Diary of a London Art Critic: Early October

Art fair overload and so much more ...

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. I’m back from holiday into the busiest time in the art calendar, as all the art fairs roll into town and lots of major exhibitions open - plus catching up on all those that opened while I was away. Brace yourselves for another post packed with exhibitions …

Monday 30 September

Jasleen Kaur’s work at Turner Prize

My first day back involved visiting the Turner Prize at Tate Britain (ticketed, until 16 February), which opened while I was away. I was pleasantly surprised this year and for the first time in a long while, I thought all four finalists were solid entries, each dealing with their heritages.

Pio Abad tackles colonialism tied into his growing up in the Philippines, Claudette Johnson paints black figures, Jasleen Kaur reflects on growing up in the UK as a child of South Asian heritage and Delaine le Bas’ immersive installation is about the culture of the Roma people. Not every work wowed us but all four are dealing with important issues and it feels like the Turner Prize is relevant again.

Tate Britain also hosts the ‘Art Now’ display of Steph Huang’s works (until 5 January, free). This is part of its programme to spotlight emerging UK-based artists which is welcome. However, I couldn’t find a cohesive narrative through a jumble of works that include film, sculpture and installation - it’s meant to be about food and land but left me all at sea.

The only other stop of the day was to see Moe Satt’s work at Delfina Foundation (until 17 November, free). This was another conceptual grouping of works that failed to grab me, though maybe my brain wasn’t fully engaged on that day as I was suffering from jetlag (more on that later). After this, I decided it was best to head home and recharge for the coming onslaught of the next fortnight of art.

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Below the paywall

• Honest opinions on the best and worst of major exhibitions that have opened recently - Tate Modern features in both categories

• What I thought of Frieze Art Fair, and the other fairs I’ve seen

• Francis Bacon, spinning legs, an infinity room and so much more …