Bold new video works by five artists of the moment living or working in London will take over the world’s largest public screens this July in London, Seoul and Tokyo. Curated by Sir Norman Rosenthal, ‘LONDON ZEITGEIST’ comprised of five independent films by Larry Achiampong, Alvaro Barrington, Matt Copson, artist duo Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, together forming a bold and comprehensive showcase of the most promising artists within a generation to emerge from London. 

This group exhibition adopts its title from Rosenthal’s 1982 exhibition ‘Zeitgeist’ that was held in Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau almost forty years ago, and which was arguably one of the most historically significant global painting surveys of the 20th century, bringing together 45 of the world’s most driven and symbolically heroic artists of the moment. Rosenthal’s unwavering commitment and capacity to embolden the great talent of the time has become a defining characteristic of his career. In 1981, Rosenthal introduced artists such as Baselitz, Kiefer, Polke and Richter to an audience beyond Germany in ‘A New Spirit In Painting’ and helped launch the careers of  Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and many others with ‘Sensation’ in 1997 at the Royal Academy of Art in London:

“That complex German word “Zeitgeist” (Time/Spirit) that more and more has entered the English language – just like “Kindergarten” once did (!) – naturally relates to place as well as time. Each of the four young artists chosen I believe address these issues subjectively, inevitably, sometimes obliquely, yet each in a “Spectacular” and “Beautiful” way onto the iconic Piccadilly Lights screen. They then are transmitted to the other side of the globe. They are pictures both of issues and fantasies that obsess four individual artists living and working in London, forever a huge urban national centre, and that hopefully too will touch audiences around the world.” – Sir Norman Rosenthal

I looked at a lot of clouds over the last few years. I’ve looked at them from different angles and over the years more and more from the airplane. It has come to mean many different things to me….cycles of weather changes…… ideas about the world outside of this globe and lately it has meant nature. During lockdown it became nature unorganized by humans..it’s just doing its thing and will continue to do its thing when we are no longer on this planet. -Alvaro Barrington

Alvaro Barrington was born in Venezuela (1983, Caracas) to Haitian and Grenadian parents and was raised between the Caribbean and Brooklyn, NY. He currently lives and works in London. His artistic practice is multidisciplinary, reflecting on histories of cultural production and their exchange. Whilst firstly considering himself a painter, his process to image-making is wide-ranging, as his works include the application of diverse non-traditional materials – such as concrete, wood, textiles, yarn, burlap, carboard, clothing, and postcards, prints, drawing, and photography. For the artist, each media has numerous possibilities, and each is a tool to represent both individual as well as collective cultural narratives. Recurrent subject matters are close- ups of faces, parts of the body and equatorial plants. References are seen in his use of imagery such as hibiscus flowers, the 20th century Harlem Renaissance, Marcus Garvey, hip-hop culture of the 90’s such as Tupac, and inspiration from other artists’ practices such as Willem de Kooning, Joseph Beuys and Robert Rauschenberg. His works explore diverse thematics, such as migration, nationality, selfhood, sexuality, time, and the digital realm. Barrington is also actively involved in various community practices such as charities, concerts, performances and shows. Believing that art needs to be accessible to communities in public sites, Barrington has been participating to the organization of the Notting Hill Carnival since 2019. In 2022, he has been the producer of Queen of the Caribbean, the main concert stage at the Notting Hill Carnival.