Whitechapel director Iwona Blazwick OBE, and Magnus af Petersens, Curator at Large, take on the curatorial task of transforming the Whitechapel into a space devoted to abstract form as it collides with political thought. They begin with Kazimir Malevich’s radical ‘black square’ paintings which first made bold, manifesto-esque claims to the idea of non-representational art as a tool that leads to Utopian life.

Dóra Maurer Seven Rotations 1 – 6, 1979, collection of Zsolt Somlói and Katalin Spengler © Dóra Maurer

The concept of non-representational art took hold beyond the Russian movement when a series of artists including Wassily Kandinsky, Robert Delaunay and František Kupka broke away from tradition and made artwork with no recognisable subject matter. The movement evolved over the 20th century and into the 21st century, and its effects are included in the work in the show.

The show wanders through history, separated by four themes: Communication; Architectonics (how abstraction can underpin socially transformative spaces); Utopia and The Everyday, bringing the show right up to date with abstraction in corporate logos and textile design. The rest of the Whitechapel spaces are filled with displays, commissions and special events including work by David Batchelor and Bart Lodewijks. A vital exhibition, don’t miss it! (Words: Laura Thornley)

From 15th January to 6th April. For more info visit:www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/abstract-art/

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The list of women taking part in impressive. Although fashion figures feature heavily there is also more intriguing participants including Camila Batmanghelidjh, Shami Chakrabarti and Skin from Skunk Anansie.

Throughout history women have attempted to seek liberation from the chains society has bestowed upon them and clothing was often a manifestation of these confines. Elizabeth I infamously adopted male dress to convince her subjects that a women was fit to lead the country, and the Suffragettes masqueraded as conventional, fashionable ladies, to hide the true intent of their rebellious acts. And in the 60s, the feminist movement burned their bras while the term ‘power dressing’ later on signalled an assertive woman in a male-dominated work environment.

Despite the use of the loaded term fashion, the exhibition addresses a breadth of historical moments of when women employed dress to other ends, as well as asking if and how the idea of fashioning oneself to say ‘power’ remains relevant. It explores the idea of whether wearing a piece of clothing at a certain event – shoulder pads in the Boardroom? – is something that women still buy into. In an age where Karl Lagerfeld adopts the ‘look’ of the feminist 60s movement to style his catwalk show, the question still remains how much fashion takes women, and their politics of dress, seriously. Thankfully, this exhibition goes some way to address that. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On from 29 October to 26 April 2015. For more info visit the Design Museum website. 

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This exhibition at the Freud museum takes at its core the little known correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein on the motivations of men to enter into conflict and how it could be avoided. A topic that is debated constantly still today and thanks to the theories of men like Freud, we also have some tools by which to unpick the mechanisms of war.

Child soldier 1, etching/aquatint chine-collé, 2014 © Marcelle Hanselaar

The exhibition explores these ideas, the psychology behind propaganda during war, as well as artworks by Jane McAdam Freud – daughter of Lucien Freud – the East London Printmakers and Gabrielle Rifkind. There will be a responses section given by journalists, academics and politicians, to Einstein’s enduring question posed to Freud ‘Is there any way of delivering mankind from the menace of war?’ The public are also invited to respond to the question of war through message boards and poetry submissions.

This is a poignant exhibition commemorating a time and a phenomenon that unfortunately still isn’t behind us. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On until 19th October.  For more info visit: http://www.freud.org.uk/exhibitions/75632/why-war/

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As tends to happen through the passing of time, the meaning of Rudeboy has evolved and departed from its roots. The term has been incorporated into the music scenes of ragga, dancehall, jungle and grime but this exhibition intends to firmly place the style choices and attitudes of this sharply dressed subculture back with its origins. And with the presence of so many modern-day Rudie’s, the scene is evidently undergoing a significant revival.

The expert creative team behind this exhibition haven’t gone for your bog standard photography or fashion exhibition. They have instead sought to bring back the feeling and sense of this scene, reinforcing that subcultures are not simple a matter of sartorial style but also lifestyle choices, attitudes, music tastes and belief systems. Each participant has submitted their own playlist which will accompany the show and act as a sonic backdrop to the experience. Attention to style being a must for the discerning Rudie, there will also be a Rudeboy barber in-house for visitors to book and briefcases designed specifically for the exhibition. The exhibition is also supported by a series of events and movies. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On from 13th June to 25th August. For more info visit: www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/return-of-the-rudeboy

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But there is a surprisingly revelatory collection of Victorian comics, a suffragette’s handbook and the notebook of an Elizabethan wizard. Comics may have grabbed headlines in the past, but they have rarely enjoyed this academic and scholarly perspective that the British Library has dedicated to it. It’s a much overlooked artform, and this exhibition will challenge the comic’s position as social record. (Words: Laura Thornley) On at the British Library until 19th August. For more info visit: www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/comics-unmasked

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Working in Brooklyn, New York, her inspiration comes from her surroundings: a hand painted sign or a piece of graffiti. She works mostly in shop bought enamels and charcoal, embedding a throw away aesthetic within her work. Her preoccupation with the caricature makes her work unmistakeably American and a not so distant relation to the pop art scene, although the artists prefers to think of her inspirations as Giacometti and the Abstract Expressionists.

Her first solo show, I Killed Kenny started its tour in 2013 in Santa Monica Museum of art and continued to further venues throughout the States. Pensato’s exhibition at Lisson Gallery this March will be her first major exhibition in the UK. In 2012 the artist was awarded the Merit Medal for Painting, given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters as well as other awards from the Guggenheim and Pollock-Krasner Foundation.

As part of her first show in London, the artists will be transporting her studio, otherwise known as, Joyceland, complete with plastic action men, paint pots, scraps of paper and all other paraphernalia that results from her painting methods. The artist will also be creating a site-specific mural along one of the gallery walls, during the month before the exhibition. (Words: Laura Thornley)

The exhibition is on at the Lisson Gallery from 26 March – 10 May. For more info visit: www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/joyce-pensato

Watch a video of Joyce Pensato in New York  discussing her work via the Nowness website. 

Joyceland
on Nowness.com

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If their past work is anything to go by, this troop of artists certainly know how to create a spectacle to draw the crowds. With previous pieces made for the Turbine Hall, Somerset House, Serpentine Gallery and Madison Square Gardens they are no stranger to working in remarkable spaces, and their time at The Curve should be no different.

The work promises to combine twelve pendulums that activate sound and light as they swing and guide the visitor through the corridor-like arc. As is often the case, their work emphasises the tension between our real and synthesised experiences highlighting our human relationships with technological advances. But these artworks are rarely for spectacle only. The concepts behind these pieces are founded in deep research and computer technology: these artists know their stuff.

UVA are made up of Matthew Clark, Chris Bird and Ash Nehru, but describe themselves and their ideas collectively, a studio. Their practice includes architecture, sculpture, live performance and installation, with all members bringing unique skill and knowledge to the table. UVA’s slick work has travelled the globe, from Japan to China, Europe and America. Having only formed in 2003, this collective have earned themselves an admirable back catalogue. This new exhibition will make a great addition to this. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On until 1st June. For more info visit: The Barbican

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Blow is a world-renowned fashion icon, and this exhibition pays testament to her legacy. She began her career in America when her studies in Ancient Chinese Art took her to New York in the 70s. There she met artists such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michael Basquiat, as well as Anna Wintour, the then creative director of US Vogue. She later became her assistant and was projected into her fashion career. Blow returned to her home country of England to work at Tatler in 1986, where she would continue to influence and direct fashion for  the rest of her career. Her life was as eventful and legendary as can be expected of such a colourful character, sadly marred by depression and multiple suicide attempts.

Her archive itself was not without incident; shortly after her death her wardrobe was due to be auctioned at Christies by her family. Fearing it would a veritable feast by the lurking vultures, her friend Daphne Guinness bought the lot before it could reach the grasp of the public. The incredible collection Blow had built over many years has remained with Guinness and is what has made this exhibition possible. Displaying over 100 items, the show will include hats by Treacy, McQueen dresses as well as talents she discovered such as Hussein Chalayan and Julien MacDonald. (Words: Laura Thornley)

On at Somerset House from November 20 to March 2 2014. For more info visit: www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/isabella-blow-fashion-galore

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The work of Kara Walker is set to dominate the Camden Arts Centre this October: an opportunity for a British audience to engage with the work of an exceptional and challenging African-American female artist. Her trademark silhouettes will takeover the wall space, which she will continue to produce as the month’s progress. She will also be exhibiting her shadow puppetry play Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale as well as her graphite drawings Niggerati.

Embedded in Walker’s work is a preoccupation with power, but in order to visualise this struggle, her work plays with themes of gender, race and sexuality. She is currently researching the white supremacist movement in America, creating visual narratives of contemporary issues with historical imagery. It’s serious stuff but intelligently and memorably expressed. And if you are wondering, it is definitely worth the slightly cumbersome journey to reach this gallery! Don’t miss it. (Words: Laura Thornley)

Kara Walker is showing at Camden Arts Centre from October 11 to January 5, 2014. For more info, visit: www.camdenartscentre.org

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