Diary of a London Art Critic: A Sweltering Summer of Art

Sunflowers, postcards and a new dinosaur

In this post, I summarise every exhibition I’ve seen over the last few weeks, not just those I write about in other publications, and you get my honest thoughts on them. This edition involved a lot of gallery hopping in the lovely Summer we’re having in London.

Saturday 21 June

Fewer stops than usual in a West London day, finishing with a few stops in the centre of town.

With Ed Rollitt at his exhibition

I started with a collaborative show as ArtCan (where I’m an honorary trustee) took over the Bobcat Gallery space in Putney Exchange Shopping Centre (now closed). It made a nice change from the usual salon-style hang, and I discovered some new artists while seeing the latest works by more familiar ones.

I also caught the final weekend of Medieval Relics at Gallery Green & Stone (now closed). All 26 artists are inspired by the medieval period, and many of their works were reasonably priced.

The gargantuan post-graduate exhibitions at the Royal College of Art were next (now closed). The school has massively increased its intake, and sadly, it shows. Works in the sculpture and contemporary art exhibitions feel piled on top of each other. Painting typically has a bit more space per student, but even they felt crammed in this year. The one bright element was that the new arts and humanities programme appeared to be a good one, with numerous interesting works.

Ed Rollitt’s show at The Bomb Factory in Marylebone is a special one (until 6 July, free). It made my top five, and you should go, it’s cinematic, eerie and feels like something that should be beyond a recent graduate - yet, he’s pulled it off.

I finished the day with the MA exhibition at Slade School of Art (now closed). The clear standout was Varvara Uhlik’s installation of typically Soviet-era school playground equipment seemingly submerged in a pool of black water. It’s ambitious and arguably the most memorable work from this year’s degree shows.

Beneath the paywall:

• Major exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts, Wellcome Collection and Pitzhanger.

• An Old Masters board game

• Marching animals and a new dinosaur

• The best and worst of exhibitions around town