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Blood, Sweat and Tears: London Art Grads at the Saatchi

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


David Shrigley: Spotlight Artist of the Week.

David Shrigley: Spotlight Artist of the Week.

Tracey Emin’s A Fortnight of Tears at the White Cube: ADVISORY WARNING: CONTAINS SCENES OF AN UPSETTING NATURE