Strike a match. Frictional heat ignites the red phosphorus; a burst of sparks erupts into the dark. The flame hesitates for a breath, then surges up the wooden stem. Sharp and brief, the sting of sulfur dioxide heralds an inception, foretelling a demise. The fire spreads, consuming as it climbs, scorching and charring the matchstick. …
London was in the grip of a heatwave in July, but London Data Week was in full swing. Among the events taking place across the city was the Global AI Filmmaking Hackathon, organised by EAST2046. Inside an auditorium at Imperial College London, finalists screened short films made with AI tools and real-world datasets, some with …
This October in Venice, Unseen—a major international group exhibition—reframes vision itself, reaching beyond the visible into the felt, remembered, and imagined. Featuring 20 headline artists including Fion Gunn, Amy Jackson, Shoran Jiang, and Audrey Mullins, the show explores thresholds where sight yields to instinct and memory blurs into suggestion. The lead artists also present 70 …
SYNCHRONIC: Xu Xiaowei in Florence marks the artist’s first solo exhibition in Europe, bringing over twenty lens-based artworks to Florence. Centred on the core concept of “synchronic existence”, the exhibition captures visual fragments often overlooked in everyday life, using fluid and rhythmically dynamic imagery to construct an organic sense of “breath”. Within this shared frequency, …
One of the challenges in attempting to describe the human condition is the vastness of its experiences, complexity, and intangibility. Since the 19th century, artists from Alfred Kubin to Salvador Dalí were able to achieve this in painting, bringing their subconscious lives into the real world for all to see, but it really took the …
Yun Wen is an emerging artist who has lived in many different places, from her home town in southwest China, to London via Hong Kong. This is a detail about her that might be considered both superfluous and integral to gaining insight into her artistic practice. As a visual artist, Wen boasts a broad scope, …
Waking up from a slumber, a little girl wakes up to find, on the corner of her dresser, a silver ring with a raven design biting a gemstone. She puts it on her finger and sits down in her chair, spinning around while enchanted by the ring’s appearance. On the wall next to her, a …
The exhibition was planned as a celebration. Developed over several years with Julio Le Parc and his Atelier, the exhibition brings together more than sixty works tracing a practice that runs from the late 1950s to the 2020s. Le Parc was to have come to London himself, for the invited preview on 8 June. He …
How the Narrative Turns Female Solidarity into Patriarchy’s Aftercare 女性情義如何在敘事中替父權善後 Leaving the cinema, I had to admit that Dear You had moved me. Long after the screening ended, many of its scenes continued to linger in my mind. But being moved does not mean that I must follow the film’s narrative logic—to read a life …
The Zurbarán exhibition at the National Gallery is the first major monographic exhibition in the UK devoted to the Spanish Baroque master Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664). Alongside Diego Velázquez and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Zurbarán was one of the leading painters of seventeenth-century Spain. His work is celebrated for its naturalism, directness and deep emotional power, …
Held at the Courtauld Gallery, Hepworth in Colour turns its attention to a long-neglected aspect of Barbara Hepworth’s practice: colour. As Hepworth herself remarked in 1970: “In a way my colour has been accepted, but never understood.” This focused, research-driven exhibition brings together around 20 sculptures and 30 drawings and paintings, placing her sculptures in …
For artist Yang Yang, photography is neither emotional release nor storytelling. With a background in finance and risk management, he approaches photography as a calm and restrained form of observation. He examines how people, objects, spaces and behaviours form relationships, while also attending to forms of value that cannot be measured numerically: memory, silence, intimacy, …
Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon, now on view at Tate Modern, traces the extraordinary story of how Frida Kahlo rose from a relatively unknown painter to a worldwide cultural phenomenon and one of the most influential figures in the history of art. Developed in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the …
This summer, Kew Gardens welcomes a remarkable group of visitors. In Henry Moore: Monumental Nature, thirty monumental sculptures are placed throughout the world-renowned botanical landscape, forming the largest outdoor presentation of Henry Moore’s work ever staged. As one of Britain’s most important twentieth-century sculptors, Moore drew continual inspiration from natural forms. Set against Kew’s iconic …
London-based curator Xin Liu is part of a new generation of independent curators who conceive the curatorial framework of an exhibition as an environment where history, identity and art intersect. Moving away from the traditional curatorial approach of presenting artworks as tightly organised and interpreted within a rigid framework in a traditional gallery space. A …
The first thing to greet you in Somerset House’s M.C. Escher: The Exhibition is the deep crimson of the galleries — a colour that deepens the mystery already surrounding Escher. What we tend to remember most readily about him are, of course, those vertiginous images: staircases that arrive nowhere, waterfalls that fold back into themselves, …
The name Marilyn Monroe has long transcended her identity as an actress to become one of the defining cultural symbols of the twentieth century. In celebration of the Hollywood star’s 100th birthday and in association with the Marilyn Monroe Estate, Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait explores the life, career and legacy of Marilyn Monroe through portraits …
Few artists make you question your own eyes even as you look. Walking into M.C. Escher: The Exhibition at the Somerset House, that feeling sets in almost from the first step. A Building Made for Escher Somerset House may be the most fitting space in London to host an Escher exhibition. Stairs greet you …
If you were to ask British children what they share as a common childhood memory, Quentin Blake’s line work would almost certainly be among the answers. Those seemingly casual, light, almost hurried brushstrokes accompanied generations of British children as they grew up. From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Matilda, the wonderfully eccentric characters conjured …
I still remember the summer of 2024, standing before Euan Uglow’s work for the first time at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert. The paintings were not loud, one could even say they were quiet. And yet that quietness held something irresistible. I remember moving closer, then stepping back, then closer again, until I realised a long time had …
What does intimacy look like in the contemporary age? How does it feel, and how receptive are we to it? The intimate image is protected by law, by tech encryption, by trust, and by agency. Yet, what we see, the medium through which we see it, and the provocation of the experience is mediated through …
Held at Tate Britain, this retrospective is the largest exhibition of James McNeill Whistler’s work to be presented in Europe in nearly thirty years. Bringing together 150 exquisite works, it offers a rare opportunity to experience the full breadth of his painting, drawing, printmaking and design. He pioneered innovative techniques, creating astonishingly beautiful, ethereal visions …
I moved through the crowds of the London Book Fair with a black tote bag over my shoulder. It had been handed to me in passing as I walked past a publisher’s stand. The publisher’s name was printed on it. It hung lightly from my shoulder, like a temporary pass, like a small sense of …
From 25 March to 10 April 2026, the VIP Gallery at HOW Art Museum in Shanghai presented Reconstructed Scripts — Defocus and Encounter, curated by Mengqi Ye. Featuring six artists—Chen Qiang, Fu Yao, Xie Caomin, Feng Zhijia, Jia Hui, and Kang Shixin—the exhibition critically examines the production and transformation of images. It also reconsiders the …
As the seasons turn and spring quietly arrives, London’s artistic season seems never to follow the passage of time. It remains perpetually in bloom, alive with new beginnings. Across the city’s galleries and exhibition halls, new branches seem to emerge each spring. Here, we step into a new chapter of London’s spring exhibitions in 2026. …
Among London’s many museums, Sir John Soane’s Museum stands apart. It is neither a space designed for exhibition, nor a historical building retrospectively adapted. Rather, it is a lived environment, constructed by an architect’s own hand. Stepping inside, one quickly realises that what is on display here is not merely a collection of objects, but …
As one steps into Chupei Yu’s In Formation, a group exhibition at 1215 Gallery (Canada), one plunges into an atmosphere of movement and transition. The paintings have an ethical visual language and operate as part of a wider process of engenderment, which engages with complex issues of primal scenes and ancient epistemologies. Conversely, the moving …
Qishan Li works across moving image, installations, and photography to position the body not as a static subject, but as a dynamic interface between memory, form, matter, private experience and public inscription. Throughout her practice, the body is never singular. It is a site of negotiation shaped by societal expectations, yet Qishan Li continuously resists …
Energy in Eastern philosophy is understood as a subtle, vital force that flows through the universe, the body, consciousness and nature. It is a dynamic, interconnected and transformative force that animates life, emphasising balance between opposing forces to achieve harmony and enlightenment. Inside the carefully curated space of the exhibition “In Between”, such energy is …
Through moving images and sound, digital and mixed-media artist Xilichen Hua establishes new modes of coexistence, responsiveness, and governance. In her four-channel moving image piece Fragile Harmony: An Ecofeminist Call (2026), she takes a distinctly ecofeminist worldview, connecting gendered oppression and environmental destruction. Although the scenery of the films comprising Fragile Harmony take cues from …
Text by Michael Kurtz Safehouse 1 is a terraced house off Rye Lane. While much of Peckham is fast gentrifying, the building has been kept in a state of suspense – rented out for exhibitions and film shoots for over a decade and meanwhile left slowly to decay. As described on the venue website, …
2026年3月10日，北京國際圖書博覽會（BIBF）與中國圖書進出口（集團）有限公司（CNPIEC）在倫敦書展成功舉辦中國著名作家麥家國際專場活動。活動在倫敦書展「Reading China」展區舉行，吸引了來自全球出版界、文學界及媒體代表的廣泛關注，現場座無虛席。 麥家是中國茅盾文學獎獲得者，也是當代中國最具國際影響力的暢銷作家之一。英國《金融時報》曾將其譽為「中國的約翰·勒卡雷」。其作品在中國累計銷量已超過1500萬冊，並在全球範圍持续而廣泛的影響。 今年8月，企鵝現代經典（Penguin Modern Classics）將重新推出麥家代表作《解密》（Decoded）與《暗算》（In the Dark），進一步鞏固其在国际文學市場中的地位。《解密》曾被《經濟學人》評選為「2014年度十大最佳小說」之一，目前已被翻譯成34種語言，在全球读者群体中持續传播。 在當日活動現場上，來自英國出版方企鵝蘭登書屋（Penguin Random House）以及布魯姆斯伯里出版集團旗下 Head of Zeus 出版社的代表，與多位國際文學經紀人、出版人與翻譯家圍繞麥家作品的國際傳播歷程、文學價值與市場表現展開深入交流。麥庭文化董事長、麥家版權總代理閆顏在致辭中對各方長期支持表示感謝。企鵝讀者經典書系編輯總監 Ka Bradley 表示：「我們非常高興麥家加入企鵝現代經典書系。《解密》和《暗算》在緊張懸疑的敘事節奏與深厚的文學內涵之間實現了精妙平衡。能夠將這兩部重要作品再次呈現給新一代讀者，我們深感榮幸。」 多位國際出版與文學界嘉賓亦到場參與活動，包括倫敦書展總監 Emma Lowe、愛丁堡國際圖書節總監 Jenny Niven、牛津布魯克斯大學出版學院院長及教授、牛津文學節顧問 Angus Phillips，以及星格文化創始人、倫敦書展亞太顧問Alicia Liu等，共同見證中國文學在國際出版舞台上的重要時刻。 業內人士指出，隨著越來越多中國作家的作品進入國際出版體系，中國文學正以更加多元和深入的方式參與全球文化交流。倫敦書展作為全球最具影響力的出版貿易平台之一，也持續為中國文學走向世界提供重要舞台。 此次麥家國際專場活動不僅展現了其作品在國際文學舞台上的持續影響力，也體現了中國文學在全球出版版圖中的不斷提升。通過倫敦書展這一國際平台，北京國際圖書博覽會持續推動中國作家走向世界，深化中外出版的交流與合作。 On 10 March 2026, the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), in partnership with China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation (CNPIEC), hosted a spotlight session on …
Our relationship with salt has many aspects. Its existence may predate us by billions of years, yet we have such a strong relationship with it. Beyond seasoning our food, we can taste a single grain in a bottle of water, we smell it by the sea, and we feel its grainy texture when we handle …
“She has long since taken up the fight.” — Marianne Pitzen, Director of Frauenmuseum Bonn 「她早已投入這場抗爭。」 —— 瑪麗安娜·皮岑，波恩女性博物館館長 In 1989, at the opening of the China Avant-Garde Exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, Xiao Lu fired a gun at her installation Dialogue. At that moment, she did not yet speak the language …
Constable’s Six Footers: When Landscape Gains Weight 康斯特博的六英尺：当风景被赋予重量 In British art history, there is a term that belongs almost exclusively to John Constable —— the “Six Footers”. The phrase refers to a group of monumental landscape paintings Constable produced in the early nineteenth century. “Six feet”, in practical terms, means a canvas roughly 1.8 to …
When “Defining the Future of Creative Content” was announced as the theme of the 2026 London Book Fair, a compelling vision of publishing’s future began to take shape during the fair’s hour-long online press briefing. Supported by comprehensive industry data, the presentation sketched an optimistic picture: rising book sales across genres, expanding global circulation, and …
Light is the source of all life. It’s something we learn at school: without light, plants can’t photosynthesise, and no animals that rely on them, including humans, can survive. Fang Liu incorporates this thinking into her curation of the cyanotypes in the exhibition ‘Luminous Flesh — Objects Between Presence and Absence‘. We seldom think of …
Shoran Jiang on This Is Art, Art Education, and Cross-Cultural Creativity 姜嘯然談《這才是藝術》再版、藝術啓蒙與跨文化創作 Early autumn in London. The sky stretches wide and clear, not a cloud in sight. Leaves drift and twirl gently as they fall, like a painting slowly unrolling, each stroke tracing the quiet passage of time. On such a tranquil afternoon, we …
Through a materially attentive approach, visual artist Chun Ding explores how memory and transformation are inscribed upon both surface and skin. Her practice relieves the traditional photo processing technique of cyanotype of its technical symbolism to instead pursue a kind of sensory reflection, asking us to sit a while and consider how light permeates and …
The poetics of memory, longing and diasporic experience take centre stage in Xiao Ge’s practice. Drawing on spatial symbolism and heritage traditions, the multimedia artist–primarily working in video, installation and digital forms—constructs contemplative visual environments where absence, fragmentation, and distance become tools for narration. 記憶的詩意、遷徙的惆悵、流散的體驗，在葛霄的藝術實踐中交織成深邃的景致。這位擅長影像、裝置與數位媒介的創作者，運用空間隱喻與傳承的智慧，構築出令人沉思的視覺場域。在這裡，空缺、碎片與距離都化作敘事的筆墨。 In a video piece, created as part of her series …
“Mythological Journey—A Dialogue Across Time and Space” presents a contemporary artistic interpretation of the essence of Chinese and Western mythology. The featured artists of this exhibition are Irish artist Fion Gunn and Chinese artist Shoran Jiang. The two artists, from different cultural backgrounds, have connected through art in London, engaging in cross-cultural exploration through imagery, …
Zhengwei Fan combines layered watercolors and pencil on paper as a meditative form of image-making. With a background in illustration and visual storytelling, the artist has stated that, “Drawing is, for me, a way of dwelling. It is a slow, tactile practice that keeps me close to what is fleeting and fragile.” His practice is …
The renowned art historian E.H. Gombrich once noted in the second half of the twentieth century, 「Ours is a visual age. We are bombarded with pictures from morning till night.」 This signifies a continuous enhancement in the efficiency of information transmission, with traditional methods of information replication and dissemination, predominantly led by written language, facing …
Ziyi Xiong’s curatorial focus takes as its subject the liminal intersection of presence and absence, the encounter of the spiritual and the material, the ephemeral and the transcendent. Through her multidisciplinary background in Art Management and Policy Practice, Xiong approaches the exhibition space as an immersive lived experience that not only relies on the emotional …
Most of us think of fog as an inconvenience; it grounds flights and makes driving dangerous. But there’s also something magical about getting lost in it, when you can barely see what’s in front of you, animals and buildings appear out of nowhere, and you have to take a leap, or should that be step, …
Alexandra Baraitser and YU Xiao She Paints Still 3 Sep -4 Oct 2025 Tiderip x Mandy Zhang Art London She Paints Still is a dual-venue exhibition initiated by two Chinese female gallerists based in London. It focuses on the sustained painting practices of women artists navigating different life stages, cultural contexts, and artistic languages. …
Nelson Qin curates from his drive to discover and give voice to emerging artistic generations and to present their work with and from new perspectives. Challenging the predominance of the white cube exhibition space, Qin seeks to push beyond the limits of conventional static presentation models, experimenting with new approaches while developing a diverse portfolio …
From 5 to 11 September 2025, Dead to Rights *1 will screen across multiple UK cities. Centred on a modest photo studio, the film intertwines the brutality of Nanjing in 1937 with the testimony of images. For British audiences, this history does not belong to the familiar landscapes of the Second World War; it appears …
In the philosophy of Jean-Luc Nancy, sound is both a medium of transmission and a way of being. Even when its source fades, the echo remains; when space becomes a resonating chamber and the body begins to vibrate with it, the individual and the world, past and present, are joined anew through the experience of …
Jonathan Miles is an artist, writer, curator, and educator based in London. He currently teaches at the Royal College of Art. His practice spans painting, fiction, and critical theory, often seeking dialogue between image and text to challenge fixed narratives and structures of meaning. Jonathan Miles is the kind of person you remember quietly. He …
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