Exhibitions update

Last week, after a meeting in Central London, I was able to see the following exhibitions which are all well worth visiting:

Swiss-born Daniela Schönbächler lives in Venice and works on the Island of Murano, Italy. Her first solo exhibition in London (at The Riflemaker Gallery) 'The Silent Art of Secrecy' is comprised of paintings in ink on a glass “canvas”, free-standing works which explore an innovative use of glass as well as more traditional painting mediums.

The overall theme uniting all of Schönbächler's work is one of contemplation. Through the experience of her art and its interaction with the ambience inside the gallery, the viewer is offered the opportunity to take silent refuge from the chaos, commotion and confusion of the world outside. Schönbächler's creative point of departure is contrast, out of which she strives to find an inner human equilibrium. In her view, everything in life is based on two opposing forces. Her work explores the tension created by this polarity, resulting in harmony - the culmination of these opposite energies.

Janet Nathan and Helene Fesenmaier were both showing at the Redfern Gallery. Janet Nathan creates coloured constructions in mixed media on wood. Crosses have been a significant feature of her work, although only one, 'Hope Point', features in this exhibition. Helene Fesenmaier's exhibition is entitled 'Lives of the Saints' and draws inspiration from images associated with particular saints and expressed in abstract paintings and sculptures combining found objects.

James Lahey was at Flowers Central with an exhibition entitled 'your imperfect history'. Lahey has written that he is "interested in generating a tension between a flow of oppositions and mediating that tension to sustain a space between my experience and my reflective life." That tension is apparent in an exhibition that uses skulls, mirrors and slogans to explore themes of mortaility.

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John Prine - Everything Is Cool.