Curator’s talk

Surrounded by Hew Locke’s carnivalesque frieze of elaborate figures, curator Sebastian Lopez will talk about the artist’s practice and new work.

He will explore The Kingdom of the Blind in the context of Locke’s previous works such as his enormous cardboard architectural installations, his exploration of the iconography of power in portraits of the Royal Family and in coats of arms such as King Creole, and the recent series How Do You Want Me? in which the artist stages himself in a series of seductive, dark photographs.

The talk will also explore the extreme forms of decoration and accumulation which characterise Hew Locke’s work. Showing a range of images, Sebastian Lopez will talk about the artist’s diverse influences and connections between his work and art history, from the Mannerist painters such as Arcimboldo to Pre-Columbian sculpture.

Join Sebastian Lopez in the gallery for this Late Thursday event. Admission is free but booking is advised: bookings@rivingtonplace.org or 020 7749 1240.