6 Must-See Shows during Condo London 2024
Deborah Segun, New outlook, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and The Breeder.
David Flaugher, Meteor striking Schrödinger's cat, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Lomex.
Its name is inspired by the concept of a condominium or shared living space, but Condo London falls under many categories: an art show, a collaborative space, or, in some cases, an experiment. London-based gallerist Vanessa Carlos (of Carlos/Ishikawa) founded the international event to enable host galleries to share their spaces with visiting galleries from different cities, encouraging co-curated exhibitions and new collaborations.
Returning to London for the first time since 2020, Condo London 2024 will host 50 galleries across 23 spaces from January 20th through February 17th. First founded in 2016, and with iterations across hubs like New York and São Paulo, Condo focuses on fostering a spirit of unity and creative exchange, where galleries from around the globe come together.
This year, many galleries have teamed up to present joint exhibitions, while others are showing two separate presentations. Here, Artsy selects the must-see shows happening during the event.
Public Gallery, hosting PEANA
Victor Bengtsson and Vica Pacheco
Public Gallery is hosting Mexico-based PEANA to pair the works of Danish painter Victor Bengtsson and performance artist Vica Pacheco, shown by the two galleries respectively. Bengtsson’s exhibition, entitled “Når den hvide rod rejser sig / When the white root rises,” fuses myth and modernity through oil paint and gold leaf on jute canvas, inspired by Greek mythology and Scandinavian folklore.
Complementing Bengtsson’s works, Pacheco’s presentation “ANIMACY OR A BREATH MANIFEST” explores the synergy of ancient and contemporary art forms through a performance piece. Central to Pacheco’s sound and movement work are her “whistling vessels,” inspired by pre-Columbian traditions. During the performance, Pacheco blows into these vessels, creating a soundscape that resonates within the gallery space.
Modern Art, hosting Gallery Artbeat
Nika Kutateladze
Nika Kutateladze, Unititled, 2023. Photo by Michael Brzezinski. Courtesy of the artist and Modern Art, London and Gallery Artbeat, Tbilisi.
Nika Kutateladze, Unititled, 2023. Photo by Michael Brzezinski. Courtesy of the artist and Modern Art, London and Gallery Artbeat, Tbilisi.
Modern Art, in collaboration with Tbilisi-based Gallery Artbeat, will present Nika Kutateladze’s paintings that explore rural life of his native Georgia. In “They were born together They will die together,” Kutateladze draws on his experiences living in a remote mountain region, and particularly its isolation. The artist uses traditional materials like oil on grounded wood to foreground the raw and natural aspects of his experience. The exhibition will also create an immersive installation in the space using materials from Georgian construction sites as a further layer to Kutateladze’s narrative.
The Sunday Painter, hosting Kendall Koppe and The Breeder
Ekene Stanley Emecheta, Deborah Segun, Laura Aldridge, and Zearo
Ekene Stanley Emecheta, Behind Curtains, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and The Breeder.
Deborah Segun, Empath, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and The Breeder.
At The Sunday Painter, Athens-based gallery The Breeder will present works from Ekene Stanley Emecheta and Deborah Segun. Emecheta’s paintings employ a unique approach to portraiture, where the protagonist’s skin color is intentionally obscured, redirecting focus to their posture, facial expression, and surroundings. This technique challenges viewers to engage with the subject on a deeper level. Emecheta’s figures, as seen behind blue veils in Behind Curtains (2022), are often set against minimalistic or symbolically rich settings to tell stories of identity, heritage, and personal experience.
Meanwhile, Segun’s canvases are adorned with images of Black women depicted in various states of rest, contemplation, and action, often set against a backdrop of vibrant colors and bold patterns. The figures in Segun’s paintings, such as My Source of Joy (2023), a portrait of a woman with closed eyes lifting a houseplant, exude confidence and grace.
Alongside these two artists, The Sunday Painter will present works from London-based artist Zearo, and Glasgow’s Kendall Koppe will exhibit works from Laura Aldridge.
Union Pacific, hosting Sans Titre and Misako & Rosen
Martin Aagaard Hansen, Kazuyuki Takezaki, and Tanja Nis-Hansen
Martin-Aagaard-Hansen, To Leave the Lights On For Yourself, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Union Pacific.
Tanja Nis-Hansen, Woman ascending and descending a mountain, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Sans Titre.
Union Pacific is hosting Paris gallery San Titre and Tokyo gallery Misako & Rosen to exhibit the works of Martin Aagaard Hansen, Kazuyuki Takezaki, and Tanja Nis-Hansen, each presenting work linking human existence to our interactions with the environment.
Haansen’s layered paintings, such as the dual landscape Murky Morning Early Grin (2023), are evocative of geological strata, blending organic forms and spaces in contemplative, withered scenes, while Nis-Hansen’s paintings examine the female form within contemporary contexts addressing themes of anxiety, illness, and societal expectations. She sometimes embeds the female form or faces into the environment, like the screaming face in the mountainside depicted in Woman ascending and descending a mountain (2021). Meanwhile, Takezaki’s paintings of mountainscapes translate experiences of nature into sensorial journeys.
CARLOS/ISHIKAWA, hosting Chapter NY and Galerie Kandlhofer
Libasse Ka, Stella Zhong, Cheyenne Julien, Richie Culver.
Libasse Ka, Untitled, 2023. © Libasse Ka. Photo by Damian Griffiths. Courtesy of the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London.
Libasse Ka, Untitled, 2023. © Libasse Ka. Photo by Damian Griffiths. Courtesy of the artist and Carlos/Ishikawa, London.
Over the opening weekend of Condo 2023, Galerie Kandlhofer will host a performance work by Richie Culver, entitled “Exit Strategy,” at London’s CARLOS/ISHIKAWA. Culver is a minimalist, punk-inspired artist working with painting and photography, with a provocative style. Most recently he has worked with deliberately explicit or incendiary adages about wealth and art to confront the viewer (a 2023 painting was spray-painted “Less is more but not when it comes to money”).
CARLOS/ISHIKAWA, meanwhile, is exhibiting a presentation of new works by Libasse Ka, a young artist with roots in Senegal and Belgium. Ka’s abstract paintings draw from a diverse range of influences, including the geometric forms of Piet Mondrian and the writing of Baruch Spinoza. Additionally, Chapter NY will present works from Stella Zhong and Cheyenne Julien at the gallery.
Ginny on Frederick, hosting Lomex
David Flaugher and Francesca Dolor
Francesca Dolor, Trash Bag Tuesday, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Ginny on Frederick.
New York–based Lomex is teaming up with London’s Ginny on Frederick to present “hello dust!,” a two-person exhibition featuring the works of Francesca Dolor and David Flaugher, two artists who share a common interest in exploring internal mental landscapes. Dolor, based in London, is known for her introspective paintings and drawings that explore the subconscious. These paintings, often characterized by intense self-examination, invite viewers into a world constructed by memory and emotion.
Similarly, Detroit native Flaugher’s contribution to “hello dust!” (whose title is taken from a poem by a 15th-century Buddhist monk) includes a series of paintings and installations focusing on stark depictions of furniture and interior settings. In these mundane scenes, something uncanny lingers—a single chair next to a white tablecloth-covered table, surrounded by blue spiraling specters, for instance, in Erratic Metric (2023).
