The Shanghai Seven

Gillian Catto has been exhibiting contemporary Chinese art in her Hampstead gallery for nearly twenty years, long before the current surge of interest made it a hot collectors' item. The Catto Gallery showed the work of the influential Chinese-American Walasse Ting, born in Shanghai in 1929 and based in New York since 1957, whose work is characterised by brilliant cheerful colours and engaging figurative paintings of nudes, women, cats and birds. (Hong Kong businessman David Tang is a keen collector.) But now it's time for a new generation of talent and this month, the gallery is hosting seven artists from Shanghai, all in their late 20s - 30s and showing for the first time in the UK. The show is called Pieces of a Broken Mirror from China and reflects the political, social, sexual and artistic concerns of the artistic life in China today. The five painters and two sculptors are part of the hugely energetic and vibrant scene that is happening in Shanghai right now. The artists are not being critical of China, they are acutely aware of their country and their heritage, and often sceptical of the changes brought about by the rising tide of Western affluence and "culture". The broken mirror of the show's title refers not to a damaged China but to the fragmented world that a broken mirror reveals. But subtexts apart, this is an engaging collection of new and stimulating work, at very affordable prices, from £5,000 to £13,000. Gillian Catto says that the bulk of her clients are from the financial world, bankers, brokers and businessmen who travel a great deal and have seen work in Los Angeles, Hong Kong or major art fairs. This is the first chance to see these artists in London. Catch them while you can. 8 - 24 April. Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm. Sunday 2.30pm - 6pm. The Catto Gallery, 100 Heath Street, Hampstead Village, London NW3, 020 7435 6660 www.catto.co.uk

Caption:
The Blue Pillow (diptych)
By Wang Yuhong
Oil on canvas 50cm x 40cm

 
 
 
 

Consuelo Child-Villiers

A British painter living in the South of France for the last few years, Consuelo Child-Villiers returns to Mayfair this month with an exhibition of her enchanting paintings that inhabit a magical world of mystery and imagination. There are fantasy animals, mysterious masked figures, and fluid shapes recalling the Viennese Secessionists. The artist studied sculpture and painting in both Florence and London and there's a hint of the Renaissance in the rich, vivid colours and decorative detail of clothing and fabrics. On the whole, her pictures are small enough for domestic environments and very reasonably priced from about £2,500 - £6,000. The exhibition runs 14 - 26 April at the Arndean Gallery, 23 Cork Street, London W1, 10am - 6pm. Late viewings 15, 17 and 23 April 6pm - 9.30pm or by appointment. Arndean Gallery, 020 7734 7010. Consuelo Child-Villiers (00 33) 6757 18694, www.consuelochildvilliers.com

Caption:
Wolf
By Consuelo Child-Villiers
Oil on canvas 116cm x 73 cm
£6,500

 
 
 
 

War Paint

Not all pop stars are wasters and the connection between modern music and contemporary art is strong. The edgy Soho gallery Lazarides, a far cry from the gentility of Mayfair, has a great track record of exhibitions that épater le bourgeois rather than pander to them. The current exhibition, War Paint, is a collection of work by different artists who have been inspired by the 2007 James Lavelle album, War Stories, and who are long term collaborators under the UNKLE label. The show features paintings by Lavelle's creative partner Robert Del Naja, also known as 3D. Del Naja founded the band Massive Attack but is also one of the UK's pioneering graffiti artists. Also taking part are Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones, both leading lights in the photographic industry, Ben Drury and William Bankhead. It's a dynamic and fruitful association of talent across a number of disciplines - a pleasant change from the losers' lifestyle that usually hits the headlines. Show runs to 25 April, Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 7pm. Lazarides Gallery, 125 Charing Cross Road, Soho, London W1, 020 3214 0055, www.lazinc.com

Caption:
Untitled
Art Direction & Design by Ben Drury & James Lavelle
Paintings & Sketches by Robert Del Naja
Courtesy the artist and Lazarides Gallery
Copyright: the artist, 2008

 
 
 
 

Muhammad Ali - An Inside View

Proud Galleries have quite a coup on their hands, The Ali Folio™: An intimate portrait of Muhammad Ali as seen through the lens of acclaimed photographer, Sonia Katchian. The only collection of its kind, this exhibition is the most intimate photographic portrait of Ali ever seen, and it was shot all over the world, at the pinnacle of his success and glory, alongside his family, friends and close travelling companions. Sonia Katchian met Ali by chance in Manhattan in 1974 and they formed a close relationship. No other photographer had the same access to the fighter's work and home life, and she became the first woman photographer allowed to shoot at ringside in a championship fight. Previously unseen, this exhibition is the chance of a lifetime for sports fans to see the inside story of the man they call "the Greatest". And Ali himself paid Katchian the best compliment - calling her "the greatest photographer in the world". Katchian was born in the Lebanon but having spent 20 years in New York and then a decade in Tokyo she is currently based in rural North Carolina where she shoots multi-media documentary projects for the web and produces prints for The Ali Folio™. Runs to 11 May. 11am - 7pm Monday - Saturday, 1am - 6pm Sunday. Proud Gallery, 5 Buckingham Street, off the Strand, London WC2, 020 7839 4942, www.proud.co.uk

Caption:
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee
Muhammad Ali photographed by Sonia Katchian for The Ali Folio™
By kind permission of the Proud Gallery