Our pick of this week’s art events: 22 – 28 October

RA Recommends

Published 23 October 2015

From monumental abstract painting on the Sussex coast to meditative sonic art in a Soho basement, we guide you through the must-see exhibitions in the UK this week.

  • David Remfry: We Think the World of You

    Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, 21 October – 13 December 2015.
    Long fascinated by the bond developed between dogs and their owners, David Remfry RA has been sketching his friends and their canine companions for the last decade. This cumulative exhibition presents a delightful collection of these sketches, watercolours, and drawings – including characterful portraits of Susan Sarandon and her Pomeranians, Ethan Hawke and his Border collie, and Laura Kaplan and her Dachschund. Heartfelt and intimate, this exhibition captures a charming insight into the place pets have within our lives. Watch a video interview with David Remfry here.

  • David Remfry, Oscar

    David Remfry, Oscar, 2008.

    Watercolour and graphite on paper. Courtesy of artist and Pallant House Gallery.

  • Bill Viola: Moving Stillness (Mt. Rainier) and The Talking Drum

    Blain | Southern, 13 October – 21 November 2015, The Vinyl Factory Space, Brewer Street car park, 13 October – 7 November 2015.
    Deep beneath the hustle and bustle of Soho, the drafty basement of Brewer Street car park provides an intriguing and theatrical setting for the installation of two of Bill Viola’s early experimental sonic artworks. The Talking Drum (1979) and Hornpipes (1979-82) were both recorded from within the depths of an empty swimming pool, and explore the relations between physical presence, audio and space. A 10 minute stroll away you can find Moving Stillness (Mt. Rainier) (1979) at Blain | Southern gallery. This stand-alone work has been described as a landmark in Viola’s practice and, without giving too much away, the experience is serene and meditative – a perfect respite for a rainy autumn afternoon.

  • Bill Viola, Hornpipes

    Bill Viola, Hornpipes, 1979-82.

    Photo Kira Perov.

  • BP Spotlight: Jo Spence

    Tate Britain, London, 19 October – Autumn 2016.
    Tate Britain’s BP Spotlights are a series of changing in-depth displays on specific artists or themes. This focused exhibition highlights the work and life of photogapher Jo Spence. Interrogating themes of domesticity, labour, and gender, this selection of key works and archival materials casts light on the significant contribution Spence made to photographic discourse and its critical potential.

  • Jo Spence, The Highest Product of Capitalism (after John Heartfield)

    Jo Spence, The Highest Product of Capitalism (after John Heartfield), 1979.

    collaboration with Terry Dennett.

    Photograph, tinted gelatin silver print on paper. 491 x 695 mm. Presented by Tate Patrons 2014 © The Jo Spence Memorial Archive.

  • Dorine van Meel: Disobedient Children

    Kunstraum, London, 24 October – 12 December 2015.
    Kunstraum is a Hoxton-based project space which focuses on solo exhibitions of European artists based outside London in an endeavor to “expose London to what’s happening in Europe”. Emerging Dutch artist Dorine van Meel’s Disobedient Children is an immersive site-specific installation made up of projections of digitally-generated abstract imagery and fragmented voices and sounds. Her complex exploration of “disobedience” aims to question common-place narratives, ideologies and identities. ­­­­­­

  • Dorine van Meel, ...instead to meet strangers who might change our minds

    Dorine van Meel, ...instead to meet strangers who might change our minds, 2014.

    The Swiss Church, London.

    Photo by John Newton.

  • Cy Twombly: Quattro Stagioni

    De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-sea, 24 October – 10 January 2016
    With a panoramic vista of the English-channel, the De La Warr Pavilion presents a dramatic and atmospheric backdrop to Cy Twombly’s Quattro Stagioni paintings. Strongly influenced by classical subjects and ideas, Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) draws on the theme of the natural cycles of birth and death. Confounding, monumental and fervently expressive, these paintings are bound to capture your heart and your imagination.

  • Cy Twombly, Quattro Stagioni: Autunno, from Quattro Stagioni (A Painting in Four Parts)

    Cy Twombly, Quattro Stagioni: Autunno, from Quattro Stagioni (A Painting in Four Parts), 1993-5.

    Acrylic paint, oil paint, crayon and graphite on canvas. 31.36 x 21.5 x 3.5 cm. © Tate, London 2015.