The end of winter exhibitions is here and with it the season’s new home decor ideas comes. My two favourites pieces this season come from two very different artists, Linjing Peng and Kate Corbett-Winder.
Corbet-Winder established herself as a painter and keen gardener over 20 years ago. Her oil on board called July 2022 appeals to the Scandi aesthetic even though its style is very British.
The painting features her own home and garden which brings us to who we are. It’s cosy, or what we call hyggelig. And peacefully abstract.
Corbett-Winder’s solo show runs at the Long & Ryle gallery in Pimlico. And just round the corner rising star Linjing Peng‘s strangely calm sculpture of fabric flowing out of a woman’s body takes the top spot in a group show.
End of winter exhibitions: conquering trauma
The piece reflects her feeling of trauma. “My work centers around the theme of trauma and the process of healing.
“My own journey towards healing began with a diagnosis of depression and bipolar in my early twenties. This led me to a deep dive into the study of depression, the human body, neural science, and biology.”
The arrival of Iconic Images Gallery in St James’s got the party started. Dozens of celeb photographs attracted an exciting crowd of old rockers and fashionistas. We can never get enough of David Bowie, Twiggy or John Lennon and here they are, old photos in new frames.
They are the perfect home decor and gift idea. A limited edition of figures from the fab 60s and 70s. Legendary photographer Justin de Villeneuve took the picture of Bowie and Twiggy below. His daughter rocked up and chatted with fashion designer Zandra Rhodes who blasted the government. To say she is anti-Brexit would be an understatement.
But Rhodes added much colour to a cold, grey evening in London and, if anything, it’s fun to hear her sharp views on Boris Johnson and the world in general.
Digital art to buy into
4 Cromwell Place has become a great show venue, except they call themselves a platform rather than venue. A show nevertheless of digital art – so if you’re looking for some wall decor and have some fun with it too, here’s the deal.
You log into a platform, pay £89 or whatever the series of paintings are priced at, and whatever the digital platform generates for you that is your painting. It might not be the one you suspected or wished for, but that could be good news as well as bad news.
Of course, art is on show outside the galleries, too. London is full of excellent wall art – some is not so great. But have a guess as to which one of the two Queens below is at the Eclectic Gallery and which one appears on a dirty old London brick wall.
Once you’ve got a piece you can print it and hang it on your wall – you own it – and you can sell it on. Good news is, for the moment, prices on digital art like this are rising….
End of winter: Ceramic favourites
I have a soft spot for ceramics – there are some great potters who take the craft to new levels. Constructing a simple vase or bowl is much more difficult than it looks. So to see pieces by a professor of ceramics is a treat. Martin Smith of Royal College of Art shows his latest geometric pieces at the Messum gallery in London’s Cork Street.
Messum also has a galley in Wiltshire which is a must for any ceramics lover – a barn full of extraordinary pieces by the best ceramicists in the country. And other works of art and craft.