Markus Lüpertz: Tent Paintings, 1965, Michael Werner Gallery, London
Using illustrations in a department store catalogue as his source, Markus Lüpertz began his series of paintings depicting tents and tent-like forms in 1965 as a way to develop ideas of abstraction and pictorial invention, and to explore line, form and colour. Painted in house painter’s distemper on canvas, the works mix geometric abstraction with the looser immediacy of the neo-expressionist style the artist later became known for.
Until 6 July 2018. michaelwerner.com
Alia Pathan: Fire Rooster, Primary, Nottingham
Comprising opera, video and 4D sculpture inspired by the artist’s actual and imagined journeys ‘home’, in ‘Fire Rooster’ Alia Pathan negotiates the notion of provenance and intra-cultural identity as constructed through pop culture. The exhibition includes an audio archive of Pathan’s White Tiger Project from 2017 which explored the experiences of second and third generation British descendants of indentured labourers who moved from India to East Africa under colonial rule.
Until 16 June 2018. www.weareprimary.org
Chantal Joffe: Personal Feeling is the Main Thing, The Lowry, Salford
Presented as part of the Royal Academy’s 250th anniversary programme featuring 250 years of art and artists in venues across the UK, this exhibition of Chantal Joffe’s paintings shows how the artist confronts the physicality of the human body and the complexities of human emotions through a combination of detachment, humour and intimacy. Often featuring women and girls, and including shared glimpses of the artist’s own relationship with her daughter, Joffe’s recent paintings also explore transitions into adolescence and motherhood.
Until 2 September 2018. www.thelowry.com
Nicole Polonsky: Thoughtlines, Northern Print, Newcastle upon Tyne
Taking the binary traditions of fine art printmaking and mass print production as her subject, Nicole Polonsky’s cross-disciplinary practice often references overlooked, erased, marginalised or banal subjects. For ‘Thoughtlines’ the artist presents several bodies of work including Y not I, a series of screenprints featuring renderings of found poems, lyrics and other texts by her brother Toby Polonsky (1965–1986), and new series of prints The Lamentation Suite.
Until 30 June. northernprint.org.uk
Richard Woods: Upgrade, Skip Gallery, London
Following on from Woods’ Holiday Homes commission for the 2017 Folkestone Triennial, Upgrade sees the artist fill a skip in London’s Hoxton Square with one of the cartoonishly colourful bungalows that featured in the earlier work. A comment on the capital’s housing market, regeneration and gentrification perhaps (a discarded pot of the gentrifiers favourite paint Farrow and Ball can be seen alongside other house painting materials sticking out of the skip), but the work could also be read as an end of this particular strand of Wood’s practice.
Until 30 June 2018. www.skipgallery.com
Images:
1. Markus Lüpertz, Zelt – dithyrambisch (Tent – dithyrambic), 250x340cm distemper on canvas, 1965. Photo: Stephen Palmer
2. Chantal Joffe, Poppy, Esme, Oleanna, Gracie and Kate, 40x80x3.5cm, oil on canvas, 2014. © Chantal Joffe; Courtesy: the artist and Victoria Miro, London/Venice
3. Richard Woods, Upgrade. Photo: Stephen Palmer
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