Keeping Tabs: Summer art-ing
Bracing myself for a busy month
It’s been good to be back in the UK and soaking up the sunshine as I catch up on all the exhibitions I missed while I was abroad. We also have a heavy week ahead with London Gallery Weekend and major openings of the Serpentine Pavilion, Marilyn Monroe at the National Portrait Gallery, MC Escher at Somerset House, and the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration - all listed in my June preview. This week:
I have my top exhibitions to see in London for June on Londonist.
Bedsheets, surreal photography, pearls, smoking and pink twine all feature in my top 5 exhibitions to see this week.
Ahead of what would have been his 250th birthday, I’ve written about my tour of Constable country.
Susie Hamilton draws and paints her fellow commuters, and is our latest artist inspired by London.
Thanks as always for keeping tabs on me, and have a great week ahead.
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Tab’s World
My latest articles and events for your reading pleasure.
June has arrived, and I have my top exhibitions to see this month for Londonist.
Bedsheets, surreal photography, pearls, smoking and pink twine all feature in my top 5 exhibitions to see this week.
Ahead of what would have been his 250th birthday, I’ve written about my tour of Constable country.
Plus, catch up on my recent diary entries, interviews and more:
Susie Hamilton draws and paints her fellow commuters, in our latest artist inspired by London.
Ever been to the stunning Burgh House in Hampstead? We speak to its new director.
Click below to see all the subscription options, and a big thank you to everybody who’s supporting the newsletter already - couldn’t do it without you!
Tab’s Weeks Ahead
Highlighting my top events for the weeks ahead. Let me know if you'd like to join me!
There are lots of openings around Mayfair on the evening of the 4th, including Jonathan Kelly at Ione & Mann, so I’ll be hopping between them. Thursday 4th June, 6-8pm.
As London Gallery Weekend is coming up, I’ll be starting with the Rachel Maclean walkthrough at Josh Lilley Gallery on Friday. 5th June, 11 am (booking required). I’ll then be visiting some other galleries in the area.
My Saturday plans will revolve around South London, starting with Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia’s exhibition at William Hine Gallery. Saturday 6th June, 11am-5pm.
Looking further ahead, I’ll be at the opening of the BA show at City & Guilds London Art School. Thursday 18th June, 6-9pm.
All are welcome to join me at any of the events, drop me a line (or DM me on Substack), and I’ll share the full itinerary so you can drop in at any point throughout the day.
The Wider Arts
Here are my top picks for cultural experiences you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. Paid subscribers have access to my full back catalogue of recommendations.
HORROR MOVIES: 17 children from the same class all leave their houses in the middle of the night in ‘Weapons’. It’s a creepy horror that keeps the mystery until the final reveal, and has a fun (gory) conclusion. It’s a great follow-up for the director of Barbarian. Bone Lake has a setup similar to Barbarian, where two couples book the same rental house, but one couple starts playing mind games with the other. If you prefer your films gory and preposterous, Final Destination: Bloodlines keeps the inventive deaths coming in a fun addition to the franchise. It makes no sense, but switch off your brain and enjoy the ride. All three are on Now TV.
NON-FICTION BOOK: The Coddling of the American Mind, by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, is an important book that examines the value of a degree of friction, which provides the tools for healthier debates, and argues that creating too much psychological safety can lead to the mental health issues it was designed to avoid. The book focuses on universities in the US, but it’s equally applicable to social media and the in-person debates that are becoming much more divisive and less civil. The links go to my online bookshop, and you can follow me on Goodreads here.
TENSE FILMS: In Locked, Bill Skarsgard plays a petty thief who breaks into the wrong car and has a remote face-off with the vengeful owner, Anthony Hopkins, who takes control of the vehicle, with some enjoyable social commentary among the tension. Crime 101 is a slow-burning movie as Chris Hemsworth plays an evasive criminal being trailed by grizzled police officer Mark Ruffalo. The rest of the cast is excellent as the tension slowly ratchets up. Both are on Prime Video.
Articles I’m Reading
I recommend interesting stories primarily from outside the art world. If you prefer to read offline later, I recommend the Instapaper app.
This is a selection of articles I found thought-provoking in one way or another; opinions expressed in the articles don’t necessarily reflect my views or those of Londonist. Paid subscribers have access to my whole back catalogue of recommendations.
RELIGION: The Guardian explains why worryingly Muslims worldwide are being ‘debanked’ (19 mins), and Hyphen rightly states sharing samosas with non-Muslim friends is not an act of ‘domination’ (4 mins). Axios breaks down the great unchurching of America (3 mins), and CBC asks Is it normal for the U.S. president to spar with the Pope? (6 mins). The Guardian writes A century in the Siberian wilderness: the Old Believers who time forgot (16 mins), SF Gate reports A California cult blew up Box Canyon. Now the land sells for millions (10 mins), and in The Guardian, Kahane’s ghost: how a long-dead extremist rabbi continues to haunt Israel’s politics (23 mins).
STORIES FROM SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA: Vox covers how one country stopped a Trump-style authoritarian in his tracks (27 mins), Politico looks back on What I Saw in Venezuela After Trump Seized Maduro (13 mins), and looking even further back, The Guardian recounts Operation Condor: the cold war conspiracy that terrorised South America (26 mins). It also writes “Apocalypse no: how almost everything we thought we knew about the Maya is wrong” (19 mins), and The Independent asks, “Will a controversial new airport ruin Machu Picchu?” (5 mins). National Geographic states that 58 women were buried in this pre-Inca tomb. Who were they? (5 mins). To finish on a positive note, CNN reports that the first ‘cloud jaguar’ spotted in 10 years has sparked hope in Honduras (7 mins).
THE INTERNET: Wired writes Say Goodbye to the Undersea Cable That Made the Global Internet Possible (18 mins), and Rest of World reports Iran crippled Starlink and why the rest of the world should worry (3 mins). Pew Research covers “Wikipedia at 25: What the data tells us” (7 mins), and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism uncovers a London PR firm that rewrites Wikipedia for governments and billionaires (9 mins). BBC reports Scammers are becoming ever more sophisticated - this is what the fightback looks like (10 mins).
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