Show review
London Degree Shows 2024
Every year, ArtULTRA is on a mission to visit as many graduate shows as possible, to discover the best emerging artistic talent to put on our radar. Besides chatting to artists fresh out of art school, degree shows are a fantastic opportunity for us to get a glimpse into current and emerging trends that thread through students' work.
We kicked off June with a visit to the Slade School of Art to see the MA/MFA graduate show, where - despite the poor signage and exhibition design - we encountered plenty of standouts and an exceptionally high production quality. Immersed in the scent of turpentine, meandering through the spacious studio spaces dedicated to respective graduates felt as if we were entering the private workspace of each artist.
This year's painting cohort was particularly strong at Slade, showcasing impressive technical skills and craft, alongside a bold use of colour. Some of our favourites included the kinetic woodworks and oil paintings of Ruth Speer and the subtle abstract paintings of Rose Shuckburgh, inspired by the colour palette of rural landscapes. The imposing, vivid canvases of Eilen Itzel Mena and Lexia Hachtmann also stopped us in our tracks. Apart from the new artists we’ve discovered, we were particularly thrilled to see the work of Beatriz Santos, whose artistic journey ArtULTRA had the pleasure of witnessing and supporting over the past years. Beatriz’s ornamental frames (made out of lace, or paper mâché) added a playful touch to her poetic compositions and it was wonderful to see how her style refined and developed over the course of her studies.
At the RCA MA graduate show at Battersea every inch was covered with artworks. Although there have been some highlights, the poor labelling and the density of the show made it difficult to appreciate individual artworks that lacked breathing room. Despite the astounding volume of works, there was great variety - from print, sculpture and ceramics to fine art and photography - and we were captivated throughout. Best in show at the Fine Art department was Danny Leylands stunning oil painting, titled ‘You’re the Last’ with its atmospheric colour palette, as well as Jan Valik’s diptych playing with light and shadow. The Photography and Printmaking students didn’t fail to impress us either, with their refreshingly imaginative approach to the medium. We’ve seen a life-sized, hand-printed paper bed, origami photographs, and we even became ‘performers’ ourselves in Yingqi Wang’s interactive installation. At the RCA, there was room for quirky, fun installations too that didn’t take themselves too seriously yet successfully managed to amuse and entertain the audience by inviting them to participate.
A highlight among the shows was the postgraduate cohort of the Royal School of Art. Providing accessible art education for a select group of talented, budding artists, the RA consistently sets a high standard. A testament to the school's spacious and light-filled studio space, Fleur Dempsey's minimalist, serene installation of vertically hung strings adorned with delicate porcelain sculptures was beautiful in its simplicity.
By Beatriz Santos
‘You’re the Last’ by Danny Leyland
At the postgraduate show at Goldsmiths this year, we particularly enjoyed the showcase of the Art & Ecology graduates, whose works tackled our relationship with nature in unexpected and creative ways. At the Fine Art department, Bev Duckworth's towering pile of discarded textiles and vibrant green astroturf was a standout piece, that could have easily been at one of London's more established art institutions.
Among the UAL colleges, Camberwell and Central Saint Martins stood out, particularly in their sculpture and ceramics programmes, both at graduate and postgraduate levels. Central Saint Martins, as always, had a clear and effective exhibition design, but on the downside, the overall quality of the works did not quite reach the level we anticipated. Nevertheless, we’ve stumbled upon some real gems such as Harriet Hammond’s quirky, life-sized human-animal sculptures, which undeniably stole the show. Staging a surreal feast, Hammond's piece was funny and well crafted - we loved her miniature ceramic objects and food items. Similarly, there had been some impressive sculptural installations at the BA Camberwell showcase, perhaps most notably Violet Fleming’s beautiful installation entirely made out of wax.
A new discovery for us this year was Free Range at Truman Brewery - a joint graduate show bringing together the works of various photography graduates from across the UK from universities such the London College of Communication, Bath Spa University, London Metropolitan University and more. Given the scarcity of photography in other graduate shows, Free Range was a real delight where we discovered many exceptionally talented visual artists. See our image gallery for our highlights!
Overall, this year we’ve seen an abundance of conceptual works, testing the limits of medium and form, ultimately questioning the boundaries of art. It’s interesting to see how an overarching theme unfolds across the different colleges every year, and this year's recurrent motif seemed to be the bed as an art object. Without exaggeration we’ve encountered not one, but a handful of beds in every single university we’ve visited. Although a symbol of home and the personal sphere, seeing it recurring so frequently in this context, the bed - and the majority of the other works too - seemed to point to the shared experience of young, early-career artists navigating the (art)world, while grappling with questions of identity and belonging. Throughout the past months, the ArtULTRA team had a great time connecting with talented graduates, and we can’t wait to see and share with you what they will do next.
'A Turning' by Fleur Dempsey
' ᴛʜᴇʏ’ʀᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇʟʏ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴅᴏ ᴇᴀᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀɴɪᴍᴀʟꜱ!!! ' by Harriet Hammond