Antigone, Women in Fibre Art
Richard Saltoun Gallery, St. James, until 18th March



This group show is dedicated to female artists from the rich Eastern European textile tradition. Following the Tate Modern’s long overdue solo exhibition for Anni Albers five years ago, ‘Women in Fibre Art’ is a welcome contribution towards highlighting the artists working with textile; presenting the mediums’ reworking throughout the 20th century. Standouts are the works of Croatian artist Jagoda Buić who uses cords, hemp and wool, which expands into the surrounding space and redefine the typicals connotation of delicacy that much fabric or fibres have. Plus, don’t miss the works of the late Magdalena Abakanovicz and Barbara Levittoux-Świderska, whose works respond to the repressive ideology of the Iron Curtain, which happen from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991, in Poland. A must-see exhibit, as politically poignant as it is tactile

Pippa El- Kahdi Brown, Walls Who Whisper
Lychee One Gallery, London E8, until 25th March


“The home is a system of organs… an entire organism. Inhabited with curious household spirits,” pens artist Pippa El-Kadhi Brown in the exhibition notes. Large-scale works of reconfigured domestic scenes are hung adjacent to minuscule canvases resembling kitchen linoleum. Pippa sets out to animate the mundane, each room of the home is shown inhabited by a spirit, but the walls and furniture also appear living. A nod to WFH lockdown mania, Pippa’s canvases evoke something in us all.

Linder I Hannah Wilke
Alison Jacques, Berners street W1T, until 11th March


A must-see to catch before it closes on March 11th, this is a first-time pairing of two internationally renowned, contemporary artists Linder and Hannah Wilke. Both creatives openly criticize conventional female roles in their respective generations. Linder’s photomontages transform the 1970s pornographic landscape into poetic commentary on gendered consumerism; while Hannah, who uses chewing gum to signify the vulva, describes her work as “the perfect metaphor for the American woman - chew her up, throw her out, and pop in a new piece”. A perfect punk contrast to the corporatisation of International Women’s Day.

Alice Neel, Hot Off The Griddle
Barbican, until 21st May


Organised in collaboration with the Paris’ Centre Pompidou, this exhibition brings together more than 70 paintings by Alice Neel, shown alongside archival photography and film. While working in figuration while it was considered unfashionable to do so, Alice chose to portray those unrepresented in the white, male-dominated art world. Alice’s revisionist history of downtown culture earnt her the title of ‘court painter of the underground’. Her oeuvre brings together portraits and politics, showing someone’s humanity regardless of their status in society.

Angela Heisch, Low Speed Highs
Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, from 24th March - 29th April


The programme at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery continues to champion women artists and Angela Heisch’s exhibit presents a resonant stride in contemporary abstraction. The surface of Angela’s canvases are not traditionally abstract: appearing neither as flat nor splattered with paint - but concave. Working on her grandest scale to date, Angela’s signature organic forms are rendered in delicate gradients and soft colours. She uses elemental, molecular forms to represent landscapes that become increasingly extra-terrestrial. You may be equally calmed, or provoked, by these surreal paintings.

Abi Ola, I’ll be your mirror
Kupfer Gallery, until March 18th 


Abi Ola graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2021 and has presented in numerous solo shows since, including the renowned Good Eye projects at Christie's last year. For her latest show at Penelope Kupfer gallery, Abi has transformed the space into her own private world, citing her inspiration from her mother's patterned dresses, and different styles that represent various family members. The exhibition is an exploration of identity, self-preservation and family life. Cut-out figures emerge from standing mirrors, partly hidden from view. We are invited to contemplate ourselves.

Skin deep
Studio West Gallery
10th March - 5th April 

This show draws inspiration from works by Melissa Febos - Body Work, responding to the eternally pertinent question - should the artist disclose the emotional, or distressing, in their work? To whom does the artist’s most intimate experience belong? Focusing on the work of eleven up-and-coming painters this exhibit examines the capacity for art to work through trauma. Skin, as the permeable barrier which protects and defends, is thoroughly explored in this show.

Larissa De Jesús Negrón, Distraída
Guts Gallery, 10th - 30th March 

Guts Gallery, founded by Ellie Pennick, has revolutionized the art world by championing artists from traditionally marginalised backgrounds. The USP for the gallery is artworks which provoke, breaking from the tired mediums of a claustrophobic art world. Distraída presents the work of someone struggling to reconcile the often chaotic jumble of modern life. With neo-surreal dioramas, the exhibition demonstrates the artist's interest in the natural world as a soothing tonic to this chaos.

By Lydia Wilford