Art Below Hyde Park

By using advertising space in London’s iconic underground stations to showcase artwork, independent arts organisation Art Below has two powerful missions: rendering contemporary art accessible to millions of commuters, and creating a platform for promising as well as internationally-renowned artists to reach novel audiences. Attending their latest vernissage Art Below Hyde Park at Herrick Gallery in the very heart of Mayfair not only gave me the immense satisfaction of discovering a hidden gem in London, but also left me with new impressions and refreshing perspectives on public engagement with art.

Art Below’s show consisted of a variety of paintings and sculptures, as well as prints and drawings made by twenty artists from all corners of the world. Some of the exhibited works will be displayed on billboards at the Hyde Park Corner tube station for two weeks until the 28th of January to brighten and sweeten the commute of an expected 10,000 people.

Stepping into Herrick Gallery, the black and white drawings of Munich-based artist Falk von Schönfels immediately caught my eye. His artworks not only fit perfectly in the urban setting of the London Underground but also resonate with today’s era of hysteria and continuous frenzy of fake news. Von Schönfels combines this madness with his inspiration from poetry and esoterism to produce these outstanding drawings, captioned with crazy titles. I will definitely not forget his artworks easily and I would do everything for a t-shirt with these striking graphics.

Going down the gallery’s staircase, I discovered my favourite piece of the entire show: Rose Long’s Babushka. I am not sure whether it was the strong and powerful contrast between dark and bright colours or Long’s work with different patterns and textures that made me fall for this particular painting. There is something special about the look and the gaze of the depicted girl, who happens to be the artist’s mother at the age of five, that makes you want to stand in the front of this painting for ages without noticing time passing.

Freudian Slip by the talented Gia Strauss, which blends controversies around plastic surgery and the objectification of women into a distorted Picasso-like portrait, also attracted audiences. Another crowd-pleaser was Tim Gatenby’s abstraction of childhood memories, Frog Life – a truly unique mixture of distorted memories, commercialism and pop culture.

The showcase of these and many other original pieces, together with performances throughout the evening and free-flowing prosecco turned the evening into a real success. What strikes me most, however, is the underlying vision of Art Below, namely making art available everywhere and for everybody. Who says that art should be something exclusive behind closed doors? Why can’t a tube station serve as a museum and inspire busy urban people to appreciate the beauty and value of art? I was impressed by the aspiration of Art Below’s curator Ben Moore to create a vibrant community of different artists and taking their art into a public context. I can only hope that this will inspire artists of the next generation…

If this has awakened your curiosity, don’t forget that you can check out the prints of several artworks for free at the Hyde Park Corner underground station. Art Below’s is running another exhibition called ‘Plei’ from the 24th January until the 6th of February at the Riverside studio at Re:center in Hammersmith, with a variety of artworks dedicated to the concept of play.