Blood, Sweat and Tears: London Art Grads at the Saatchi
Highlights and artists to watch…
The expression that comes to mind when reflecting on the London Grad Show is the one, “blood, sweat and tears.” Yes they persevered and perspired through a global pandemic, and managed to pull through, but what I’m talking about their use of medium… as in, one young grad uses literal preserved sweat (pictured below), and another, includes human tears as one of the ingredients to her work. The ‘grotesque’ has fascinated art students alike for decades - can the subject of death, sex and decay ever be exhausted? The short answer is no. These taboo subjects are a reliable choice because they are emotive and relatable and bound to trigger something within the viewer. Young creatives may continue to recycle the classic art themes, but their methods of production and medium will be innovative.
Pictured above:
Goldsmiths
Isabella Benshimol Toro - @ibenshimol
Condensed Perspiration, 2020
Textile
41 x 36 x 7 cm.
Naturally, the themes that dominated the exhibition rooms were Covid-19, and BLM related art, but alongside the two main umbrella themes, these young grads incorporated their own complex and private interests - indecipherable to the lay person reading only a small placard with their name, title, and medium. (This is my only criticism - I wish there had been a small note next to the work or a QR code describing their thought patterns).
Artists to watch
(A selection from Camberwell, Chelsea, Royal College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art, Goldsmiths, Central Saint Martins).
CAMBERWELL
I’m a big-fan of Maya Quille’s beautiful spirals of steel pencil-sharpening’s which circle round in a dartboard form, upclose you can see the delicate balance between the contact points. (Pictured above, top).
Maja Quille - @majaquille
Strange Attractor 1 & 2, 2020
Steel, foam, paper
37 x 33 x 4 cm
I loved these digital prints by Linyue Kang, because at first glance I thought that they were watercolours - what an amazing effect. (Picture above, bottom).
Linyue Kang - @kklyue
Ways of the Window II, 2020
Digital print
30 x 30 cm
CHELSEA
Alistair Mackinnon - @alstrmack
Marathon, 2019
Digital photographic print
169 x 127 cm
WIIMBLEDON
Hamish Pringle @hamishpringleartist
Lockdown, 2020
Digital print on canvas (Photo credit Vivienne Pringle)
119 x 84 cm
Hamish Pringle’s digital print, a portrait of a man entrapped in steel rings - razor sharp and hazardous to anyone who attempts to remove them and to the figure inside. Pringle conjures the widely felt claustrophobic feeling that came with lockdown and self-isolation.
GOLDSMITHS
Another great example of an inventive use of medium and technology on this porcelain series. Reminds me of Boccioni and Bacon in a unique way!
Darya Diamond - @_nontender_
GPE, 2020
Porcelain, glaze screen print
38 x 15 cm
ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART
Ming Ying - @mingying_ym
Nostalgia, 2020
Oil on cotton
60 x 80 cm
This painterly mono-screenprint by Lydia Hamblet is exceptionally notable for its striking resemblance to an oil pastel piece, and De Kooning - the wonders of modern technology eh!
Lydia Hamblet - @lydiahamblet
Of all These Gestures, 2020
Unique mono-screenprint
100 x 130 cm
Constanza Valderrma’s post-it note portrait of a grandmother is beautiful, poignant, and fitting to the curation, (albeit similar in style to artist Chuck Close).
Constanza Valderrma - @constanzavalderrama.art
Grandmother Exercise 1, 2020
Inkjet prints on post-it notes
105 x 170 cm
Nicole Coson @nicolecoson
Exeunt2, 2020
Inkjet on etching paper, steel, magnets
106 x 156 cm
Yang Xu - @_xu.yang_
Missing you is like Fire 10102019, 2019
Oil, synthetic carpet
162 x 230 cm
These were two of my favourite textile pieces within the exhibition. Yang Xu’s inventive use of carpet as her canvas deserves a double-take - a creative use of textile and pattern for a living room interior scene. Similarly, Lydia Petit’s embroidered patchwork quilt is equally disturbing as it is beautiful.
Lydia Pettit - @lydiapettit
Trouble in the House, 2020
Embroidery, patchwork and quilting on cotton
66 x 204 cm
SLADE SCHOOL OF FINE ART
Kushna Sulaman-Butt’s, photorealistic Ascension painting is eye-catching and breathtaking. She is evidently highly talented and has built up a great following on instagram! Giver her a follow!
Kushna Sulaman-Butt - @khushna_
Ascension, 2020
Oil on linen
180 x 240 cm
Bartholomew Hadjuk’s Egg Boy, reminds me stylistically of the topsy-turvy chaotic paintings of Chagall - beautiful, colourful and eccentric.
Bartholomew Hadjuk @barthajduk
Jajecznica (Egg Boy), 2020
Pastel on paper
66 x 45 cm
CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS
Katy Gardener - @katygardnerstudio
Council of Overseers, 2020
Oil, pen, printing ink and black gesso on canvas
160 x 71 cm