joseph scissorhands

Monday, 16 February 2026

Lineages

Golnaz Fathi - Untitled (19), 2012

"People mistake the character of line for the character of art. But it's really the position of line that's important..." — Roy Lichtenstein.

A really interesting proposition for an exhibition this, a gathering together of a group of disparate artists working in different disciplines, and an examination of the way in which they each use the formal artistic element of line to produce such varied outcomes. Whether it be drawn, painted, sculptural, collaged or woven, line is manifest, the common thread which binds and runs throughout the art in this exhibition. I am familiar with the work of El Anatsui and his magnificent woven metal cloth hangings but all of the other artists were unfamiliar to me, and what a joy it was to discover them and their work. A particular favourite here were the sculptural works of Eleanor Lakelin who works with wood, discovering and exploiting the natural linear rings which cover the surface and run beneath the bark to create ethereal, tactile vessels and portals of burr. The waves of organic lines found on her vessel entitled Landscape are reminiscent of the concentric rings of isobars on maps. It was one of my favourite pieces in the exhibition. Her stark white piece entitled Untitled (Gateway), was another favourite, really reminiscent of the delicate plaster works of sculptor Maria Bartuszová (here). The work of textile artists and works woven on the loom have informed some of my recent work, and I was very much impressed with the woven hangings of Bev Burkow on display which relate to and appear to be in dialogue with the metal bottle top fabrics of El Anatsui exhibited in another room. Butkow's experimental works investigate how we as people walk on this earth alone or in communities. They represent the formal artistic qualities of colour, texture and form just as strongly as they do line. Butkow's main weaving here looks like a map of different land masses. Golnaz Fathi's lyrical abstractions fall between the two camps of abstract expressionism and classical Persian calligraphy. I studied graphic design at the start of my career so I was naturally attracted to the expressive mark-making resembling that of text. Bold blocks of colour sit in the background effaced by dynamic black calligraphic brushstrokes which dance energetically across the picture surface, They are tempered by finer, more considered rhythmic lines which flow in waves across the canvas. My last mention goes to Susanne Kessler who like myself works with papers and thread amongst other media. With her paper collage works Kessler's spatial drawings treat line as a site of memory and mobility. In some pieces they are dense, knotted tangles of thread and paper resembling to my eyes at least, automatic writing and pieces of text written without conscious intention. In other pieces such as Thames in Motion: line and Current, they flow freely, meandering across the wall of the gallery relating a story like a smaller version of the Bayeux Tapestry. Again I think this is a wonderful premise for an exhibition, and one which has been really well curated.

Susanne Kessler - 014 - layered from 2007 onwards: 4 layers

Eleanor Lakelin - Untitled (Gateway)

Theresa Weber - Mangrove at Night

Theresa Weber - Grass Under Foot

El Anatsui - Earth Struggling to Grow Roots and Leaves

Golnaz Fathi - Untitled (19), 2012

Junko Mori - Propagation Project: Multiple Textured Leaf

Junko Mori - Propagation Project: Da Vinci's Study of Water

Gerard Wilde - Untitled, circa 1940-1950

Gerard Wilde - Pompei

Eleanor Lakelin - Column Vessel #1

Eleanor Lakelin - Landscape #2

Susanne Kessler - 019 - layered from 2016 onwards: 2 layers

Susanne Kessler - 016 - layered from 2011 onwards: 3 layers

Susanne Kessler - 017 - layered from 2017 onwards: 5 layers

Susanne Kessler - Thames in Motion: line and Current

Bev Butkow - Never Static

Elizabeth Lalouschek - The Land In Between

Tian Wei - Soul

Elizabeth Lalouschek - Out of the Blue

Susanne Kessler - 015 - layered from 2008 onwards: 2 layers

Theresa Weber - Moonshine

Golnaz Fathi - The Water Has Carried Them Away

Lineages

until 28th February

October Gallery

24 Old Gloucester Street

London

WC1N

Monday, 9 February 2026

Oswaldo Maciá: Migratory Movements

Oswaldo Maciá - Red Admiral Vanessa - Migration North Africa to UK (rondo), 2025

Certain other artists working with the butterfly motif naturally arouse my interest. I am curious to see in what ways they use the motif in comparison to me. A new discovery was the artist Oswaldo Maciá whose exhibition - Oswaldo Maciá: Migratory Movements, is currently running at the Elizabeth Xi Bauer Gallery on Exmouth Market. Like myself Maciá is interested in certain butterfly characteristics chiefly migration, and other urgent issues facing not only butterflies but wider animal/insect/plant species such as extinction with the overuse of pesticides etc. affecting natural habitats and the environment. In the exhibition we see Maciás drawing studies and paintings of different species (some now sadly thought to be extinct), with accompanying colour charts and field notes. the drawings are quite energetic and loose, whereas the paintings are more studied. There are also two large sepia hangings of a cockroach and a magnolia flower. Like myself (here) Maciá addresses the theme of butterfly migration creating drawings with arrows indicating migratory routes, whereas I use stitched thread to denote flight paths. Maciá too is aware of the work of noted literary figure and lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov (previously here), and his work with butterflies and their migratory habits, using the author's research and findings in his own investigations. Nabokov hypothesised that Blue butterflies arrived in the Americas from Asia by crossing the Bering Strait over a period of millions of years. When he made these findings public in 1945, he was ridiculed by the scientific community, who thought his hypothesis wrong due to the short lifespan of a butterfly. Today though, through DNA sequencing techniques, we know Nabakov's findings to be true. Maciá is a multi-disciplinary artist known for his work with scents. This show also includes an element of his signature scent pieces entitled Consciousness contained within a glass carafe on a pedestal from which the visitor can pump the scent and consider what consciousness can smells like. Maciá also works with sound and there are two special Jasper Morrison designed benches which sporadically emit birdsong. This sound installation was inspired by clergyman John Wilkins who attempted to determine all the species that embarked on Noah’s legendary Ark – the first and most archetypal mass displacement of species in Christian mythology. Wilkins’ efforts, made in 17th-century Britain, informs Maciá’s acoustic piece- Tomorrow will be Cloudy (2001–25), with sounds from all the species listed by Wilkins, sourced by the artist from the British Library’s archives. I found this to be a fascinating exhibition which opens up further possibilities with the butterfly motif within my own practice.