Surface Work, now open at Victoria Miro Mayfair
Installation view, Victoria Miro Mayfair. Left to right: Alma Thomas, Untitled, 1961; Adriana Varejão, Azulejão (Moon), 2018; Howardena Pindell, Untitled, 1971
Surface Work, now open at Gallery I, Wharf Road
Installation view, Gallery I. Left to right: Angela de la Cruz, Deflated IV (White), 2009; Adriana Varejão, Parede con Incisão a la Fontana 3, 2002
Surface Work, now open at Gallery II, Wharf Road
Installation view, Gallery II. Left to Right: Martha Jungwirth, Untitled, 2018; Joan Mitchell, Red Tree, 1976; Louise Fishman, Bearer of the Rose, 2017; Victoria Morton, Feed Me, 2014
Surface Work exhibition guide
Your online guide to the 54 artists in our international, cross-generational exhibition of abstract painting by women
Chantal Joffe: Pastels, now open at Victoria Miro Venice
Image: Esme on the Beach, 2016
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What’s Happening
The latest from Victoria Miro artists around the world
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Exhibition
Posted
13 March 2018
Stephen Willats: Control, coming soon to Tate Liverpool
A project and events programme (25 April – 16 May 2018) devoted to Control Magazine. Founded in 1965 by Stephen Willats, Control remains one of the few artists' publications from the 1960s thriving to this day. Tate Liverpool -
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Review
Posted
24 April 2018
Surface Work is Time Out’s Show of the Week
★★★★ 'This show of abstract art by women isn't just a powerful statement that women were there too, but that they were knocking up some of the best abstraction in the biz in the process.' Eddy Frankel, Time Out -
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News story
Posted
20 April 2018
The Financial Times announces Victoria Miro’s representation of the Ilse D’Hollander Estate
D’Hollander’s soft, small-scale but highly charged works often draw on the Flemish countryside and are increasingly finding their audience with recent institutional shows in Europe. Melanie Gerlis, Financial Times -
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Exhibition
Posted
13 April 2018
Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Hayward Gallery Billboard is unveiled
Dwell: Aso Ebi, 2017 – reproduced as a digital print on vinyl – is on view until February 2019. The work is installed on the façade of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, opposite the Hayward Gallery. Southbank Centre, London -
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Event
Posted
11 April 2018
A Wayne McGregor triple bill, featuring Kairos with set design by Idris Khan, at Nationaltheater, Munich
Performances by Munich's Bayerisches Staatsballett include Kairos, McGregor's reimagination of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, with set design by Idris Khan and score by Max Richter. Nationaltheater, Munich -
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Review
Posted
15 April 2018
Laura Cumming reviews Surface Work in The Observer
★★★★★ 'To see all these works in London, for the first time, is both momentous and poignant.' Laura Cumming, The Observer -
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Gallery Event
Posted
10 April 2018
Surface Work Saturday Tours
Led by curators and featured artists, these informal tours are free to attend and will last around 30 minutes. No booking necessary. -
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Exhibition
Posted
13 April 2018
Grayson Perry: Folk Wisdom, now open at Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki
The exhibition (13 April – 2 September 2018) is produced in collaboration with La Monnaie de Paris museum, where it will be on view during autumn 2018. Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki -
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Exhibition
Posted
3 April 2018
Secundino Hernández, now open at Kunsthalle Helsinki
An exhibition (14 April – 13 May 2018) of new paintings in addition to a selection of works from the past five years. Kunsthalle Helsinki -
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Exhibition
Posted
3 April 2018
Celia Paul, curated by Hilton Als, at the Yale Center for British Art
The exhibition (3 April – 12 August 2018), specially selected by Als in collaboration with the artist and a deeply personal testament to their transatlantic friendship, will focus on Paul’s recent works, New Haven, Connecticut -
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Review
Posted
20 April 2018
Louisa Buck reviews Surface Work in The Telegraph
'This museum-quality show brings together more than 50 international artists… to confirm that women are – and always have been – at the forefront of non-figurative art.' Louisa Buck, The Telegraph -
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News story
Posted
21 April 2018
Victoria Miro announces representation of The Estate of Ilse D’Hollander
The first London exhibition of works by the Belgian artist will be held at Victoria Miro Mayfair in November 2018. Paintings by D’Hollander are featured as part of the gallery’s exhibition of abstract painting by women, Surface Work. -
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Exhibition
Posted
22 March 2018
John Kørner: Running Problems at Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens
For his first museum exhibition of the artist in Belgium (25 March – 17 June 2018) Kørner creates an integrated environment of painting and installation. Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium -
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Exhibition
Posted
20 March 2018
The 21st Biennale of Sydney, featuring NS Harsha
A new work by NS Harsha will be on display in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (16 March – 11 June 2018). Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney -
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Exhibition
Posted
26 March 2018
Isaac Julien: Ten Thousand Waves, now open at The Whitworth
Ten Thousand Waves (on display 30 March – 28 August 2018) is the most recent in a series of major moving image acquisitions by the Whitworth, and was supported through Art Fund’s Moving Image Fund. The Whitworth, Manchester -
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Review
Posted
10 April 2018
Matthew Collings reviews Surface Work the Evening Standard
★★★★ 'Surface Work has a lot of playfulness as well as dignity.' Matthew Collings, Evening Standard -
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Exhibition
Posted
7 March 2018
Do Ho Suh: Almost Home at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The exhibition (16 March - 5 August 2018) will feature a major installation of the artist’s Hub sculptures along with a group of semi-transparent replicas of household objects, titled Specimens. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC -
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Exhibition
Posted
27 December 2017
Tate Liverpool to host Life in Motion: Egon Schiele / Francesca Woodman
The exhibition (24 May – 23 September 2018) pairs work by the artists to explore motion in drawing and photography. Tate Liverpool -
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Exhibition
Posted
1 March 2018
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at the Art Gallery of Ontario
The major exhibition (3 March – 27 May 2018) continues its North American tour. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto -
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News story
Posted
6 March 2018
Do Ho Suh to create a new film for the V&A’s presentation Robin Hood Gardens: A Ruin in Reverse at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia
Suh's film will be screened in the Pavilion of Applied Arts (26 May – 25 November 2018) where the V&A will present Robin Hood Gardens: A Ruin In Reverse, centred around fragments of Robin Hood Gardens that will be transported to Venice from Poplar, East London. Venice, Italy -
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Exhibition
Posted
21 February 2018
Now extended – Yayoi Kusama: All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins at Dallas Museum of Art
This installation (on display 1 October 2017 – 29 April 2018) is the first mirror pumpkin room created by Kusama since 1991, and the only Infinity Mirror Room of its kind in a North American collection. Dallas Museum of Art, Texas -
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Exhibition
Posted
16 April 2018
Chantal Joffe: Personal Feeling is the Main Thing, coming soon to The Lowry
An exhibition (19 May – 2 September 2018) of recent works addressing the physicality of the human body and the complexities of human emotions The Lowry, Salford -
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Review
Posted
13 April 2018
Caroline Douglas, Director of the Contemporary Art Society, writes about Surface Work in her Friday Dispatch
'How interesting to consider that through those macho times, it was these brave, smart women who were doing the business.' contemporaryartsociety.org Caroline Douglas -
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Channel
11 April 2018
Chantal Joffe: Pastels
A short film on the occasion of the artist's exhibition of new and recent pastels at Victoria Miro Venice (14 April – 19 May 2018). -
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Exhibition
Posted
9 April 2018
Stan Douglas to feature in Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art, opening soon at Tate Modern
This major exhibition (2 May – 14 October 2018) tells the intertwined stories of photography and abstract art. Tate Modern -
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Feature
Posted
6 April 2018
Skin, Or Surface: Simone White writes about Njideka Akunyili Crosby in Frieze
'Skin, or surface – the painting’s surface itself – is thus implicated in a history of (unexamined) ideas about seeing the black woman.' Frieze Simone White -
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Preview
Posted
3 April 2018
Francesca Gavin writes about Surface Work in the Financial Times
'It demonstrates how women have been central to the development of the dialogue around the abstract – the 20th century’s most defining change in visual culture.' Francesca Gavin, The Financial Times -
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Exhibition
Posted
26 March 2018
Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences tours to Bristol Art Museum
Inspired by Hogarth’s morality tale, A Rake’s Progress, Perry’s tapestries (on display 31 March – 24 June 2018) follow the socially-mobile life of fictional character Tim Rakewell from infancy to untimely death. Bristol Museum -
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Profile
Posted
16 March 2018
Celia Paul writes in the FT about painting from life – and loss
'My mother sat for me for 30 years. I still feel very connected to her. The grief is not how I expected it to be.' Celia Paul, Financial Times -
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News story
Posted
13 March 2018
Yayoi Kusama to create her first permanent UK installation for the Elizabeth line at Liverpool Street
Kusama will create her first permanent UK installation, titled Infinite Accumulation, for the new Crossrail station at Liverpool Street. -
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News story
Posted
13 March 2018
Conrad Shawcross to create a major new public artwork for the Elizabeth line at Liverpool Street
'Manifold' will be a bronze sculpture positioned outside the Moorgate entrance of the Elizabeth line station. -
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Exhibition
Posted
13 March 2018
Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow, opening soon at Museum MACAN, Jakarta
The first large-scale exhibition (12 May – 9 September 2018) of Yayoi Kusama’s work in Indonesia includes more than 130 works that span almost 70 years. Museum MACAN, Jakarta -
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News story
Posted
13 March 2018
The Art Newspaper reports on the announcement of Crossrail Art Programme works by Yayoi Kusama and Conrad Shawcross
Commuters travelling on the new Elizabeth line across London will encounter major new works by Yayoi Kusama and Conrad Shawcross at Liverpool Street as part of the Crossrail art programme. The Art Newspaper Gareth Harris -
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Exhibition
Posted
8 March 2018
Art Capital: Art for the Elizabeth line, featuring Chantal Joffe, Conrad Shawcross and Yayoi Kusama
The exhibition (13 March – 6 May 2018) brings together unseen material by Joffe, Shawcross, Kusama and all the artists contributing to the Crossrail Art Programme. Whitechapel Gallery -
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Exhibition
Posted
8 March 2018
Stephen Willats to feature in FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art
Titled An American City: Eleven Cultural Exercises, the inaugural edition of the Cleveland Triennial (14 July – 30 September 2018) comprises artist commissions, performances, films, and public programmes to examine the ever-changing and politically urgent conditions of an American city. Cleveland, Ohio -
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Exhibition
Posted
4 March 2018
Celia Paul in All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life at Tate Britain
Tate Britain's major exhibition (28 February – 27 August 2018) celebrates painters in Britain who found new ways of depicting people, places, feelings and relationships. Tate Britain -
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Review
Posted
4 March 2018
Tim Adams selects Celia Paul’s Painter and Model as one of his highlights of All Too Human at Tate Britain
'By making herself both artist and subject she regains power over her own image.' Tim Adams, The Observer -
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Exhibition
Posted
3 March 2018
Yayoi Kusama: All About My Love at Matsumoto City Museum of Art
Taking place in the artist's hometown of Matsumoto City, this major retrospective (3 March – 22 July 2018) features some 180 works drawn from across Kusama's career. Matsumoto City Museum of Art -
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News
Posted
2 March 2018
Conrad Shawcross’ The Optic Cloak wins a World Architecture News Award
The Greenwich Peninsula Low Carbon Energy Centre, by C.F. Møller Architects in collaboration with Conrad Shawcross, wins in the category of Metal in Architecture. -
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Exhibition
Posted
1 March 2018
Isaac Julien’s Ten Thousand Waves is featured in The Rebellion of Moving Image at MOCA Taipei
The nine-screen installation of Ten Thousand Waves continues its world tour as part of the exhibition (3 March – 6 May 2018), curated by Huang Hsiang-Ning. MOCA Taipei, Taiwan -
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Feature
Posted
1 March 2018
Olivia Laing writes in the Spring 2018 issue of Tate Etc about ageing bodies and her experience of modelling for Chantal Joffe
'I loved the way she articulated the smart of being there at all, an animal with its eyes open, not quite gelling with the room.' Olivia Laing, Tate Etc -
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Channel
1 March 2018
A walk-through of Jules de Balincourt’s exhibition, They Cast Long Shadows, at Victoria Miro Mayfair
Quiet, reflective and mysterious, new paintings by the Brooklyn-based artist continue an intuitive approach to image-making, where the world we inhabit is filtered through the artist’s own psychological landscape. -
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Channel
27 February 2018
A walk-through of Jorge Pardo’s exhibition at Victoria Miro, Wharf Road
An exhibition comprising paintings and an installation of unique chandeliers by the Mexico-based Cuban-American artist is on view until 24 March 2018 at Victoria Miro, Wharf Road. -
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Exhibition
Posted
22 February 2018
Conrad Shawcross at Harbour Arts Sculpture Park, Hong Kong
Two works are displayed as part of Harbour Arts Sculpture Park (22 February–11 April 2018). The artist will also take part in The GREAT Festival of Innovation and Art Basel Hong Kong Dialogue Series. Hong Kong -
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Publication
Posted
20 February 2018
Just published: Fired Up! Ready to Go!… a new book by the late collector Peggy Cooper Cafritz
Cooper Cafritz held one of the most important collections of work by artists of colour in the US. Njideka Akunyili Crosby's The Beautiful Ones, #1a, 2012, features on the book's cover. -
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Exhibition
Posted
20 February 2018
Tal R: this is not Detroit, coming to MOCA Detroit in May 2018
The intricate, multipart installation (11 May – 29 July 2018) manifests the artist’s fantasy of Detroit. Seven large-scale paintings, rendered in a rich and moody palate of blues, depict the artist’s vision of specific Detroit neighborhoods he has never visited. MOCA, Detroit -
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Interview
Posted
17 February 2018
Isaac Julien talks to the Guardian about Looking for Langston, being shown in Sydney as part of the 40th Mardi Gras
‘It’s another watershed moment for the history of queer rights…’ Glenn Dunks, The Guardian -
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Interview
Posted
15 February 2018
Jules de Balincourt talks to Floorr Magazine about his exhibition at Victoria Miro Mayfair
'I am not sure how the Trump phenomenon will manifest in my work but I do know it is impossible for anyone to negate it and its ability to submerge into our subconscious…' Floorr Magazine -
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Exhibition
Posted
15 February 2018
Secundino Hernández: Todo es Mucho, now open at CAC Málaga
The exhibition (16 February – 6 May 2018) features some 38 works, several of which have been made especially for the show. CAC Málaga, Spain -
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Exhibition
Posted
15 February 2018
Grayson Perry’s Photo Album, now on view at The Photographers’ Gallery
A small display (23 February – 3 June 2018) of photographs and spreads from one of Perry's early photo albums. The Photographers' Gallery, London -
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Exhibition
Posted
14 February 2018
John Kørner: Tripoli – Lampedusa at Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland
The exhibition (14 February – 29 July 2018) comprises a site-specific installation of works touching upon subjects ranging from global topics such as migration and inequality to more personal themes such as identity, relationships and happiness. EMMA, Espoo, Finland -
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Exhibition
Posted
14 February 2018
Alice Neel in The Ethics of Scrutiny at the Irish Museum of Modern Art
Curated by artist Daphne Wright, this exhibition (15 February – 2 September 2018) examines the complex relationships between artist and sitter. IMMA, Dublin -
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Exhibition
Posted
13 February 2018
Hernan Bas: The Paper Crown Prince and Other Works at Colby Museum of Art
With loans from the de la Cruz Collection, this exhibition (13 February – 3 May 2018) considers the first five years of Bas’ career. Waterville, Maine -
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News story
Posted
9 February 2018
Isaac Julien is elected as a Royal Academician
The Royal Academy of Arts has elected Isaac Julien as a Royal Academician, following a recent General Assembly. -
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Interview
Posted
9 February 2018
Jorge Pardo talks to Elephant Magazine about his Victoria Miro exhibition
'The works make light, which makes shapes… They’re like drawings. As it gets darker here it gets crazier.' Jonathan McAloon, Elephant -
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Interview
Posted
7 February 2018
Jorge Pardo discusses his Victoria Miro exhibition with Wallpaper*
'… you don’t know what it’s going to look like until you turn the light on, so it’s an interesting process.' Wallpaper* Ali Morris -
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Interview
Posted
7 February 2018
Elephant Magazine interviews Jules de Balincourt about his Victoria Miro Mayfair exhibition
'Painting is a form of escape. I just dive into the unknown and see where it takes me. You’ve got to just trust it…' Emily Spicer, Elephant Magazine -
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Exhibition
Posted
6 February 2018
Idris Khan creates a new work to mark the re-opening of Kettle’s Yard
The exhibition, titled Actions: The image of the world can be different (10 February - 6 May 2018), marks the opening of the new Kettle's Yard and seeks to reassert the potential of art as a poetic, social and political force in the world. Kettle's Yard, Cambridge -
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Picture story
Posted
6 February 2018
Jules de Balincourt discusses his current exhibition, They Cast Long Shadows, in the Guardian
'I thought about the idea that male leaders don’t seem to take us to good places. So, I just made this image of all women – queens and diplomats.' The Guardian -
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Exhibition
Posted
6 February 2018
Work by Isaac Julien is featured in More of an Avalanche at Wysing Arts Centre
The exhibition (11 February – 8 April 2018) considers what it takes for people in marginalised positions to speak out and the mechanisms that get used to stop them from doing so. Wysing Arts Centre, Bourn, Cambridgeshire
In Focus
In the Studio: Chantal Joffe
A short film on the occasion of the artist's exhibition of new and recent pastels at Victoria Miro Venice (14 April – 19 May 2018).
