European debut: an exhibition featuring an extensive selection of new paintings.
Sherald became a household name for her acclaimed portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, which is now on permanent display at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery. This forthcoming show, titled ‘The World We Make’, sees the artist confront the Western canon of portraiture by capturing her African American subjects in intimate everyday settings, while alluding to significant works of art or images. Against backdrops of bold colours, Sherald has a rare ability to represent the ordinary likeness of her subjects, as well as translating the true essence of the characters she paints. The exhibition opens on 12 October and runs until 23 December 2022.
Pictures: Amy Sherald, For love, and for country; To tell her story you must walk in her shoes; Kingdom, 2022. Photography: Joseph Hyde
Rich Stapleton: Drawing Room, The Cold Press, London
And last but certainly not least is an exhibition we’re feeling particularly enthused about – and that’s because we’re hosting it. We are excited to present a collaboration with photographer Rich Stapleton at The Cold Press in Spitalfields, east London. ‘Drawing Room’ is the result of a project spanning three years, during which Rich has developed a body of work that explores our five principles of a well-designed home – space, light, materials, nature and decoration.
From Nigel Slater’s London townhouse to John Pawson’s Oxfordshire farmhouse, as well as landmark modernist homes such Ernö Goldfinger’s seminal 2 Willow Road in Hampstead, Rich has captured both the beauty of these spaces – and the private lives that inhabit them. Stay tuned to find out more about the upcoming exhibition, which runs from 10 to 22 October.
Pictures: Rich Stapleton, the home of Isabel Ettedgui in Petersham
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