Five art shows to see this week: Modern Art Oxford, FOLD, and more

20 – 26 January

Published 20 January 2017

From the versatile exploration of light in contemporary art to Henry Moore’s peculiar collection of found objects, here are some of the best shows to see this week.

  • Henry Moore: Sculpting from Nature

    The Lightbox, Surrey, until 7 May

    As a child, Henry Moore collected found objects, preserving them in what he called the “library of natural forms”. This collection – made up of skulls, bones, stones and shells – continued to inform his practice throughout his life. He believed that “there is in nature a limitless variety of shapes and rhythms… from which the sculptor can enlarge his form-knowledge experience.” This exhibition showcases some of Moore’s most iconic sculptures, and reveals how they were directly inspired by the natural world.

  • Moore in 1968 working on an etching plate for the Elephant Skull album

    Moore in 1968 working on an etching plate for the Elephant Skull album

    © Errol Jackson, Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation

  • A Certain Kind of Light

    Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, until 7 May

    Light has played a central role in art history: generations of artists have attempted to capture it in their work. In an exhibition featuring works selected from the Arts Council Collection, the notion of light is explored through the eyes of several modern and contemporary artists. Spanning a wide range of mediums, the exhibition features more traditional studies of light – such as the delicate landscape paintings of English artist LS Lowry RA, and more abstract works such as Anish Kapoor RA’s reflective installations.

  • L.S. Lowry RA, Seascape

    L.S. Lowry RA, Seascape, 1965.

    Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London..

    © The Estate of L.S. Lowry. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2016.

  • Lubaina Himid, Invisible Strategies

    Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, until 30 April

    With two major solo exhibitions opening in the UK this week (see also Navigation Charts at Spike Island), not to mention her participation in the group show The Place is Here at Nottingham Contemporary, 2017 is shaping up to be a significant year in Lubaina Himid’s career. For the last four decades, Himid has been a prolific artist, curator, archivist, and writer; her voice has been central in conversations about marginalised histories and the representation of the African diaspora in visual culture. The show at Modern Art Oxford opens with Himid’s outstanding work, Freedom and Change (1984), in which she has transformed the female figures from Picasso’s Two Women Running on the Beach (The Race) (1922) into Black women, rethinking one of the pillars of western art.

  • Lubaina Himid, Freedom and Change

    Lubaina Himid, Freedom and Change, 1984.

    Courtesy the artist & Hollybush Gardens.

  • Amie Siegel: Strata

    South London Gallery, London, until 26 March

    Amie Siegel’s recent practice has been mostly driven by the will to reveal the life of objects and the ways they acquire value and meaning. She creates ethereal works with multi-layered narratives, incorporating film, photography and installations. Quarry (2015) is a film work projected on a cinematic scale. It traces the life of white marble from its extraction in an underground quarry in Vermont, to its final use within a luxury apartment in Manhattan. Accompanied by orchestral music, this large-scale video installation explores a complex, hidden production chain.

  • Amie Siegel, Quarry

    Amie Siegel, Quarry, 2015.

    Exhibition view, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin.

    Courtesy Simon Preston Gallery, New York..

  • Frank Kent

    FOLD, London, until 25 February

    For his first solo show at FOLD gallery, Royal Academy Schools alumni Frank Kent proposes a selection of new work. Most of these pieces have been made on site and designed to seamlessly fit into the gallery space. Oscillating between design and sculptures, his works can be seen both as architectural elements and separate entities, hanging from the walls or sticking out from the floors of the gallery. Becoming integral elements of the space, his geometrical sculptures redefine the rooms they are in.

  • Frank Kent  , Triangles In Lidded Box

    Frank Kent, Triangles In Lidded Box, 2017.

    Spruce, pine, iroko, lime wax, gloss paint and metal fixings. 47 x 91 x 21. Image courtesy of the artist and FOLD Gallery.