Art Guide – 5 Exhibitions To See In London This November

As you may noticed I’ve been on a sculpture binge lately. 3D is suddenly quiet appealing ,maybe because it gives you this instant feeling of closeness with your surroundings. In a time where the notions of territory, borders, and the erection of walls are commonplace the concept of space became important to me. Is space a substance? Is space simply air as Plato identified it? How are we meant to interact with it? To who it belongs? What is private and what is public? I personally like the definition of German philosopher and scientist Leibniz who described space as “the possibility of coexistence”. I think we could all meditate on that one.

I could go on forever, so here are my recommendations to spend an arty November in London.

Natalia LL “Probabilities” at Roman Road

I’m very much looking forward for Natalia LL solo exhibition at Roman Road Gallery. The multidisciplinary Polish artist has been a major figure of the International Feminist Art movement since she joined them in the mid 70’s. The exhibition is focusing on her early series : “Created in the 1970s, during a decisive moment in her career, the show presents framed photographs and videos from the artist’s notorious Consumer Art and Post-consumer Art, in which she drew attention to the issues of consumer culture and the status of women in the then society.”

When : Opening on Nov. 3rd // Address : 69 Roman Road London E2 0QN

Group Show “Animality” at Marian Goodman

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.“―George Orwell

Marian Goodman Gallery gave carte blanche to writer and exhibition maker Jens Hoffmann to create “Animality” which will focus on the infamous animal question. Presented as a tale filled with “creatures”, the show also raise ethical and political issues. “Animality” features the works of many artists, among them Maurizio Cattelan, Steve McQueen, or Taryn Simon alongside writers or philosophers like Emanuel Levinas or Georges Bataille.

When :Opening on Nov. 3rd // Address : 5-8 Lower John St, Soho, London W1F 9DY

Alex Hartley “After You Left” at Victoria Miro

When I went to see “Protest” last month at Victoria Miro Gallery, I was blown away by Alex Hartley’s architectural intervention in the gallery’s waterside garden (which will still be on view) :”Hartley’s work always encourages us to consider how we experience and think about our constructed surroundings – through surface and line, scale and materials, locations and contexts.” Must go.

When : Opening Nov.19// Address :16 Wharf Road, London N1 7RW

Ai Weiwei “Fondation” at Lisson Gallery

The first time I visited Lisson Gallery was a couple years ago with the Sotheby’s Institute and it was for a Ai Weiwei exhibition. There is no info yet about this upcoming exhibition, but relying on the title it will probably present his eponym 2015 wood and stone installation.

When : Opening Nov.24// Address : 52 Bell Street, London.

Anselm Kiefer “Walhalla” at White Cube

The German artist is back for a solo show at White Cube, with a series of paintings which exorcise the recent trauma that Europe has been facing lately. The title Walhalla could refer to Valhalla which in the Norse mythology is a big hall where the god Odin houses the dead whom he deems worthy of dwelling with him, most of the time heroic warriors slain in battle (yes yes I’ve been watching Viking).

When : Opening Nov.22// Address : 144-152 Bermondsey St., London SE13TQ

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