British Museum, room 90, Great Russel Street, WC1B 3DG, till 7th september 2008. It Is Free. The Museum is doing a retrospective on an important time in the development of art in the US, 1900-1960: here you see a mix of the original print types, varieties, innovations, unique styles and geniuses of those times; the importance of that art and its influence on the 70's and 80's cannot be understated, an amazing variety and critical selection. This is a land struggling to be born with all the rigours and perturbations that that involves is to be found within its art. A must for art academics and an eye openner for the young and up and comming art enthusiasts.
British Museum
At Coskun Walton Street SW3, across the road from Andipa is the largest selection of Andy Warhol works to be found in London. Well worth a visit. Coskun
Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, W2 3XA. Till 7th September. Richard Prince has a first show in the UK, his work affords a curious insight to contemporary US culture. Check it out. Serpentine Gallery.
Wedel Fine Art, 8-10 Conlan Street, W10 5AR. Till 20th September.Song Kun: It's My Lifes; from her day to day paint diary there is about 90 of her reflections on her day to day experiences, the usual girly stuff; went to the hairdressers, saw a rock concert, lots of face painting. Then she uses greater or lesser clarity so as to emphasize memory. The work has been split up so it is not possible to view the 365 paintings. This kind of work has a real fascination as it affords a view into ones life. Wedel Fine Art Art.
Bartha Contemporary, 136b Lancaster road, W11 1QU. Till 6th September. Belinda Cadbury and Takashi Suzuki present line art and minimalist paintings respectively. Belinda uses pencil to create a full wall instalation that makes an incredible backdrop. Takashi uses block colour in three colours to a panel creating a passive image. These works hang well together in an intimate space like Bartha. Bartha Contemporary.
Mumford Fine Art, 12 D'arblay Street, W1F 8DU. Till 6th September. 'The City' is a group show of art and photography addressing the city where you live, the images reflect great differences of approach and interpretation. From the Trelick tower in Notting Hill one has amazing views over London. Mumford Fine Art.
The Photographers Gallery, 5 Great Newport Street, WC2H 7HY. Till 14th September. 2nd unit, a retrospective on fashion through the lenses, including the sets of some of the finest fashion photographers. 1st Unit; ground floor, Dan Treacy real size photos of him in whacky garb that he found and redesigned. Upstairs and stairwell Anderson and Low large colour prints of circus troop at a fairground. Hans Aarsman has the foyer with his 'photography against consumerism', rather than buy something photograph it. This is a well curated exhibition, it is really interesting.
The Photographers Gallery.
Hamiltons, 13 Carlos Place, W1K 2EU. Till 13th September. Some of the top photographers are in the summer show.
Hamiltons.
Proud Central, 32 John Adam street, WC2N 6BP. Till 14th September. Five photographers and five contrasting views on fourty years of Johnny Cash, a man who's music crossed many a threshold and took his style of country to a massive audience. To see these photos is to see someone off the block, a neighbour and a gentleman.
Proud Central.
Michael Hoppen Gallery, 3 Jubilee Place, SW13 3td. Till 19th September. Joseph Szabo 'Jones Beach': here we see a great selection of images taken by Szabo over many years at Jones beach, affording a rare insight into the cultural mix of New Yorkers taking a break and taking their ease out on the beach. There are some great images here. Michael Hoppen Gallery.
In front of the Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG. Till 17th September. Adidas, Olympic sponsors here present the official portraits on a large instalation overlooking the thames; each athlete has a unit comprising a large portrait, a video, text and an item of their kit. Olympic Athletes GB 2008.
Monika Spruth Philomene Magers, 7a Grafton Street Street, W1S 4EJ. Till 24th September. Robert Morris Morning Star Evening Star is a political statement on the War on Terror and shows how deep it has ingrained itself on the contemporary imagination; the four part instalation is attempting to reflect his emotional response, which will take some viewing to grasp. Monika Spruth Philomene Magers.
Underneath the Arches at Leak Street SE1. This Gallery is an abandoned underpass at Waterloo station so it is a huge gallery and all surfaces are disapearing beneath the welter of 'Tags, Murals and free thrown paint'. Yes that is the must place for steet artists to display their work and it is 100 meters plus of eye catching spectacle. The Street Art Gallery of London. Blank Expression.
The Redfern Gallery, Cork Street, W1S, till 25th September. Norman Stevens is a serious ornamental garden painter and here there are a selection of those works and the other more contemporary styled paintings. If you have an eye for classical gardens you will enjoy this show. Redfern Gallery.
Collyer Bristow Gallery, 4 Bedford Row, WC1R 4DF. 'Cantilever', till 3rd September. This is a contemporary exhibition that reflects the associations between fine art and architectural designs. Set within the confines of a huge law firm limits its availability to office hours Mon- Friday and by appointment. The range of work is of interest and the lay out creates a fine backdrop to the firms daily meetings. Placing art in the work place can improve the output. Collyer Bristow.
Ferreira Projects 23 Charlotte road, EC2A 3PB. Till 6th September. Lynn wray 'Civilization', attempts to deconstruct civilization and criticise the way it was objectified. To that end she takes a look at the history of the gardens of Versailes, the esposizione of Rome and the downfall of Mussolini, more great men and their outstanding feats. The work consists of drawings, paintings, photos.
Degree Art 30 Vyner Street, E2 9DQ. Till 8th September. Ellie May 'Monsters and Grotesques', is a distortion on life with gross imagery and 3d cut outs with lighting and sounds. Working in black and white her work is both atractive and most curious. David Le Fleming 'Gullwing Mary and the Dannvirke Divas'. This is work which uses reycled objects; car parts, household cans and fridge doors and for the most part has a period quality about it with strong influences of pop art. Vehicle panels work well as media for mounting art work.
East West gallery 8 Blenheim Crescent, W11 1NN. Till 26th September. Antonio Possenti 'Still voyaging in the garden of delights', is a large set of recently composed dreamscapes and highly imaginative reconstructions of reality, with all the fantastic imagery that that involves. What can be made of such curious imagery. This is a show for the whole family
The gallery at 28 Cork Street, W1S 3NJ. Till 13th September. 'New Oil Paintings by Robert Hodgins', here you find a large selection of recent works by the prolific Hodgins, graphic imagery in bold colour, challenging stuff.
Beaux Arts 22 Cork Street, W1S 3NA. Till 4th October. 'David Spiller', Pop artist has a major show here 'Love is all you need' through the use of pop cliches that he employs he creates light hearted works that remind us of somethings that are of particular importance to us on a personal level.
The Muse at 269 Portobello Road, W11 . Till 14th Septemberber. '3 outstanding artists', Here we have one of the fine examples of art used to create a refined environment for people to see it and enjoy it; to drink at the bar or to enjoy fine dinning, the intimacy and the refinement of furnishings shows how attention to the whole venue serves only to raise the whole experience of the gallery. There are a set of the sex pistol pictures that are particularly eye catching, displayed in the central dinning section. The alternative Miss World images are displayed in the privee dinning are with a sculpture to match. In the layed back bar area we find several iconic screen prints of Diana, Malcom McClaren and Michael Jackson and a cabinet with original jewellery. The Muse also affords tenancies for new emerging graduate artists and for several months of the year the privee section becomes an artists studio. A Gallery to watch.
