Art Weekly Digest: London 20 - 26 November, 2017

Every week The Art Partners post a carefully curated selection of cultural events to see in London.

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Opening Of The Week

MODIGLIANI

During his brief and turbulent life (Modigliani died at the age of 35) the artist has created his unique pictorial and recognisable style. The highlight of the exhibition – 12 Modigliani’s nudes on display, a symbol of sexuality and defiance of modern women of that time. These seductive works were exhibited in 1917 and have evoked shock and rejection in the community, leading police to censor his only ever solo exhibition on the grounds of indecency. Yet nowadays his nudes are on the list of the most famous paintings of the 20th century. Tate Modern’s exhibition brings together also some of his lesser-known but radical sculptures as well as portraits of his friends such as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brancusi.

The show is on until 2nd April 2018 at Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG

Hymn For The Weekend

Open Studios at Johnsons Island Artist

Johnsons Island Artist studio door. Courtesy of the Johnsons Island Artist

Johnsons Island is an artist's colony, set on a pint-sized island on the Grand Union Canal in West London. Began in 1998 as a place for exhibiting works by local artist Barry Jones, nowadays its home to 16 art studios with artists working in a different range of mediums. Twice a year (summer and winter time) it is welcoming public for open studios exhibitions, offering its visitors to experience creative space where history, art and nature are woven together.

Open Studios weekend is from Friday 24th November to 6pm on Sunday 26th November at Catherine Wheel Rd (opposite the Brewery Tap), Brentford, London TW8 8BD

Art Discourse

Kehinde Wiley and Nicholas Cullinan

Kehinde Wiley at his Williamsburg, Brooklyn, studio. Credit Chad Batka for The New York Times

Join the talk between American artist Kehinde Wiley and Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, where they will discuss the artist’s upcoming exhibition at Stephen Friedman Gallery, 'In Search of the Miraculous', which features paintings inspired by historical seascapes by J.M.W. Turner, Winslow Homer and Hieronymus Bosch, and the artist’s first three-channel film. Earlier this autumn The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery made the announcement that Kehinde Wiley will paint the official portrait of former president Barack Obama (this type of commission is a tradition since the early ‘90s). Wiley will also be part of the landmark exhibition Michael Jackson: On the Wall, at the National Portrait Gallery, London which opens in June 2018.

This talk will be happening on Thursday, 23 November 2017, 13:15 at Ondaatje Wing Theatre, floor 2, National Portrait Gallery, Saint Martin's Place, London

In Focus

Her Stories

Rebecca Ackroyd, Grower, 2017 Courtesy of artist

Her Stories is an art auction of works by contemporary female artists to raise money for three UK registered charities that provide services for some of the most vulnerable women in London and across the UK; Beyond the Streets, Solace Women’s Aid and Young Women’s Trust. The auction features original works and limited editions by the most exciting female artists, carefully nominated by curator Juliette Desorgues. Artists that have generously donated works to the appeal include Alicia Reyes McNamara, Hannah Perry, Jala Wahid, Rebecca Ackroyd, Zadie Xa amongst others. All the pieces are open to bids prior to the event.

With a preview on 22d of November, the auction is happening on November 23rd at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, 31 New Inn Yard, EC2A 3EY London

Last Chance To See

ISelf Collection: The End of Love

Adam and Eve by Maria Lassnig, image courtesy of the artist

ISelf Collection is a series of exhibitions in the Whitechapel gallery, which discover some rarely seen collections from all over the world. The End of Love exhibition is the second of four shows from the ISelf Collection. The roots of the “End of Love” installation are going back to 2012 when Akram Zaatari has exhibited a collection of 48 portraits of grooms and brides. These images were created by Hashem el Madani in the 1960s–70s and bring to the viewers an important inside into the moment of the family creation.

The exhibition will be on view until 22nd November at the Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London, E1 7QX