By Izzie Hill

Having opened on November 4th, Saatchi Gallery’s show London Grads now.21 is a graduate-led showcase running until January 16th, 2022. Whilst it was originally conceived in 2020 as a response to the unprecedented cancellation of degree shows around the capital, the second edition aims to support and highlight emerging artists of today and features fresh work by over 200 MA graduates from seven leading London art schools, all under one roof. All proceeds from the sales of the artworks are retained by the artists.

With each art school having its own dedicated rooms within the gallery space and quasi-manifestos that explain the influences and central themes tying these works together, it becomes clear that each institution marches to the beat of its own drum.

UCL: Slade School of Art displayed a variety of mediums throughout their exhibition space, but its paintings were the stars of the show. In the last few years, abstract painting has been placed on the backburner and figurative works have come to the forefront of the art market once again. Identity and discovering one’s self in this post-pandemic era are explored by many of the artists from this school. Graduate Latifah A Stranack’s painting The Family Tradition presents the viewer with a circle of Muslim matriarchs depicted in bold strokes and colors, creating an element of dynamism in this intimate work. Grace Mattingly’s work Prelude transports the viewer into a fairytale-esque world through her soft pastel palette and woodland creatures that the female figure attempts to connect with through touch (a sense that has been lacking in many people’s lives during the pandemic). By contrast, Eleni Zervou of Goldsmith’s makes a cheeky play-on-words in her work BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU, as the main figure savagely bites the outstretched hand in front of her. In addition, the airbrush technique employed by Zervou acts as a contemporary interpretation of Da Vinci’s sfumato, which softens the focus around the edges of the linework and provides the artwork with levels of depth between figures.

The human psyche has been the focus of many writers’ and artists’ practice throughout time, perhaps most notably in Hamlet’s immortal and infamous “To be, or not to be” soliloquy. What makes us human, what makes us ‘tick’, is investigated by UAL Camberwell College graduate Melitta Nemeth in Night Bathers 3. As in the case of many of the artworks on display in this show, the center of the composition is occupied by a solitary figure. Here, Nemeth contrasts pastel tones to create the effect of the negative of a photograph. As a result, the viewer becomes a voyeur in witnessing the inversion of the figure’s true form. With closed eyes and a relaxed pose, laying on a sea of pink and green cloud-like formations, the figure appears in a state of total bliss - perhaps in an imaginary realm of her own design. Tom White’s grand painting Lucky Red invites the viewer to consider the figure’s own contemplation of having just risen from sleep. Her thin frame leaves us questioning her physical and mental state in this moment: is this part of a deeper issue? The neutral tones of her clothing and the background leave much to the imagination of what lays beyond the boundaries of the composition, entrancing us yet leaving a sense of foreboding. This work, in particular, struck me for its gritty realism into the first moments of one woman’s day, yet I cannot help but see the beauty in the soft blending of her skin that gives life to the work.

While discussing every artwork on display at this wonderful show would be impossible, I’d like to give a special mention to Graham Martin, Steffi Callaghan, and Yukako Tanaka for their exceptional works that speak to a wide number of themes and emphasize the exhibition as a microcosm of the diversity of London. This isn’t one to miss out on.

More about the show:

This major exhibition presents a survey of London’s new emerging art scene, with new works selected, spanning moving image, assemblage, installation, performance, painting, sculpture, photography, and drawing. It presents a survey of London’s new emerging art scene and addresses meaningful dialogues of today. Curators have selected artworks focusing on themes including environmentalism, gender identity, post-pandemic reflections, UK racial politics as well as explorations of the human psyche.

The exhibition will include MA graduates from: Goldsmiths University (curated by LaTosha Monique), UAL: Camberwell College of Arts, UAL: Chelsea College of Arts (both curated by Juan Bolivar), UAL: Central Saint Martins (curated by Jingwen Weng & Lingfei Rena Song), UCL: Slade School of Art (curated by Victoria Cantons), Royal College of Art (curated by Thomas Hjelm & Lauren Bevan), and, new to this years’ edition Kingston School of Art (curated remotely from Tehran, Iran by Shahrzad Jahan). The exhibition identity was developed by UAL: Camberwell College of Arts MA graduate Tom White.

Nine galleries across two floors will be utilized for this headline show, with dedicated exhibition space allocated to each school: including new participating school, Kingston University, and a Saatchi curated space featuring large-scale works from all the schools combined.

London Grads Now. 21 offers a unique insight into exceptional teaching techniques, artistic practices, and cultural approaches.

Curator’s Quotes:

"A second wave of provoked ingenuity; this selection of graduates continues to define themselves through their fortitude and resilience. It has been our privilege to work amongst this community of artists that relentlessly inspire and uplift one another - a willingness to embrace the raw and unknown with unflinching certainty." - Thomas Hjelm & Lauren Bevan, Royal College of Art

"The artworks selected reveal the confines of human knowledge, demonstrate the artists’ tolerance and diverse understandings of the unfamiliar and the unusual, and highlight mankind’s relentless quest for adventures and new discoveries." - Jingwen Weng & Lingfei Rena Song, UAL: Central Saint Martins

"London Grads Now .21 at Saatchi Gallery has been such a uniquely incredible project to be a part of. From my personal experience, to curate an exhibition space without even stepping foot in the gallery itself is incredible and I feel honored to be part of the project, defying the odds - a testament to the power and beauty of collaboration we must take from overcoming challenges in lockdown and how connecting virtually can sometimes be a powerful tool to connect, and break down barriers." - Shahrzad Jahan, Kingston University

"The London Grads Now. 21 exhibition is a beautiful opportunity to show the works of dedicated artists who persevered through the most challenging of times due to Covid-19. The selected work provides a look as to how creativity plays an active role in sustaining our collective well-being. This collection is reflective of the safe havens explored internally, which informed a diverse form of creative processes." – LaTosha Monique, Goldsmiths University