Stephen Friedman Gallery

Stephen Friedman Gallery is pleased to present a new installation ‘Facecrime (suspect)’ by British artist Jonathan Baldock in Gallery Two.  Originally commissioned for Art Basel Hong Kong 2020 before the fair’s cancellation, 'Facecrime (suspect)’ is a monumental installation comprising precariously stacked ceramic columns. Evoking both ancient ruins and a surreal vision of the future, these hand-crafted forms reflect the artist's interest in myth, folklore and narratives associated with ‘outsider' practices. 

Andreas Eriksson's presentation at Stephen Friedman Gallery comprises a new series of large-scale handwoven tapestries and a majestic oil and acrylic painting. The Swedish artist is known for his subtly textured paintings of the natural world, describing them as “existential landscapes”. This new body of tapestries expands the artist’s formal language and demonstrates the connections between these two distinct practices.

In light of the events of the past month and the Black Lives Matter movement, Stephen Friedman Gallery has been amplifying its artists' voices in solidarity with the cause. To mark the reopening of the gallery, a monumental work by acclaimed British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare CBE is presented for the first time in the UK. The sculpture is installed in the gallery’s Viewing Room, making ‘Justice for All’ visible from the street and giving the work the public focus it deserves. Lights remain on during the night to make the sculpture available to the public 24/7.

Taking place in both galleries on Old Burlington Street in Mayfair, its home since 1995, this unique event showcases the diversity of the gallery programme by celebrating its history whilst also looking ahead to the future.  

'INHUMAN (DISUMANO)' is a group exhibition at Circuito del Contemporaneo, Barletta, Puglia curated by the institution's Artistic Director, Giusy Caroppo.

For Art Basel’s second Online Viewing Room, Stephen Friedman Gallery presents a selection of artists including Marina Adams, Mamma Andersson, Juan Araujo, Leilah Babirye, Jonathan Baldock, Lisa Brice, Andreas Eriksson, Manuel Espinosa, Denzil Forrester, Channing Hansen, Jim Hodges, Deborah Roberts, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Kehinde Wiley and Luiz Zerbini. 

The exhibition presents one of the most intriguing artistic phenomena of our time: the fusion of the visual and the performing arts. Today, more often than not, a visit to an exhibition does not merely offer new visual impressions. Instead, it is a more comprehensive experience that involves all the senses. Artists combine video, performance, dance, language and music, creating intermedial works. In some cases, this results in giving the visitors the opportunity to give up the distanced position of the viewer and become part of the work.

The present portrait of a young Afro-British woman called Savannah Essah is a classic example of Kehinde Wiley’s unique painting practice which has evolved over the last twenty years and is now celebrated in major institutional exhibitions around the world. Containing new and original visual content, this viewing room delves deeper into Wiley’s work and gives a personal context to both artist and sitter, breathing life into a portraiture practice that is at once original and deeply historic.

In response to the current crisis, Barts Health NHS Trust is upgrading existing Staff Rooms and creating new areas in which clinical staff can find rest and respite. Aligning with these developments, charitably funded initiative #100NHSRooms was launched to support the wellbeing of both patients and hospital employees by bringing new artworks to 100 rooms across Barts Health, including St Bartholomew’s, Royal London Hospital, Whipps Cross, Mile End and Newham Hospital. 

This year during LGBT Pride Month, BET is highlighting young Black queer individuals who are demanding that their voices are heard. BET's new 12-part video series '12 Days of Pride' tackles themes such as identity, activism, culture, politics, health, family and love. Participants include New York-based author George M. Johnson, Ugandan activist and sculptor Leilah Babirye, American singer-songwriter Shea Diamond and choreographer Jeremy McQueen.

'Lockdown Drawings' is a new body of work created by British artist David Shrigley during the UK's coronavirus lockdown in spring 2020. Encompassing 340 works to date, these quick-witted ink on paper drawings reveal chance utterings and satirical comments on everyday situations and human interactions. Shrigley produced these works at his home by the sea in Devon, in the southwest of England. "We decamped here from Brighton. And I brought 500 sheets of paper and several bottles of ink," the artist says. "I have a little studio in the house [and] I'm able to do my thing."