Art Exhibitions on Now: August 2019

7 Unmissable Art Exhibitions on in August

This month’s not to miss choices include bright, bold and illusory abstracts, as well as retrospectives investigating social and political issues across the globe.

1. Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud

John Ruskin, Dawn, Coniston, 1873, Watercolour over pencil

This fascinating exhibition is the first in-depth examination of the relationship between John Ruskin and JMW Turner. The exhibition will include more than 100 works and stretch across six rooms. It is one of the biggest exhibitions in the UK during the 200th anniversary of John Ruskin’s birth (8 February 1819).

The exhibition examines both men’s work and the impact Ruskin had in highlighting climate change. In 1884, Ruskin wrote about an encroaching ‘Storm Cloud’ – a darkening of the skies that he attributed to the increasing environmental damage of the modern world. The imagery also allowed him to articulate his ongoing mental struggles. This can be seen more closely through the haunting portrait of Ruskin from the National Portrait Gallery, made in the aftermath of his first serious mental illness. 

As part of the exhibition, Royal Academician Emma Stibbon was commissioned to go to Chamonix and record the glaciers around Mont Blanc. This is where, in the early 1800s, Turner painted watercolours that inspired Ruskin to embark on his Alpine tours decades later, photographing and drawing awe-inspiring glaciers such as the Mer de Glace. By following in the footsteps of JMW Turner and John Ruskin, capturing the breathtaking sites in the French Alps, the work reveals a stark depiction of how climate change has taken its toll on the glaciated landscape.

This exhibition is showing at the Abbot Hall Art Gallery until 5 October 2019.

2. Bridget Riley

Bridget Riley, Nataraja, 1993,  Oil on canvas, 165 x 227 cm

Bridget Riley is a British artist known for her Op Art paintings. Her clean lines, colour arrangements and geometric precision, create optically compelling visual effects that divided critics. Her paintings first came to international notice when she exhibited with Victor Vasarely and others in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in an exhibition called ‘The Responsive Eye’ in 1965. While some critics dismissed the works as trompe l’oeil (literally ‘tricks of the eye’), the exhibition was a hit with the public. Riley held another popular exhibition at this time in the US, at the Richard Feigen Gallery in New York. Tickets sold out on the first day they went on sale – a remarkable achievement for an artist who was still in her early thirties.

Bridget Riley’s paintings present more than just simple visual tricks. Her works are very large and may take six to nine months to develop. She begins by making small colour studies in gouache – she hand mixes all of the paints as the exact hue and intensity is vital and must be kept consistent.

Successful studies lead to a full-size paper and gouache cartoon which prefigures the final work. These are then enlarged, ruled up, under-painted with acrylic and over-painted in oils. Everything is painted by hand – no rulers or masking tape is used when actually applying the paints. Riley has worked with assistants since the 1960s because of the large scale and the need for great precision.

This comprehensive exhibition, which takes over both floors of the Royal Scottish Academy, will be the first museum survey of Riley’s work to be held in the UK for 16 years. Spanning over 70 years of work, it will place particular emphasis on the origins of Riley’s practice and will trace pivotal moments across her career.

This exhibition is showing at the Scottish National Gallery until 22 September 2019.

3. Helene Schjerfbeck

Helene Schjerfbeck, Self-Portrait, 1912, Oil on canvas

Through over 60 portraits, landscapes and still lifes, UK audiences are for the first time seeing works by one of Finland’s most revered artists.

Helene Schjerfbeck’s pensive, melancholic paintings offer an intimate insight into the life of an outsider. Schjerfbeck progressed Finnish painting further than any contemporary – many critics consider that, because of her vantage point away from the main artistic centres, she could more easily forge such a distinct style. Her work encompasses a broad range of references, from the Old Masters to the French Impressionists.

The exhibition shows an artist of compassion and great intelligence. Schjerfbeck was very particular when choosing her sitters. She admired the Old Masters, above all El Greco and his ability to render psychological intensity and drama. This became an important consideration when selecting her models. Her skill as a portraitist lay in her ability to bring out the character of each sitter in a way that has been described as ‘emotionally candid’, rather than straying into the sentimental. This trait also reflects Van Gogh’s influence.

This exhibition is showing at the Royal Academy of Art until 27 October 2019.

4. Frank Bowling

Installation view of ‘Frank Bowling’ at Tate Britain. Photography: Matt Greenwood, Tate Photography

Bowling landed on British soil as a teenager in 1953 and later studied at the Royal College of Art alongside David Hockney and Patrick Caulfield. Yet, while both were causing a stir in the arts scene, Bowling’s approach to painting was overlooked. This neglect was not just because of race – it also has to do with the unfashionable character of his painting for much of his career. At this time the British art scene was leaning towards figurative, narrative-driven painting, whereas Bowling favoured shapes, structures and colour.

In 1966 Bowling moved to New York and his paintings of the early 70s reflect it. He was surrounded by garish colours, gestural improvisation and new dilemmas: as the civil rights movement intensified, artists of colour began to feel pressure to rank politics above aesthetics. This created tension between what Bowling ‘ought’ to be making work about, and what he wanted to create.

The result is an expansive body of work that gels thought and commentary with action. This nine-room takes visitors phase by phase through an enormous body of work that covers decades of Abstract expressionism, Colour Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction. He became increasingly interested in the effects created by paint, and in 1973 he began to pour paint directly onto canvas, angled so that the wet paint would slowly flow to the bottom. In his New York and London studios Bowling built a tilting platform that allowed him to pour the paints from heights of up to two metres.

Bowling exhibited the first group of these ‘poured paintings’ in New York in the autumn of 1973. Over the last fourty years Bowling has developed his technique, adding other materials and thick layers of paint to the canvas. Colour and the material structure of the paint remain his focus.

This exhibition is showing at the Tate Britain until 26 August 2019.

5. Bartolomé Bermejo: Master of the Spanish Renaissance

Bartolomé Bermejo, Saint Michael Triumphs over the Devil [Detail], 1468, Oil and gold on wood, 179.7 x 81.9 cm

Bartolomé Bermejo was one of the most fascinating figures within Spanish art of the second half of the fifteenth-century. Bermejo’s work exploited the potential of oil painting techniques – a new development at the time. He developed a realistic language with a particular emphasis on illusionistic effects, coupled with an ability to interpret themes and iconographies in new and often visually terrifying ways.

His urge to carry on exploring new avenues, especially in landscape and portraiture, led him to produce some of his most complex and innovative works during the last stage of his career. Though fewer than 20 works by the artist are known and much of his life remains a mystery, Bermejo’s paintings set him apart as a technically skilled and visionary master. At the heart of this exhibition is Saint Michael Triumphs over the Devil, widely considered the most important early Spanish painting in Britain. Its technical skill and excellent state of preservation are even clearer following its recent year-long conservation treatment.

This exhibition is showing at the National Gallery until 29 September 2019.

6. Paula Rego: Obedience and Defiance

Paula Rego, The Maids, 1987, Acrylic on canvas-backed paper, 213 x 244 cm

This exhibition is an ambitious retrospective of the Portuguese artist’s work that puts heavy emphasis on politics. Spanning Rego’s career from the 1950s through to 2012, the works in this exhibition address António de Oliveira Salazar’s fascist regime, the 1997 referendum on legalising abortion in Portugal, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the United States and its allies and, from 2009, female genital mutilation.

The exhibition includes previously unseen paintings and works on paper from the artist’s family and close friends, which reflect Rego’s perspective as a woman immersed in urgent social issues and current affairs. Many of the images begin with the artist’s Portuguese roots and childhood experiences.

Driven by folklore, fairy tales and literature and cultural visions of the nineteenth-century, Rego weaves dark narratives as contemporary folklore – her paintings seem to be taken from a cruel tale and evoke women’s issues in strange scenes, going against social codes. Showing these paintings in Portugal, as well as a series of etchings on the same subject, undoubtedly influenced a 2007 referendum which led to the legalisation of abortion – her images were republished in Portuguese newspapers.

This exhibition is showing at the MK Gallery until 22 September 2019.

7. Félix Vallotton: Painter of Disquiet

Félix Vallotton, Sandbanks on the Loire (Des Sables au bord de la Loire), 1923, Oil on canvas, 73 x 100 cm

Compared to his contemporaries Bonnard and Vuillard, Félix Vallotton is little-known in the British public eye. Despite this, the influence of Vallotton’s striking colour combinations, each laced with quiet detachment, have permeated into twentieth-century art – from the paintings of Edward Hopper to the films of Alfred Hitchcock.

Born in the Swiss city of Lausanne in 1865 and raised in a modest, Protestant household, Vallotton moved to Paris as a 16-year-old aspiring artist, situating himself at the heart of the contemporary art world. He began to capture frenetic life on the city’s streets and his work soon caught the eye of Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard. With them he joined a group known as ‘the Nabis’, although he was never a fully committed member. The group took inspiration from the decorative, Post-Impressionist style of Paul Gauguin and popular Japanese woodblock prints.

Despite living through such a significant period of change in the history of Western art, Vallotton ultimately remained loyal to traditional modes of depiction, developing the ‘disquieting’ style which defines the many nudes, still-lifes and landscapes he produced in the final 25 years of his life.

This exhibition is showing at the Royal Academy until 29 September 2019.

Interesting Upcoming Artist Shows on this Month:

This is a selection of UK art exhibitions, including group, solo, artist-led and gallery curated shows, that we think are interesting or unusual in some way. We update this section every week so you know the exhibitions to see now. If you want to submit your own, follow the link at the bottom of this section.

Exhibitions on at the Start of August

Contemporary Painting

25 July – 4 August 2019

Exhibition view at The Bricklane Gallery

The Brick Lane Gallery is proud to present its new upcoming Contemporary Painting Exhibition. They have works from the following artists:

Antonella Baldacci, Emily Ma, Sophie Baker, Haser, Maurizio Fioretti, Mikio Urasaki, Halcyon Jarrett, Lili Da Silva, Salman Alhajri.

The Brick Lane Gallery
216 Brick Lane
London
E1 6SA

Lucy Jones: Awkward Beauty

26 July – 6 October 2019

 Lucy Jones, Lead You Up the Garden Path, 2008. Photograph: Lucy Jones, Courtesy of Flowers Gallery London and New York

A new showcase of selected works by British artist Lucy Jones will be coming to the University of Leicester’s Attenborough Arts Centre, in collaboration with Flowers Gallery, London.

The exhibition includes a new portrait of Attenborough Arts Centre’s patron, artist Grayson Perry, which was commissioned by the centre.

Attenborough Arts Centre
University of Leicester
Lancaster Road
Leicester
LE1 7HA

B L A K E

25 July – 1 September 2019

Sir Peter Blake, Sources of Pop Art V, Silkscreen, 50.5 x 50.5 cm

After a near sell-out show 5 years ago in Sheffield, Pop-art pioneer Blake returns this time to ‘The Viewing Room’, a new gallery aptly located within a re-purposed 1965 department store. This new ‘show & sell’ brings together a collection of new works plus a selection of rare classic pop-art-masters.

Blake’s work crosses all generational divides and inspires great respect from younger artists such as Damien Hirst, Gavin Turk, Pure Evil and Tracey Emin. Knighted in 2002, an honorary doctor of the Royal College of Art, and with his work represented in major collections throughout the world, Peter Blake truly is a grandee of British Art.

The Viewing Room
Kommune
Castle House
Angel St.
Sheffield
S3 8LS

Alchemy

25 July – 18 August 2019

Helen Bur, Self Reliance, Oil on panel, 36 x 36 cm

Alchemy is an exhibition of new works by Broken Fingaz, Carrie Reihardt and Helen Bur.

Alchemy was a branch of natural philosophy that featured in many cultures around the world. It is most closely associated with attempts to transform base metals into more valuable noble metals. Both alchemy and art are each often perceived as blends of science, magic, mythology and religion.

Within this exhibition, the artists utilise base materials and transform these into more valued works of art. The artists use various elements to transform abstract ideas and emotions into physical works of beauty.

Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s HQ
King’s Rd
London
SW3 4RY

Divergent Motion

25 July – 19 August 2019

Delphian Gallery is pleased to present ​Divergent Motion, their first annual summer group show featuring artists working across painting, drawing, collage, and sculpture.

This summer show provides the opportunity to continue a visual conversation with previously exhibited artists by showcasing their new work alongside other exciting contemporary artists whom they have yet not yet shown.

Delphian Gallery
76 Montague Square
London
SE15 2LR

Urban Angles

30 July – 11 August 2019

The artistic heritage of a city is created and shaped by the artists who live and work there. Urban Angles reveals the city as a hub which enables the cross-pollination of multiple ideas and cultures.

In the same way that the city provides each individual with the anonymity to be themselves, Urban Angles offers each artist within the collective, the opportunity to present and express their unique and individual perspective of the urban environment.

Artists: Moich Abrahams, Kanwal Dhaliwal, Geraldo Frazao, Kirsi K, Marc Martyr, Noriko Michigami, Rosana Miracco, Amravati Mitchell, Alice Richards, Jack Smith, Carole Thomas, Martini Yoganini.

Espacio Gallery
159 Bethnal Green Rd
London
E2 7DG

Exhibitions on in the Middle of August

Paradise Skies by Julio Guerra

2 August – 30 September 2019

Julio Guerra is a London-based graphic artist with a bold, geometric and colourful style.

He studied Graphic Arts as well as Sociology in his native Venezuela, and his work has been exhibited at The Cruz-Diez Museum of Print and Design in Caracas. Julio went on to further training at Central Saint Martins in London.

Julio is strongly influenced art movements such as geometric abstraction, Renaissance painting, Suprematism and colour field painting. However, as an artist-cum-sociologist he also takes inspiration from contemporary fashion and culture, and 20th Century art and design.

Paradise Skies is an exhibition of Julio’s tropical birds; flamingos, parakeets, pelicans and some colossus toucan heads.

Of Cabbages & Kings
127 Stoke Newington High Street
London
N16 0PH

My Friends Are Geniuses II – Hochoul Lee – Iris Mathieson – Tristan Pigott

1 August – 31 August 2019

Tristan Pigott, Saint George Mocked, 2019, Oil on board, 110 x 122 cm

Tristan Pigott, Saint George Mocked, 2019, Oil on board, 110 x 122 cm

Recent Graduate Exhibition from Hochoul Lee, Tristan Pigott and Iris Mathieson. Opening night on 1 August.

A Second in Thousands painting performance by Hochoul Lee will be on 1 Aug 7:00-7:25 pm.

Projection by Iris Mathieson will be played on the opening evening, as well as Thursdays, Fridays and on request.

White Conduit Projects
1 White Conduit Street
Islington
London
N1 9EL

What’s great about Britain?

3 August – 31 August 2019

Take a look at Britain through the eyes of Nathan Bowen…

Nathan Bowen is a guerrilla street artist, he actively works as an art vigilante, seeking for dull, lifeless spaces around London. By openly using his imagination he transforms old walls, creating new and inspiring works of art. His style is unique, fast, dynamic and unpredictable, his signature characters known as ‘The Demons’ invade building site hoardings all over London, using the streets as his own gallery.

Curious Duke Gallery
173 Whitecross Street
London
EC1Y 8JT

Singular/Cellular

1 August – 25 August 2019

Nick Wild, Multicell,, 2019, Watercolour, 33 x 26 cm

Showing a selection of work from the last three years comprising of large scale bird portraiture in oils and abstract watercolours with a cellular theme.

Studio 1.1
57A Redchurch St
Shoreditch
London
E2 7DJ

Drawings / Flowers Group Show

1 August – 25 August 2019

Works include the delicately formed and exquisitely executed ethereal hair drawings of Denmark’s Alexandra Buhl; Mexican Guillermo Monroy’s found objects reimagined and given new life as a menagerie of new creatures; Paul Robinson’s Pink bear who lives a life of highs and lows in beautiful technically intricate produced paintings and prints; Graham Carrick’s paintings writhe at the notion of what we perceive to be attainable goals. Alex Allmont provides the rhythm with a new kinetic Lego piece.

The Tommy Flowers
50 Aberfeldy St
Aberfeldy Village
London
E14 0NU

Convo

1 August – 1 September 2019

Matthew Fortrose

StolenSpace Gallery is pleased to announce the new group show ‘Convo’, featuring new work from Australian artists Tom Gerrard, Matthew Fortrose and Elliot Routledge. Gerrard, Fortrose and Routledge have struck up a correlating ‘convo’ between their work to create a show of unison but uniqueness.

Stolen Space Gallery
17 Osborn Street
London
E1 6TD

If you want to find out about more exhibitions that are on near you, or if you are feeling inspired to try something new, search our Exhibition and Artist Opportunity Calendar by region to find an event for you.

Let us know about your exhibition by filling out the form at the bottom of the page and we may include it in one of our Art Exhibitions on Now posts.

all images are copyright of the artist unless otherwise stated

The image at the top is: Frank Bowling, Middle Passage (detail), 1970, Acrylic, silkscreen ink, spray paint, wax crayon, and graphite on canvas, 310.5 x 310.5 x 5.1 cm