White Cube Graduate Show Goes Transatlantic
The online exhibition features 20 artists from top Masters-level fine arts courses in the U.K. and the U.S.
Jaime Welsh, For Laura (Velvet) (2021). Giclée print on baryta paper. 134 x 181 x 5 cm. Courtesy the artist.
White Cube has broadened its online graduate show to include artists from the United States.
The 'Tomorrow' series launched in 2020 to help young artists get some exposure in a year when many in-person graduate shows were canned due to the pandemic. The first exhibition, 'Tomorrow London' focused exclusively on artists graduating from schools in the British capital.
The 20 graduates included in 'Tomorrow 2021', however, come from the Yale School of Art, Columbia University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as London's Goldsmiths University, Royal College of Art, Royal Academy Schools, and Slade School of Fine Art.
Members of White Cube's curatorial team selected the artists from submissions made by the art schools.
The show is a significant opportunity for graduates not only to sell work—with 100% of sales going directly to the artists—but to get their art in front of curators and dealers.
'Many of our Tomorrow alumni have gone on to have exciting projects with other public and private galleries,' said Soraya Rodriguez, Associate Director, Artist Liaison at White Cube.
White Cube itself will show one of the artists from last year's online graduate show, painter Lydia Pettit, in an online solo presentation in early 2022.
'This continues to be a challenging time for arts education and this has been reflected in many of our conversations, particularly regarding studio access and limited peer discussions,' Rodriguez said.
White Cube held a webinar for participants in the 'Tomorrow London' show last year that was attended by senior staff from across White Cube. It focused on topics raised by the young artists themselves, including everything from career management, sales, consignments, and handling an archive, to installation, art handling, conservation, and fabrication.
Artworks in 'Tomorrow 2021' address identity and sexual politics, disrupt existing hierarchies and histories, and channel the artists' ancestors. Media include performance, moving image, installation, sculpture, painting, and drawing.
Standout pieces include paintings by Khushna Sulaman-Butt and Claire Moore, and photographs by Jaime Welsh and Tarah Douglas.
The exhibition opens 6 August and continues through 5 September. —[O]