“It’s all trauma, man”
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This week
💦 post-2008 weltanschauung
💦 whores carved from pink Himalayan sea salt
💦 #BeKind
Events
A small but by no means meagre selection this week, including lots of talks to keep you intellectually engaged! We’re poised and ready for George Henry Longly’s (also of Ridley Road Project Space) opening at Nicoletti on Thursday, see you there kids.
🧊 7 Feb | 7-9pm | Panel Discussion: Transgression in Art and Fashion, Goldsmiths CCA [New Cross]
🧊 9 Feb | 6-8:30pm | George Henry Longly: Microgravities, NıCOLETTı [Cambridge Heath]
🧊 9 Feb | 6-9pm | Dean Edmunds: I’M LOST BUT I’M MAKING RECORD TIME, Dinner Party Gallery [Farringdon]
🧊10 Feb | 6:30-8pm | Lynette Yiadom-Boakye in conversation with Doru Oluwu, Tate Britain [Pimlico] Tickets £7/£10
Exhibition of the Week
Cinzia Says… at Goldsmiths CCA until 12 February, info here.
‘Fashion allowed me to explore the wearer's intimate secrets, needs and desires, but also a person's crazes, fads and nervous disorders,’ said Cinzia Ruggeri (1942–2019) in 2013. Her current survey at Goldsmiths CCA is bonkers and brilliant – one of the best shows we have seen at this institution. A velvet dog-shaped dog bed, an apron covered in fried eggs, pig-shaped pink handbags and knee-high boots in the shape of the OG knee-high boot – Italy; these are just four examples of the (probably) more than 200 pieces on view. Ruggeri’s work rips up the tired dichotomy of fashion designer/artist. Her mischievous, surreal practice – incorporating sculpture, installation, fashion – brings a dada sentimentality and surrealist consciousness to 80s design movements like Memphis and postmodernism. Everything is immaculately, intelligently produced. But what caught our eye is that nothing seems out of reach: the clothes, sculptures, and furniture are all assembled from an economy of materials and it is humour, imagination and Ruggeri’s sheer creative prowess that elevates. Adorning a dress with LED lights, for instance (Nightgown, 1984-5). Sewing a clutch onto a glove, for instance (Slap-glove bag, 1983). Wrapping plastic crystal beads around a lightbulb, then hanging a jellyfish charm onto it, for instance (we think she may have done this to all her bulbs). Sometimes, I think the best shows are the ones that make you feel encouraged. Encouraged to make, experiment, do something new - turn your life around! So, apologies if we’re a bit late delivering the ‘sletter next week, we’ll be busy sewing our own human-shaped velvet pouffes.
Hot Links
🙉 “cartoon monkeys in DJ booths spinning EDM at a party” – Nate Freeman bounces around some hefty blockchain research in this dive into the meteoric rise and cataclysmic fall of NFTs. Covering Bored Apes to The Chainsmokers to Larry David, Nate poses the question: were these art world stalwarts ‘selling snake oil to marks?’
🚪 “Levi-Strauss was right when he said we are all cannibals'' – we give you the sceniest Artforum diary ever, with appearances from Jordan Wolfson, Precious Okoyomon, Dean Kissick, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Seth Price, etc, the list goes on. Why is that a London museum exhibition opening a) wouldn’t be this sceney and b) wouldn’t be featured on Artforum?
👞 “these college guys definitely know how to wear the hell out of these dorky fuddy-duddy clothes” – Avery Trufelman is back at it again with the fashion history for Articles of Interest, tracing the insane evolution of Preppy dressing which is ‘–hear me out– perhaps the most incredible fashion arc of the 20th century’.
🐦 “It is a shocking monument of vulgarity, as if Mount Rushmore were whores carved from pink Himalayan sea salt” – spittle-fave Sam McKinniss profiles Alex Katz, surmising that ‘Katz’s crime against art was his optimistic embrace of fashion illustration and billboard advertising as compositional influences, which are viewed as non redemptive and crass’.
🪚 "why can’t I cry in front of a Rothko" – @artreviewpower100’s findings from an intense ChatGPT session provide some direction to the directionless. What would it look like if ‘my parents were proud of me and liked my art’?
🧸 “I think the only way to have a democratic society is to encourage civil disobedience” – If, like us, you lapped up the Pamela Anderson doc on Netflix, scoot your eyes over to Hanna Hanra’s juicy interview from 2019. Pamela discusses politics, does some pretty hefty name-dropping, and explains how ‘a sexy life is being engaged in the world, caring about other people, other things and having empathy’ – Preach!
Add-to-cart
Hopping back on the Jenkin train for one minute, we squealed with delight when we saw that Edel Assanti has released some editions to accompany his show Surrender (see our review in last week’s ‘sletter!). Featuring motifs from his moving-image work – think rats, firestarters and sinister post-its – all works come framed and adorned with some holographic stickers to boot! Please hold our drinks while we order the set! From £120, purchase here.
Parting Shot
Last week, another article about London’s emerging gallery scene was published (this time in The New York Times); and some feathers were ruffled once again. In a now-deleted tweet, gallerist Daniel Benjamin lamented the proliferation of ‘sandwich shops’ exhibiting ‘gum on the floor’, suggesting that the lack of coverage his gallery got was ‘discrimination’. Despite only having 25 twitter followers, his use of the #artworld seemingly drew attention to his tweet – from some of the emerging gallerists he was slagging off. Ellie Pennick of Guts gallery reminded him to #BeKind, and said gum-exhibitor took the receipts to insta before deleting his post, but not before artist Steve Bishop made an inspired suggestion for future programming. Stay tuned for more updates #artworld