London Grads Now
Lucky Red by Tom White
Recently, I took a trip to Saatchi Gallery to check out this year’s highly anticipated graduate-led show, London Grads Now. Scroll down for more 🎨
London Grads Now returns to Saatchi Gallery bigger and better than ever, featuring exciting new works from over 200 MA graduates. The inaugural show opened in 2020 as a response to the widespread cancellation of degree shows during the start of the global pandemic, and the second edition aims to champion rising talents from seven leading London art schools. From painting to sculpture to moving image, the exhibition showcases the breadth of creativity across London’s emerging art scene. The best part? All of the artwork sales proceeds go directly to the artists. If you’re planning a visit, put on your favourite shoes because there’s a LOT to see.
The exhibition is curated across nine galleries and visitors can expect to see anything from sprawling soft sculptures to tiny hand-painted ceramics. There are also a number of innovative digital works that offer an element of interactivity. You can scan QR codes, respond to text animations, and watch videos on an infinite loop, pretty exciting stuff.
Pigs by Nana Wolke
In one of my favourite works, Lucky Red, Tom White captures a quotidian moment through figuration. His large-scale painting maintains a sense of intimacy, using gestural brushwork and a soothing colour palette to create a fleeting narrative. When describing his practice White shares, “I am interested in the tension that exists between the painting and the sitter, how the artist captures an essence of the subject, and the phenomenological presence of sensation in painting.”
Silver Shoes by Abi Ola
In addition, in Silver Shoes, Slade School of Art graduate Abi Ola presents a captivating mixed-media painting made up of vibrant patterns. Employing oil sticks, tissue paper, and fabric, Ola explores personal narratives, depicting a memory of her aunt through fragmented shapes. Blending traditional Nigerian attire with decorative wallpaper, Ola explores both her West African and British identity.
Elsewhere, Camberwell College of Arts graduate Reda Grigaraviciute focuses on observations of nature and the female form, presenting an oil on canvas painting featuring large tropical leaves and two anonymous figures.
Hortus No.2021 by Reda Grigaraviciute
Cellula by Clara Fantoni
One of the things that I really love about this exhibition, and degree shows in general, has to be the variety of methods and modes of practice. Here we see artists working across many different mediums, experimenting with an abundance of textures and forms. Royal College of Art graduate Oisín O’Brien uses acrylic on pleated MDF, on aluminium to create a fractured lime panel that reflects on the absurdity of contemporary life. While Central Saint Martins graduate Clara Fantoni examines materiality through sculpture. Using recycled plastic, expanding foam, resin, soap pigment, and ink, Fantoni sculpts a thought-provoking piece titled Cellula, its parts curving inwards.
In The Key Out Of Lime by Oisín O’Brien
Lastly, an artwork that truly resonated with me was Lindsey Jean McLean’s monumental figurative painting, Snake and Veil. With an ambiguous and alluring painterly style, the Slade graduate explores representations of femininity, using a veil as a transformative tool. By concealing the face of her subject, McLean amplifies her own agency within her work as she reimagines the traditional gaze.
London Grads Now continues to explore new avenues for creative expression, paving the way for fresh ideas. The student-led show offers a brilliant platform for emerging artists, allowing each to have their chance to shine. What began as a response to the global pandemic, now exists as a cornerstone of London’s emerging art scene. If you haven’t already, definitely go and see the show before it closes, you won’t regret it!
The show runs until January 16th 2022.