Jeff Wall and Riflemaker

Jeff Wall, Fortified Door, 2007. Jay Jopling/White Cube

Last week Julie Pallot checked out what promised to be two cutting edge contemporary art events: the opening of cool gallery Riflemaker's new Soho space and cult photographer Jeff Wall's new exhibition.

On the last Monday in November a rather modest amount of cocktails greeted the visitors at the VIP launch party of Riflemaker’s second space,  on Soho's Greek St.  The VIPs were pretty scarce too.
The art, however, was an intriguing mix of the odd and the abstract.
The main feature was Marta Marce’s floor pieces and painted wooden wall canvases. Marce sees her art as interactive and her inspiration for this collection comes partly from board games.
Geometric shapes are placed together in random combinations 'of chance' creating a unique outline to each work and a colourful arrangement of pattern.

Also in the show were some highlighted pieces by Gavin Turk, including 'Fright-Wing', a silk screen depicting repeated images of Andy Warhol in the style of - you guessed it - Andy Warhol.
Right back at ya Mr. Warhol! Someone had to do it.
A particularly odd piece in the exhibition was Turk’s fully moving waxwork sailor, with revolving blood shot eyes and moving limbs. Terrifying and hilarious in the same degree.
Suddenly it felt like you were transported to a madcap museum somewhere on the Isle of Wight.
Then Julie Verhoeven’s elegant sketches of chic women with delicate silhouette outlines brought you right back to Soho.
Also exhibited were her beautiful collaged dressing screens flamboyantly decorated with detailed scenes of Victorianiana. Proving her style in the theatrical and her great attention to detail
The space itself had a ‘shabby-round-the-edges-feel', which had a charm more fitting to a Shoreditch up-and-coming art-hole perhaps.
The artwork seemed to suffer slightly from the surroundings and would have had a more powerful impact in clean white backdrop instead of being crammed together in the rather unforgiving interior.

Talking of white backdrops, on the same night was White Cube’s preview of Jeff Wall’s new collection.
This was a selection of huge photographic images set in light boxes.
No new departure for Wall then. But all the same, the exhibition although fairly small - with only ten images on show- was well put together.
His three full colour images drew on architecture to bring out dramatic lines of composition and the clever tricks of photography to make you feel as if you where really there for real.
His black and white collection focused mainly on human behavior.
Kids playing war, women plucking chickens, men simply 'waiting' all in his incredibly expressive style which captures the moment with heartwarming emotion.
Yet, disappointingly, you left with a sense that the show was a few pieces short of a full exhibition.

Although both galleries had some interesting works but nothing was particularly innovative or exciting, just rather inoffensive. All in all a subdued day for contemporary art in London. Perhaps it had something to do with the time of year....


Riflemaker Soho Square, 1 Greek Street, London, W1.


Jeff Wall
White Cube, 25-26 Mason's Yard, London, SW1.
November 27 till January 19

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