Two Must-See Exhibitions at UNIT London Right Now
Tucked away in Hanover Street, off Regents Street, UNIT London is a contemporary art platform built on the belief that art should be accessible to everyone. The gallery hosts exhibitions from the best emerging contemporary artists, and in this Autumn, they have two exhibitions running parallelly.
@urbanadventurerldn 🖼️ Two must-see art exhibitions at @Unit London this November/December #artexhibitionlondon #artexhibiton #exhibitionlondon2023 #freeexhibitionlondon #unitlondon #londongallery
Miguel Ángel Payano Jr. – Limbguistics
7 November – 19 December 2023
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Inspired by his transcontinental experience and Caribbean heritage, Miguel Ángel Payano Jr. blended linguistics and limbs to create a tangible visual representation of language, culture, and art.
Taking advantage of his Caribbean heritage, spending years in New England and decades in China and speaking multiple languages, Payano has come to understand that language is not limited to grammar and vocabulary.
By blending the two words, ‘limb’ and ‘linguistics’, Payano created a new word: ‘limbguistics’ as the title of his first solo exhibition. In his artworks he blends human and natural limbs with various motifs from Chinese mythology and everyday objects to represent extended visual metaphors that rupture the frames of the canvas.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
In his artworks, Payano often uses peach and monkey that are important Chinese symbols. Peach is associated with magic and mythology and symbolises immortality, fertility and eros. Discovering the similarities of human face and peach in terms of how it wrinkles over the time and how it resembles a human mouth, Payano often uses it in his artworks. He calls it “single-celled humans” as peach-mouth not only represents the human figure in his art, but also language and communication.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Monkey plays a significant role in Chinese culture. It appears in Chinese zodiac calendar and represents intelligence and playful mischievousness. Monkeys often appear as motif that rapture the boundaries of the canvas by grabbing things from the outside world or breaking out of the box that tries to keep them in.
Payano often uses casts of his own hands in his artworks and there are two reasons for that. Firstly, it appeared to be obvious for him because it’s always accessible. Secondly, after his Parkinson diagnosis, these casts of his hands got a new meaning. His mantra has become “do what you can, while you can” because you never know for how long you have the chance to do what you love.
Dreamscape Estuary – Group Exhibition Curated by Laura Shao
3 October – 4 December 2023
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Dreamscape Estuary brings together 14 talented Asian artists with different backgrounds and experiences. It’s a unique exhibition where dreams and visions come together to forge a whole new artistic expression.
Tan Yongqing: ‘Dark Heart’
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The title of the exhibition serves as a bridge between the ethereal and the tangible, the historical and the mythological and the personal and the universal to form one unique collective consciousness.
Stephen Wong: ‘The Fire’
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Curator Laura Shao is the Director of International Development at Hive Center for Contemporary Art. She helps Asian artists to develop internationally and develop interactions among galleries, academics, and private collectors.
Ready for your next adventure? Mucciaccia Gallery, which is just a 5-min walk from UNIT Gallery, is currently hosting a playful, yet satiric exhibiton to bring your childhood memories back. ‘Trapped in a Cel’ by Priest features paintings inspired by legendary cartoon characters and their fictional worlds, such as Coyote and the Roadrunner or Bugs Bunny.
