Artists
Regent’s Street digital painting by Hedge Fund
Hedge Fund’s digital painting of Regent Street emerges as a bold reconfiguration of urban iconography, blending sharp contours with chromatic discord to confront the viewer with a distilled essence of modernity. The work echoes the socio-aesthetic critiques of the Pop Art movement, particularly in its Warholian flattening of depth and its unapologetic use of color as a declarative rather than descriptive device.
Foregrounded by the figure of a woman mid-gesture, the composition speaks to the alienation and fleeting connections emblematic of metropolitan life. Hedge Fund’s treatment of her form—outlined in stark, almost aggressive black—is a nod to the Neo-Expressionist embrace of emotional immediacy. The surrounding figures, rendered with less intensity, function as passive actors in this theatrical tableau of the mundane. The choice to situate these figures against the commercial backdrop of Regent Street—a site saturated with the histories of consumerism and architectural grandeur—imbues the work with an underlying tension.
In many ways, the artist evokes Walter Benjamin’s musings in The Arcades Project: “Cities are the realized dreams of modernity, but also its battlegrounds.” Hedge Fund captures this duality through a collision of geometric precision and an irreverent disregard for photorealistic fidelity. The palette—subdued yet punctuated by the acidic yellow of the woman’s hair—heightens the sense of dissonance, evoking a subdued palette similar to Edward Ruscha’s explorations of Americana, though transposed into a European context.
What sets this digital painting apart is its simultaneous embrace and critique of the digital medium. The hyper-saturation and precision feel deeply rooted in the algorithmic logic of digital creation, while the human subjects retain a rawness and individuality that resists technological homogenization. Hedge Fund‘s work thus becomes a dialogic site where the past and future of art wrestle for dominance.
Ultimately, Hedge Fund‘s Regent Street is a resonant meditation on temporality and space. It does not invite the viewer to linger in beauty but rather compels them to interrogate their role as both participant and observer in the constructed spectacle of urban life. As the late John Berger might have remarked, “The way we see things is affected by what we know.” Here, Hedge Fund challenges us to confront not only what we know of Regent Street but also what we might prefer to ignore.
Reverse portrait (Gemma)
In Reverse Portrait (Gemma), Monty Carlo defies the conventions of traditional portraiture, presenting a figure whose identity resides not in the face but in the back—a striking commentary on anonymity, introspection, and the modern condition. The flat blocks of color and simplified forms evoke the reductive aesthetic of 20th-century modernism, recalling the bold minimalism of Alex Katz and the conceptual experiments of David Hockney. Yet MC reimagines these influences for the digital age, stripping away extraneous detail to focus on the subject’s posture, silhouette, and quiet solitude.
The figure—a woman clad in a long rust-red coat, her blonde hair spilling over the collar—becomes a cipher, her individuality withheld from the viewer. This echoes Edgar Degas’ celebrated ballet scenes, where the backs of dancers were depicted with poetic indifference, capturing the unguarded beauty of private moments. As John Berger noted in Ways of Seeing, “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” MC extends this idea, suggesting that Gemma’s unseen expression is less important than the artist’s—and viewer’s—response to her physicality and unknowability.
The green void surrounding the figure further enhances the piece’s enigmatic quality. It functions as both a stark, isolating background and a metaphorical space—a suggestion of the subject’s emotional detachment from her environment. The blue bag slung over her shoulder adds a subtle counterbalance to the composition, its muted vibrancy suggesting movement and utility while contrasting with the static serenity of the rest of the image.
In this work, MC draws from a lineage of art history while subverting its conventions. Reverse Portrait (Gemma) challenges the viewer to confront what is absent—the face, the details, the narrative—and invites them to find meaning in the subject’s abstraction. It is, as Nietzsche wrote, “not the thing itself, but the thing seen through the prism of the spirit.”
Perfect reflection (Regent’s canal)
In Perfect Reflection (Regent’s Canal), Jonners distills a quintessentially British urban landscape into a symphony of symmetry and serenity, presenting a work that bridges the precision of photography with the painterly traditions of European art history. The photograph captures a tranquil moment along Regent’s Canal, where the stillness of the water mirrors the pink-hued façade of a townhouse so perfectly that the boundaries between reality and reflection blur—a visual metaphor for perception and duality.
The composition recalls the Dutch Golden Age painters, such as Vermeer or Hobbema, whose mastery of light and reflection elevated scenes of domesticity and nature into meditative experiences. The crisp clarity of Jonners’ image channels this tradition, embracing natural light as an active participant in the work. The golden sunlight bathes the upper half of the frame, enriching the subtle tones of the architecture and bare winter branches, while its inversion in the canal transforms the reflection into an almost surreal, otherworldly counterpart.
The work also invites comparisons to the Impressionist movement, particularly the reflective waterscapes of Monet. However, where Monet’s water lilies dissolve into painterly abstraction, Jonners employs the sharpness of modern photography to enforce a hyper-real clarity. This tension—between artifice and authenticity, permanence and impermanence—grounds the work in the present while nodding reverently to its artistic antecedents.
Yet, Perfect Reflection is more than an homage; it is a meditation on urban harmony and the fleeting beauty of equilibrium. The canal, a human-engineered artery within the natural landscape, becomes an axis of symmetry, uniting the built and organic worlds. The stillness of the water contrasts with the unseen bustle of London life, offering a rare moment of contemplation in a frenetic metropolis. In this way, Jonners transforms a simple reflection into a profound exploration of balance, beauty, and the intersections of art, nature, and modernity.
Ephraim Velour’s Sock Soliloquy – a review
In the heart of the bustling city, amidst the towering skyscrapers and the ceaseless hum of urban life, lies a hidden gem, a testament to the power of art to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. This artwork, a conceptual sculpture titled “The Laundromat Rainbow,” is a captivating installation that challenges our perceptions and invites us to contemplate the beauty and fragility of everyday objects.
At first glance, the sculpture appears to be a whimsical arrangement of colorful socks, seemingly haphazardly strewn across the gallery floor. However, upon closer inspection, a deeper meaning emerges. The socks, once discarded and forgotten, have been meticulously arranged to form a shattered rainbow, a symbol of hope and unity that has been fractured and dispersed.
The artist’s choice of material is both poignant and thought-provoking. Socks, often overlooked and undervalued, are transformed into a powerful metaphor for the overlooked and undervalued members of society. By elevating these humble objects to the status of art, the artist challenges us to reconsider our perceptions and appreciate the beauty in the mundane.
The shattered rainbow serves as a visual representation of the broken promises and shattered dreams that permeate our society. It speaks to the fragility of hope and the challenges we face. Yet, amidst the fragments, there is a glimmer of hope, a suggestion that even in the face of adversity, we can find beauty and resilience.
The sculpture’s placement in the gallery is equally significant. Positioned in a space that is typically reserved for the display of precious and valuable works of art, the laundromat socks challenge our notions of value and worth. By placing these everyday objects in a context that is traditionally reserved for the elite, the artist subverts our expectations and forces us to confront our own biases.
“The Laundromat Rainbow” is a thought-provoking and visually stunning artwork that challenges our perceptions and invites us to contemplate the beauty and fragility of everyday objects. Through its clever use of materials and symbolism, the sculpture speaks to the challenges of life, while also offering a glimmer of hope for a brighter future
Fine Art Sporting Society: Inter-art dealer rugby tournament
Coming soon is the inaugural Inter-art dealer rugby tournament, to be held in Berkeley Square.
With entries from art dealers around the globe, the tournament looks like being a huge success. “The cream of London art dealers have entered teams, from Lavendor Brothers of Kingsley Street to Crantjirot & Hawkins of Hanover Square,” explained organiser Roberto Andretti, himself a dealer with Hogge Spike, the agents for successful sculptor Ferkin Wykes. “Berkeley Square hasn’t been used for rugby for centuries, so it is great to recommence an old tradition.”
Winners will take home newly-discovered original screen prints by Michelangelo of Goliath, found in a burial chamber in Milano earlier this year.
Meet the artist – Mo Cohen who analyses international politics through abstract art
Mo Cohen’s work examines and critiques international politics, conflicts and world news through abstract art. “It is all very well to have hundreds of commentators on TV giving their opinions on the latest wars and realpolitik, but that is so superficial. The real critiques of world events are found in abstract art.”
There have been relatively few artists whose practice focuses on abstract art and political comment, but Mo sees their work as having a direct linearity to Hogarth, Jekinsop and Jerry Woolworth. “We all want to stop war and help peoples get on with and live peaceably with their neighbours. I am convinced that abstract art is the only way this aim can be achieved.”
New sandwich work from Sandy Griddle
Back in the UK after a retrospective at the Beirut Institute of Sandwich Art (BISA), Griddle has released a new work simply called Ham Baguette.
“Beirut is the only place on earth that takes sandwich art seriously,” Griddle said at customs when asked why he had travelled. “They know that a croissant is not a sandwich, no matter what is in it.”
