London, England: A Saturday At The Saatchi Gallery

London, England: A Saturday At The Saatchi Gallery

We recently found ourselves spending a beautiful blue sky Saturday in the Saatchi Gallery. I had decided a trip there was a must after seeing some of Jelena Bulajic and Alice Anderson's work pop up on the BBC one night. It was one of those okay, I can not die without seeing that moments and we had yet to make our way to check out the gallery since moving to London last year. 

The current exhibitions are Champagne life and Revelations: New Work by Aidan along with Richard Wilson's 20:50 and Sister, Mother: The Cosmology of Rugman. We went with the flow of the gallery and began in Gallery 1, the start of Champagne life, and ended our tour in the Prints and Originals Gallery. 

Church Boats by Sigrid Holmwood, 2007

Church Boats by Sigrid Holmwood, 2007

Champagne Life consists of 14 artist, all with vastly different styles so it was fun to go through an array of emotions while experiencing all the unique visuals. Though there didn't appear to be a theme amongst the work, the one thing keeping the individuals from being completely separate is that they're all female—yes, an exhibit of all ladies! woo hoo! Hopefully this isn't a "hey you can have the floor just this once" type of deal and instead an aim to be a leader to more consistent and equal theme—not just all female shows, but more females within exhibitions in general. The stats for female's work in shows is still very much below were it should be so it was a breath of fresh air to walk through the powerful work of fellow female artist.

Untitled (Food for Though series) by Maha Malluh, 2015

Untitled (Food for Though series) by Maha Malluh, 2015

Untitled (Food for Though series) by Maha Malluh, 2015

Untitled (Food for Though series) by Maha Malluh, 2015

Ljubica by Jelena Bulajic, 2012

Ljubica by Jelena Bulajic, 2012

Grozda by Jelena Bulajic, 2012

Grozda by Jelena Bulajic, 2012

These two ladies were my absolute favorite pieces on display and the reason I needed to get myself to the gallery in the first place. They did not disappoint. Bulajic's attention to detail and muted color palette is absolutely stunning. I could have stayed and starred into the eyes of these women for hours. They felt real and left me wanting to know what stories lay deep inside their souls.

Rhyme Sequence: Jingle Jangle by Mequitta Ahuja, 2012

Rhyme Sequence: Jingle Jangle by Mequitta Ahuja, 2012

Two Cows by Stephanie Quayle, 2013

Two Cows by Stephanie Quayle, 2013

Bound (left) and 181 Kilometers (right) by Alice Anderson

Bound (left) and 181 Kilometers (right) by Alice Anderson

Anderson's Bound and 101 Kilometers was reason number two for hopping on the bus to get there right away. I could not believe the scale of these pieces nor the amount of patience it must have took to create them. Looking closely theres small delicate threads of copper wrapping itself around over and over again. I give so much credit to artist who have the steady hands and head to create such envious pieces of work.

After finishing up in the Champagne Life exhibition, we headed onto Revelations: New Work by Aidan. Walking through the show, there was a different vibe in the air. Aidan's work circles around references to traditional and religious symbols and also plays with the female and male roles in society. There was a strong contrast between black and white in all of the pieces creating a hard line but there also seemed to be a softer feeling injected with the fabric textural flow created in art.

Aidan

Aidan

Aidan

Aidan

Aidan

Aidan

Next up was Richard Wilson's 20:50. Little did we know we were walking into a room full of oil. Before looking at the exhibition guide, both of us thought it was just a clever play with a mirror...but why did the room smell so funny? Well that's the used sump oil. The smoothness of the surface made it glass like and created a darker version of the room we were in. What was white, the oil reflection turned to black. The contrast was interesting to look at and hard to take your eyes off of.

20:50 by Richard Wilson, 1987

20:50 by Richard Wilson, 1987

Lastly, we did a quick swoop through the Prints and Originals Gallery to see Sister, Mother: The Cosmology of Rugman. These pieces were very visually pleasing with their clean lines and textures. They felt like free and spiritual symbols for the soul to grasp onto and carry.

Sister, Mother: The Cosmology of Rugman

Sister, Mother: The Cosmology of Rugman

Lost in Thought by Rugman

Lost in Thought by Rugman

Reflection by Rugman

Reflection by Rugman

The whole exhibition and gallery though was well worth the trip and it definitely will not be my last time stepping foot inside. Not only is it free, but the space beautifully highlights contemporary art—my favorite.

 

What are some of the pieces that caught your eye?