MASTERPIECE ONLINE: with Ben Hunter. London 22 - 28 June

Ben Hunter operates across two floors of exhibition space in the heart of St James's, London and mounts exhibitions of Contemporary and 20th century artwork. Dealing on both the primary and secondary markets, the gallery is able to maintain a link to the art of the past whilst working with critically engaged and vital work being made today. Beyond its exhibition program, Ben Hunter works privately with collectors and institutions. Historical artworks handled by the gallery are selected based on their quality and beauty as well as their importance and relevance to the art and ideas of our time.

Seyon (2020) oil on canvas 200x200cms

Seyon (2020) oil on canvas 200x200cms

George (2020) oil on canvas 100x100cms

George (2020) oil on canvas 100x100cms

I See You

Victoria Miro, London. 2nd June - 4th July 2020

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Sarah Ball, María Berrío, Celia Hempton, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Chantal Joffe, Maria Lassnig, Jessie Makinson, Alice Neel, Celia Paul, Lisa Yuskavage.

I See You is an exhibition of paintings that brings together historical and contemporary works by female artists with a focus on depictions of male subjects. From portraits of family members to paintings of invented characters and those that challenge a traditional understanding of the ‘male gaze’, works on view invite us to consider the characteristics and qualities that connect or divide us along shifting lines of gender and how differences might be bridged by a shared understanding of consciousness – what it means to see and be seen.

https://iseeyou.victoria-miro.com

I See You is also available to view via the App Store on Vortic Collect.

Timothy (2020) (Photo: the artist and Victoria Miro)

Timothy (2020) (Photo: the artist and Victoria Miro)

'ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE' Anima Mundi 25/4 – 1/6/2020

FEATURING : Massimo Angei, Simon Averill, Kristoffer Axen, Sarah Ball, Samuel Bassett, Harriet Bell, Trevor Bell, Paul Benney, Jim Carter, Mat Chivers, Kate Clark, David Cooper, Phoebe Cummings, Andrew Hardwick, Rebecca Harper, Youki Hirakawa, Simon Hitchens, Henry Hussey, Sax Impey, Harminder Judge, Arthur Lanyon, Andrew Litten, Alastair Mackie, Kate MccGwire, Jamie Mills, Richard Nott, Si On (formerly Hyon Gyon), Eeva Peura, Michael Porter, John Robinson, James Seow, Tim Shaw, Roger Thorp & Jesse Leroy Smith, Joy Wolfenden Brown, Evelyn Williams and Carlos Zapata.

‘Ode to a Nightingale’ was written by John Keats, in a single day, from beneath a garden tree in the Spring of 1819. Keats' poem describes the narrator’s attempts to separate from the world by losing himself in the enchanting, echoing, immortal song of a distant nightingale. The song becomes a transcendent voice of reverie that compels the narrator to join with it in a liminal state, temporarily abandoning his sense of reason, and in turn escaping his own woe and concern. However, the nightingale remains somewhat ‘other’ - elusive and mysterious - making it impossible for there to be complete self-identification with it, which allows the narrators self-awareness to creep back in and begin to permeate the poem, slowly dragging him back towards his own reality and separation. The narrator clings to poetics to hide from the loss, but poetry does not bring about the escape and reverie that the narrator sought, instead it liberates him from his desire for the relative simplicity of pleasure alone... Read more/less The nightingale and the presence of the nightingale becomes not simply about the bird or the song, but about human experience in general - one of conflicting duality - of connection and severance, of sight and blindness. The glimmer of hope is the glimpse towards wider connection and escape through a fissure in the wall of our condition. Despite the fact that we remain ever aware of the confines that bind us, of life and mortality, through a breeching, we can, perhaps, attain a little lasting liberation or transcendence. This online mixed exhibition offers a selection of works, which for me, withhold within them a complimentary, liminal, mystery to Keats’ all too pertinent masterpiece.

Joseph Clarke, 2020

Sarah Ball ‘Elliot’ oil on gessoed panel . 24 x 18 cm

Sarah Ball ‘Elliot’ oil on gessoed panel . 24 x 18 cm