Diary of a London Art Critic: Spring Art-Watch

Turner turns 250, intense security guards and tons of exhibitions

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.

Tuesday 15 April

This evening marked the opening of my curated exhibition, ‘Beyond the Prize,’ at Mall Galleries. It features artists who have won prizes before, and I’ve selected around 160 works. There’s still time to catch the last few days of the show (until 26 April, £6).

Wednesday 16 April

I spent an art-filled day from Euston to Mayfair via Bloomsbury.

The big press view of the morning was for 1880 THAT at Wellcome Collection (until 16 September, free). I had no idea what to expect and was impressed by these playful works, which feature inflatable fingers and a mutant combo of multiple noses. They also make important observations on the history of how deaf people have been treated, including when sign language was sidelined at a conference in Milan, where only one deaf person was present - the fingers point to Milan and Parliament.

(Un)layering at SOAS gallery (until 21 June, free) is an excellent collection of young artists from across South Asia, a place rife with political instability, and many of the artists couldn’t get visas to see the show in London. Some of my highlights include an Afghan rug made from matchsticks, including some that have been lit to symbolise the fires of war, a mosquito net where the creatures on the outside become weapons with a safe space inside, and a tapestry on the campaign for women’s rights.

Tarot: Origins & Afterlives at The Warburg Institute (until 30 April, free) is an interesting topic. This is my first visit to this fantastic gallery space, and I’m looking forward to future shows at this venue.

Marcus Leotaud at The Bomb Factory, Marylebone (now closed), had some excellent large-scale dark paintings in which figures and landscapes appear through the gloom. It’s a fantastic technique.

Suzanne Treister at Annely Juda Fine Art (until 3 May, free) was my second tarot show on the trot. Treister’s work gives them a contemporary twist, so we have burning fossil fuels on the death card and a reference to blockchain on the fool card. Plus, there’s a room of tarot cards made using AI prompts. The Tamas Konok geometric works downstairs did nothing for me (until 3 May, free).

Next door is Berndnaut Smilde at Ronchini Gallery (until 15 May, free). I’ve followed his work for several years and never cease to be amazed at how he creates clouds within buildings to photograph. Each magical work juxtaposes the fluffy clouds with ornate architecture to create unreal scenarios.

The third gallery in a row (they are all next door to one another) was to see ‘Fragmented Wholeness’ at Mucciaccia Gallery (now closed). It was three artists in one show, and while it was mildly interesting, especially the smaller works in a row by Rita Fernandez, it didn't win me over.

Pierre Knop’s paintings at Pilar Corrias, Conduit Street (until 10 May, free) are impressive and I particularly liked the colour palette. However, I was looking for something more than beautiful landscapes from this show.

Beneath the paywall:

• A whole load more Mayfair exhibitions

• Evelyn de Morgan, Antony Gormley and the best of World Photography

• Turner turns 250

• A lot more reviews and a live podcast