8 June 2021 – Whitechapel Gallery is delighted to announce that 46 artists have been selected for The London Open 2022, bringing together a vibrant and diverse array of contemporary art being made in the capital today. The selected artists work across London’s boroughs, drawing on the experience of living in a global city now.
An astounding 2,600 applications were made to the Gallery’s historical open-submission triennial exhibition, which has been running since 1932. Delayed to summer 2022 due to the pandemic, the exhibition is set to feature works made since 2018 in all media including painting, sculpture, print, photography, film, sound, digital media, performance and installation.
The artists selected for The London Open 2022 are:
| Chloe Abrahams | Marianne Keating |
| Baff Akoto | Seema Khalique |
| Nicole Bachmann | Dawoon Kim |
| Jordan Baseman | Julianknxx |
| Helen Benigson | Paula Morison |
| Marija Bozinovska Jones | Inês Neto dos Santos |
| Henry/Bragg | Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi |
| Hazel Brill | Gerard Ortín Castellví |
| Gareth Cadwallader | Janette Parris |
| Rory Cahill and George Mackness | Will Pham |
| Ami Clarke | Madeleine Pledge |
| William Cobbing | Candida Powell-Williams |
| Sonya Dyer | Hussina Raja |
| Eva Fàbregas | Alicia Reyes McNamara |
| Jason File | Maria Roy Deulofeu |
| Beth Fox | Mohammed Sami |
| Ian Giles | Peter Spanjer |
| Patrick Goddard | Anna Chrystal Stephens |
| Sunil Gupta | Milly Thompson |
| Eloise Hawser | Michelle Williams Gamaker |
| Sandi Hudson-Francis | Ben Yau |
| Asuf Ishaq | Abbas Zahedi |
| Juliana Kasumu | Rafa? Zajko |
The artists were selected by a panel of experts including collector Maria Bukhtoyarova, artist Shezad Dawood, curator and art historian Christine Eyene, gallerist Stephan Tanbin Sastrawidjaja, with Whitechapel Gallery curators Emily Butler, Inês Costa and Wells Fray-Smith.
Emily Butler, Mahera and Mohammad Abu Ghazaleh Curator, Whitechapel Gallery, said: “It has been a privilege to gain insight into London’s incredible pool of artistic talent. We are struck by how much the artists’ work is inspired by recent events, how our bodies and minds have been affected by lockdown, how many are cathartically considering trauma and reflecting on notions of the everyday, the environment, political bias, and the personal and social legacies of colonialism. Throughout, art remains a guide to navigate uncertainty. We look forward to celebrating each of the 46 strong and unique practices and curating an impactful show that looks to the future whilst reflecting on the present moment.”
The London Open is a triennial exhibition open to all artists aged 26 or over living or working in London. For almost 90 years, the project has been a launch pad for leading contemporary artists in the early stages of their careers, including?Larry ?Achiampong,?Frank Bowling,?Alice Channer,?Antony Gormley,?Anish Kapoor,?Grayson Perry,?Heather Phillipson?and?Rachel Whiteread.?
