Condo is back in London for the first time since 2020. The large-scale collaborative exhibition sees 20+ galleries across London share their exhibition spaces with galleries based outside the city, ranging from Glasgow and Paris, to Tbilisi and Tehran.
Condo was founded in 2016 by Vanessa Carlos, director of Stepney Green gallery Carlos/Ishikawa, with the idea of introducing international galleries to London and encouraging curators to question traditional exhibition formats and to embrace collaboration and experimentation. Condo has grown to become a global affair, with events being held in Athens, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, New York and Shanghai.
We asked a few of the galleries involved how exactly the shows came together, and what we can expect to see at this weekend’s opening events.
The Approach is one of the more unusual galleries in the city. It occupies the upper floor of The Approach Tavern, a pub in Bethnal Green. This year, they’re hosting Marfa’ Projects, a contemporary art gallery in Beirut, Lebanon. The two galleries already knew of each other’s work ahead of Condo. Joumana Asseily of Marfa’ Projects had been introduced to Emma Robertson, co-owner of The Approach, via a mutual friend. When Condo came around, Marfa’ Projects were “thrilled” to receive an invitation to show at The Approach, a gallery with “an excellent programme with amazing artists.”
Marfa’ Projects are exhibiting in The Annexe, a project space adjacent to The Approach’s main gallery. They will be showing paintings by Talar Aghbashian, a Lebanese Armenian artist based in London, that depict “imaginary landscapes, a surreal mix between human bodies and nature.” The Approach is exhibiting paintings by Evren Tekinoktay who explores the symbolism of the moth, a creature that shifts between night and day, beginnings and endings, life and death.
Marfa’ Projects are particularly happy to be showing Talar in London, “not only because she is based there, but also because she attended Birkbeck and Central Saint Martins. In 2018, she won the prestigious John Moore Painting Prize. She has a lot of affinities with the city.” For The Approach, hosting Marfa’ Projects will help introduce London audiences to their work, as well as draw in new audiences. “In this way Condo is always an exchange of ideas and connections,” director Jo Harrison adds.
Hollybush Gardens and LC Queisser were brought together by mutual friends who recognised the similarity between their programmes. For this year’s Condo, Hollybush Gardens invited LC Queisser to take over their entire Clerkenwell gallery space.
The exhibition, titled ‘The Main Entrance’, brings together works by artists from Telavi, Tbilisi and Berlin and includes a new, site-specific installation by Tolia Astakhishvili, haunting photographs by Ketuta Alexi-Meskhishvili and a group of silver gelatin prints by Simon Lässig. It also features a small-scale collage by Stefanie Heinze and three still-life paintings from the early 1990s, by the late artist Vati Davitashvili.
Condo 20204 is a huge opportunity for LC Queisser. The Georgian gallery was founded in 2018 and has never before had the chance to exhibit in London. Lisa Panting and Malin Ståhl at Hollybush are “delighted to give a platform to LC Queisser” and to the emerging and underrepresented artists they work with.
“Serendipity” brought Sylvia Kouvali, owner of Rodeo Gallery, and Sonia Jakimczyk and Piotr, directors of Warsaw’s Import Export, together. Kouvali visited the gallery in Warsaw and the owners spent an afternoon “locked away in our viewing room discussing the life and works of our artists.”
For this year’s Condo, Rodeo has offered up their entire gallery space at 12a Bourdon Street to Import Export. The galleries settled on a group show, and jointly selected works from artists from Import Export’s programme. “The presentation will focus on the theme of ruins, in an archaeological, political and emotional sense,” Jakimczyk says of the show’s curation. “Personalities may be different but interests are shared between the galleries.”
This year’s Condo represents firsts for both galleries: For Rodeo, it’s the first time the gallery has hosted a Condo show in its Bourdon Street space, which opened in January 2020. For Import Export, it’s the first time exhibiting in London. Some of its artists are showing in London for the first time, while others (including: SAGG Napoli, Mia Dudek, Alice Bucknell, Nona Inescu and Sonia Jakimczyk) have the opportunity to show again in the place they once lived in and studied in. Jakimczyk points out that Rodeo was founded in Istanbul and Import Export is based in Warsaw. “Being on the fringe can provide a sharp lens,” she says.
The Sunday Painter is one of a few venues this year that’s hosting two galleries; The Breeder, Athens and Kendall Koppe, Glasgow. “The collaboration emerged organically,” says Lisa Modiano of The Sunday Painter. “We have long admired both of their programmes.” The three galleries are splitting the space between themselves. Konstantina Soulioti of The Breeder says that the three galleries’ “own idiosyncratic approach to contemporary art” will contribute to “an immensely interesting visual trip for the viewers.” For Kendall Koppe, what sets Condo apart from other events is the “spirit of collaboration and industry support” and the way it “brings distinctive programmes together in curious and engaging ways.”
This year, The Sunday Painter is presenting a solo show of works by Kuala Lumpur born, London-based artist Zearo, who delves into “the nuanced dimensions of same-sex relationships and psychological spaces”, shaped by his South-East Asian heritage. The Breeder is showing Ekene Stanley Emecheta and Deborah Segun, two artists from the African diaspora who are now based in London. Their work, “links the past, the present and the future through personal and communal narratives.” This year (their sixth year participating) Kendall Koppe is showing new sculptures by Laura Aldridge ahead of her upcoming solo exhibition at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh. “These new works function as lamps,” according to Koppe and, “engage viewers’ senses and ask us to consider our own sensory reactions and experiences in their cast light.”
The galleries agree on the continuing importance of Condo in London. Despite challenges in recent years, the city remains one of the key global capitals for contemporary art, in terms of both quality and quantity of art on display, and the number of people involved in the industry, from collectors, to curators and enthusiasts.
The Approach is hosting Marfa’ Projects and Talar Aghbashian, ‘Solace of the Afterimage’, between 20th January – 17th February.
Hollybush Gardens is hosting LC Queisser and ‘The Main Entrance’ between 20th January – 24th February.
Rodeo is hosting Import Export between between 20th January – 17th February.
The Sunday Painter is hosting The Breeder and Kendall Koppe between 20th January – 17th February.
Condo London 2024 opening weekend takes place 12-6pm, Saturday 20th January and Sunday 21st January across all galleries.
6 min read
Four years on from the ‘worst year ever’, Condo is back
8 min read
Margate’s alternative art scene is making waves
7 min read
London art exhibitions: Plaster staff picks
