May might be almost over, but there’s still time to catch the hottest exhibitions the month has to offer. After more than a year inside, many lockdowns are over and we’re so excited to be back inside galleries and museums again. So, before the month is out, here’s five of the top exhibitions you simply cannot miss this May!
Cristina O’Hanlon: A Mother’s Gaze
Curated by Cat Licitra-Ponti, Cristina O’Hanlon’s recent show A Mother’s Gaze in London’s trendy Soho Square was to die for. The exhibition focused on the light of the womb as a lens into motherhood, with the works offering a mirror to the viewer and reflecting their own experiences with the female body – both beautiful and painful.
Manon Steyaert, Amelia Briggs & Mona Broschar: Soft Spot
Soft Spot is Eve Leibe Gallery’s first exhibition in Italy. Taking place at Florence’s Numero Venti, the show questions the concept of softness through the work of Amelia Briggs, Mona Broschar and Mona Steyaert. The word soft is associated with white linen, puffy clouds, foamy shampoos, squidgy cakes, fluffy sheets, quiet snow, pale light and warm milk. Softness holds expectations in our mind, it has its very own safe space somewhere in our head. But what if softness becomes confrontational? What if softness – intrinsically subdued, calming, soothing and comforting – becomes colourful, disquieting, rousing, attracting the viewer’s eyes to eventually make him uncomfortable? This show asks all of these questions and more, running until May 31.
Aindrea Emelife: Citizens of Memory
London-based super curator Aindrea Emelife is coming out of the British lockdown with a bang. Her latest curation Citizens of Memory asks why so many artists look to the past and at times, reframe history. More pertinently, she asks what looking back means if you are Black. The show is taking place at The Perimeter London until July 24 and includes works by Rachel Jones, Kudzanai Violent-Hwami and Cassi Namoda among others.
Cassina Projects: X_minimal
Cassina Projects is about to turn five, and to celebrate, they have announced a new group show curated by Friederike Nymphius running all the way until October 2. The exhibition’s overarching focus is on minimalistic tendencies from the late 1970s until today, acting as a crossover survey featuring the works of 25 international artists including Monica Bonvicini, Fernanda Gomes, and Tatiana Trouvé.
Emma Stern: Revenge Porn
Emma Stern (aka Lava Baby) has a new show at London’s Carl Kostyal called Revenge Porn on view until June 12. Stern’s work is critical of the inherent inclination toward porn-adjactent representations of women throughout cyberspace. Her work within the show explores her interest in how the preferences of programmers are imposed on virtual female bodies within the predominantly male-dominated world of tech.
Text Lizzy Vartanian
