Frieze Week: 8 Shows Not to Miss

Coming up in London this Frieze Week…

From the October issue of Apollo: preview and subscribe here

1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair
Somerset House, London | 15–18 October

Alluding to the 54 countries that make up the continent of Africa, 1:54 – now in its third year – provides an international platform to showcase the diversity of contemporary African art. Thirty-seven exhibitors present more than 150 African and African diaspora artists, from Angola to Italy. Highlights include Kapwani Kiwanga at Galerie Jérôme Poggi; Jems Robert Koko Bi at Galerie Cécile Fakhoury; and a talks programme curated by Koyo Kouoh.

Courtesy the artist & Galerie In Situ – Fabienne Leclerc

Kara Walker: Go To Hell or Atlanta, Whichever Comes First
Victoria Miro, London | Until 7 November | Read our review

This exhibition, Walker’s first at Victoria Miro, continues her interest in narratives of colonialism and slavery. It features a new body of work that draws inspiration from Atlanta, in particular Stone Mountain – a historically contentious site once declared the spiritual home of the Ku Klux Klan. Complementing the Atlanta works are large-scale pieces that satirise the stereotypical forms associated with ‘low’ art such as graffiti and folk art.

Courtesy the artist, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. New York and Victoria Miro, London; © Kara Walker

William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance
Marian Goodman Gallery, London | Until 24 October | Interview with the artist

William Kentridge’s first substantial solo show in the capital for 15 years is an exhibition of new work that includes two immersive film installations. One of these, an eight-screen danse macabre, which gives the exhibition its title, offers a ghostly enquiry into solitude and death, making use  of Kentridge’s trademark silhouettes. A new series of paintings draws on Chinese culture, and painted bronze sculptures reveal the artist’s love of trompe l’oeil.

Photo: Thys Dullaart; Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, Paris & London; © William Kentridge

Amaranthine: Flowers of Hellenic Adornment
Kallos Gallery, London | 7 October–18 December

This exhibition presents a trio of Greek jewellery pieces – two of which have never been displayed in the UK before. Dating from the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, the works, which include this gold armlet with a Herakles knot, are testament to the skill found in ancient goldsmithery.

Courtesy Kallos Gallery and Steve Wakeham

Eileen Gray: The Private Painter
Osborne Samuel, London | 14 October–7 November

This is the first UK exhibition of Eileen Gray’s paintings. It includes more than 60 works and photographs by the pioneering modernist designer, and also features a selection of her personal letters, furniture and ephemera. Painting was a private pastime for Gray, which allowed her to overcome the stresses associated with her work. Illustrated is the early gouache, L’Art Noir (1922).

Courtesy Osborne Samuel

David Bomberg and his Students at the Borough Polytechnic
Waterhouse & Dodd, London | Until 24 October| Read our review

The evening art classes that David Bomberg held at Borough Polytechnic from 1945–53 attracted a range of students keen to avoid a traditional art education. This exhibition reveals Bomberg’s influence on the Borough Group, but also stresses the very individual styles that artists developed as a result of these lessons. Comprising more than 40 works, the show includes paintings by Leon Kossoff, Dorothy Mead (illustrated), and Dennis Creffield.

Courtesy Waterhouse & Dodd; © The artist’s estate

Art in Industry: The Work of Paul Storr
Koopman Rare Art, London | 13–31 October

This is the first exhibition dedicated to the work of the English Regency silversmith Paul Storr (1771–1844), and it features more than 200 examples of craftsmanship in both silver and gold – making it the largest selection of Storr silver ever shown together. Works on display date from 1792, when Storr set up his own London workshop, until his retirement in 1838.

Courtesy Koopman Rare Art

Performance & Remnant
Fine Art Society, London | 9–30 October

This group exhibition considers performance art and its traces – be that in concrete poetry, dance, choreography, or theatre – and how this once underground mode has entered the mainstream. The show, which includes painting, sculpture, photography, and video, also explores the difficulties inherent in documenting or collecting performance. Among the featured artists are Andy Goldsworthy, John Giorno, and Michael Petry (illustrated).

Courtesy the artist and The Fine Art Society

Frieze Week runs from 14–17 October.

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