London’s spring art season features two significant exhibitions: Noah Davis’s UK retrospective at Barbican Gallery and Arpita Singh’s solo show at Serpentine North. Davis’s work merges technical mastery with community focus, while Singh’s art spans six decades exploring gender and memory. Both exhibitions promote essential discussions about representation and social change.
This spring, London showcases two compelling exhibitions at Barbican Gallery and Serpentine North. The first features the late American artist Noah Davis in a UK retrospective, combining vibrant painting with a dedication to community and representation. Meanwhile, Indian artist Arpita Singh presents a solo show, spotlighting her six decades of provocative work addressing gender and memory. Both exhibits invite conversations about social change through art.
Noah Davis’s retrospective at the Barbican celebrates his unique artistic vision with over 50 works, including paintings and sculptures, reflecting on community and identity. His art is characterised by richly layered scenes influenced by personal experiences, history, and literature. Shanay Jhaveri, head of visual arts at Barbican, notes the exhibition as a platform for dialogue on representation.
Davis aimed to uplift those around him, co-founding the Underground Museum, a free cultural centre in Los Angeles that partnered with MOCA to improve art accessibility. His commitment was to “change the way people view art, the way they buy art, the way they make art”.
The standout pieces in the exhibition include 1975(8), Pueblo del Rio: Arabesque, and The Missing Link 4. Jhaveri praises Davis as one of the most original painters, stating, “Davis’s distinctive vision captures the nuances of life with poignancy and depth.” The exhibition will be open until May 11, 2025.
Arpita Singh’s solo exhibition, Remembering, marks a significant moment, exploring six decades of her evocative art with 165 works on display. Curated by Tamsin Hong, it reflects her journey through myth and folklore, steeped in socio-political themes. Singh’s style blends Bengali folk art with modern identity explorations, presenting vivid, narrative-rich scenes.
Singh draws parallels to Marc Chagall, blending dreams and reality in her art. Over the years, her focus has shifted towards addressing gender, motherhood, violence, and trauma, especially regarding women’s experiences in contemporary society. Key works in the show include My Lollipop City: Gemini Rising, My Lily Pond, and Searching Sita Through Torn Papers, Paper Strips and Labels—all powerful representations of her artistic voice.
Her exhibition encapsulates her life experiences and memories, revealing: “Remembering draws from old memories from which these works emerged… there is something happening at my core. It is how my life flows.” Singh’s show will be available until July 27, 2025.
For further insights, explore 2024 Year in Art and discover the 24th Triennale Milano’s theme on “Inequalities.” Follow this link for more articles on art and design.
The exhibitions of Noah Davis and Arpita Singh in London this spring highlight the power of painting to address pressing social issues. Davis’s retrospective showcases his legacy and commitment to community representation, while Singh’s first solo show in the UK reflects her vibrant exploration of socio-political themes through a unique visual language. Together, they encourage vital dialogues around memory, identity, and societal change in contemporary art.
Original Source: www.forbes.com