Young British And Ukrainian Artists Unite At Saatchi Gallery: Review

UK/raine, Saatchi gallery ★★★☆☆

Tabish Khan
By Tabish Khan Last edited 100 months ago
Young British And Ukrainian Artists Unite At Saatchi Gallery: Review UK/raine, Saatchi gallery 3
The black lit fluorescent collection by pairing dis/order is the most eye-catching work on display. Photo Tabish Khan

After its exhibition of Ukrainian contemporary art last year, Saatchi Gallery returns to the Eastern European country again, this time supplemented by young British talent.

Many of the Ukrainian artists here will be new to people, even art lovers, as many are showing in the UK for the first time. But there are familiar faces too; we were glad to see the art collectives dis/order return with a bigger installation — a large collection of jam jars fluoresce under black lights so they appear like a surreal trove of plant and animal species.

Felicity Hammond's tiled installation. Image courtesy Saatchi Gallery

As for the Brit contingent, Felicity Hammond — who featured in last year's Catlin Art Prize — returns with her tiled sculpture complete with artificial plants; we're a big fan of Matthew Spencer's paintings on carved MDF; and Rebecca Molloy has replicated her massive installation in Bermondsey Square to fit inside the gallery. Here, glowing eyes stare back at the viewer while a pair of hands appears from inside the wall and fondles two eyeballs.

Not all the work is so impressive, but that's to be expected from such a gamut of young artists. There's plenty to keep you intrigued and entertained. We should do stuff with Ukraine more often.

UK/raine: emerging artists from the UK and Ukraine is on at Saatchi Gallery until 3 January. Entrance is free and the gallery is open seven days a week.

Last Updated 26 November 2015

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