Exhibition of the week
Handpicked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today
Jim and Helen Ede, the founders of Kettle’s Yard, valued the fresh cut flowers in their gallery almost as much as the artworks themselves. This exhibition highlights artists who share a similar passion for floral subjects, featuring works from Henri Rousseau to Lubaina Himid.
Also showing
Billy Childish: This Is The Universe… Big Isn’t It?
Known as a garage-rock superstar, Billy Childish presents new paintings depicting the California desert through his characteristic hazy, expressionistic style.
Katharina Grosse: I Set Out, I Walked Fast
The renowned artist returns with monumental, site-specific paintings that cover entire buildings, alongside some smaller works.
Les Krims: Fictcryptokrimsographs
Featuring ultra-weird, super-surreal staged Polaroids from the mid-1970s, this collection challenges conventional notions of photographic truth.
Racheal Crowther: Liquid Trust
This debut institutional show by the young artist includes a scent-based installation exploring themes related to the body and the military-industrial complex.
Image of the week
The flora of Grenada is vibrant, lush, and intensely tropical. However, Oscar-winning filmmaker and Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen perceived a different narrative when photographing these flowers in 2024. He viewed them as symbols of historical trauma and colonial pain. McQueen described them as
“constant witnesses of turmoil and upheaval. In a landscape of flux in population, they have been a constant. Sometimes the most horrific things happen in the most beautiful places. That’s the perversity of life.”These images are part of Bounty, his new photography book.
Masterpiece of the week
Ceal Floyer, Monochrome Till Receipt (White), 1999
In 1999, British conceptual artist Ceal Floyer, who passed away at the end of last year, conceived a remarkable idea. She explored the concept of creating a color in the viewer’s mind without using traditional media such as paint or photography. The artwork consists of a shopping receipt listing only white items. Reading the list prompts the viewer to visualize flour, cream cheese, eggs, and rice, effectively painting a mental image of whiteness.
Moreover, the receipt reveals details about its origin: the shopping took place in Camden, London, on 9 June 2009, with a manager named Jim Donovan on duty. This information encourages the viewer to imagine Camden Road, the weather of that day, and Jim in his tie. Thus, the piece transcends being a mere concept or mental painting; it encapsulates an entire world within a single Morrisons receipt.
This work is currently on loan as part of an exhibition at the National Art Centre, Tokyo.
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