This is Condo season where many London galleries participate in an exchange scheme with galleries from around the world, offering a platform for their artists and a diversity of artistic themes that the London viewing public can experience and enjoy. The day begins with a jog along the Regent’s Canal to Hackney and a first stop at Maureen Paley Gallery. Downstairs, Eduardo Sarabia has exhibited paintings and ceramic vases. The vases contain icons from his Mexican home and though they are rendered beautifully in slick drawing further enhanced by the glazing from a subsequent firing, the viewer quickly realises these are not intended for decorative effect since they depict weapons and the paraphernalia of drug taking.

On the way to the next gallery a stunning house catches the eye. It is large, white and clearly a grand design, but the dissonance that makes it stand out is the large amount of black paint that has been expertly brushed, thrown and sprayed all over its walls in an act of sublime disdain for the modernist ideal of a white cube. These days street art, which is what is on display here, is increasingly engaging with mainstream architecture and it turns out from further internet browsing that this property is by the architect David Adjaye R.A. and proudly bears the name “Dirty House”, whilst its occupants were and may still be the artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster.

At Mother’s Tankstation, a gallery further west in Holborn Viaduct, there is another helping of Condo. Mairead O’hEocha catches the eye with a vivid painting of flowers which is exhibited amongst a group show that combines resident artists with those from the visiting guest gallery. The flowers themselves have distinct patterning and the eye moves from one bloom to another like a hungry bee, no less!, enjoying the sensations of light and colour that the artist has imbued in them.

Finally, back south of the River there is an emerging hub of galleries near Lambeth Bridge. Though the most well known of these is Damien Hirst’s Newport Street gallery, a smaller very interesting space can be found on Lambeth Walk which runs parallel. Here Rob Tufnell has moved into an old shop and located his London gallery. Do not underestimate the importance of this space by its humble context. This is an outfit with a second gallery in Cologne and frequent participations at the international art fairs including Frieze. Amongst a selection of exhibitors, the art collective Inventory has a great sculpture on display consisting of a ladder-like arrangement of computer keyboards. The keyboards are attached like the horizontal bars of the ladder to a vertical hanging structure, but at the base of this display entropy appears to have taken over in the only way possible with such keyboards, namely that their various letters seem to have FAL_EN O_T, causing them to scatter and roll like dice across the gallery floor. LJ.BL..T……K……X..C………L…………….F!

Eduardo Sarabia at Maureen Paley hosted as part of Condo London 2018.

Michaela Eichwald at Maureen Paley hosted as part of Condo London 2018.

Tom Burr of Maureen Paley who are hosting Condo London 2018.

On Chance Street and Whitby Street near Brick Lane.

Andrea Geyer at Hales Gallery with socially charged logos from 60’s women’s publications.

Great Eastern Street art intervention billboard, by Sr.X

Mairead O’hEocha of Mothers Tankstation who are hosting Condo London 2018.

Sam Anderson at Mothers Tankstation as part of Condo London 2018.

Inventory at Rob Tufnell hosting Condo London 2018.