Rose Finn-Kelcey

Suit of Lights

On until 12 April 2025

The challenge which the late Finn-Kelcey’s work posed to sex and gender roles in the 1970s and 80s seems quaint today. The brand of feminism archived in her studio self-portraits as a bull matador and a casino croupier has since both proclaimed total victory and continues to make a muted demand for parity. The exhibition’s sensitive display in local-art-centre retro exposes that project’s breakdown.

But making it ‘live’ again, as Finn-Kelcey’s performances once may have done is a different challenge. Snapshots and scripts of her 1976 durational gallery lock-in with a pair of magpies are simply no match for Beuys’ time with the coyote. That the art historian at whom this display is aimed cannot agree is the movement’s tragedy.


notes and notices are short and curt exhibition reviews. Read more:

looking to the futurepast, we are treading forward, the Bolivian pavilion in Venice ★☆☆☆☆

looking to the futurepast, we are treading forward

The contemporary is of no interest to a nation whose future is yet to be dug out from the ground.

Matthew Barney, SECONDARY at Sadie Coles HQ ★★★☆☆

Matthew Barney

SECONDARY: light lens parallax

Secondary turns the gallery into an American Football stadium. But all the seats in the house are the cheap seats and the game lacks a cheerleader.

Francesca DiMattio, Wedgwood at Pippy Houldsworth ★★★☆☆

Francesca DiMattio

Wedgwood

In DiMattio’s giant ceramics kiln, everyday motifs like sneakers and knickers clash into the ornate Rococo stove and the Victorian China snuff box.

Sin Wei Kin, Portraits at Soft Opening ★★☆☆☆

Sin Wei Kin

Portraits

This exhibition combines the most vulgar of all art school tropes: juvenile narcissism, NFT kitsch, and mindless referentialism.

Abdullah Al Saadi, Sites of Memory, Sites of Amnesia, UAE pavilion in Venice ★★★☆☆

Abdullah Al Saadi

Sites of Memory, Sites of Amnesia

The exhibition’s user experience rivals that of the Apple Store.

Marina Abramović, 7 Deaths of Maria Callas ★☆☆☆☆

Marina Abramović

7 Deaths of Maria Callas

Abramović wants to destroy all performance and all women until she holds the monopoly over stage death.

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