"Bollocks and Pyjamas" - group exhibition to raise funds for Hackney Foodbank

11 November - 2 December 2023

"Bollocks and Pyjamas" group exhibition

 

Stripe!" - new and recent work by Carl Stimpson

14 October - 4 November 2023

"Stripe!" an exhibition of new and recent work by Carl Stimpson.

 

"Things" - a solo exhibition by Richard Paul

Official Partner of London Design Festival '23

16-30 September 2023

"Things" a solo exhibition by Richard Paul

"I suppose distraction is the dominant mode of experience now, as I look out of the studio window at the new city being built noisily around me. Obviously, I’ve switched off notifications. Behind me on the wall my pictures - like those old religious postcards or winking eyes - are 3D, but much bigger and feature fragments of the early 21st C if I’m being grandiose. Certainly, the building work and its aftermath have come into play, concrete and fluorescent paint.

"Some of the lenticulars change colour as you pass, others have a different dynamic. Kind of like magic really. I do large paintings including these lenticulars too where you’re not sure where the painting ends and the print begins, and things float and shift. The history of painting informs everything really. Did I mention the concrete masks? They have eyes like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra: iridescent, not quite so beguiling. My studio neighbour tells me that I’m ploughing a lonely furrow, but I’ll let you be the judge of that."

Richard Paul. London 2023.

"Cherry Pop"
A debut solo exhibition by Mister Edwards
20 May - June 10 2023

"Cherry Pop" a solo exhibition of prints by Mister Edwards

 

"Afterlife in Episodes"
Paintings by Nick McAuley
11-25 March 2023

"Afterlife in Episodes" a solo exhibition of paintings by Nick McAuley

The works in Afterlife In Episodes are created ‘accidentally’ in artist, designer, joiner and
cabinetmaker Nick McAuley’s workshop. They are the shadows of years of intricate and
meticulous measuring and cutting – the seemingly random lines given a new narrative
of their own by McAuley’s meditative use of colour, mapping his own thoughts and
experiences onto the machine-made marks. 

McAuley studied painting at Wimbledon School of Art, working as a scene painter to support
his fine art practice. This led to carpentry work on film, tv and theatre sets, which gave him
the skills to develop his own craft as a maker of bespoke joinery and carpentry. He protects
his cutting bench with MDF boards – these become crisscrossed with intriguing, beautiful
marks. McAuley felt compelled to keep these histories of his work when a set of MDF boards
had come to the end of their useful life. He sprayed them black, then covered them with a thin
coat of white, leaving the marks like tracks in snow. Hung around his workshop, they became
inspirational objects to contemplate while pondering the next table leg or door moulding.

Lockdown brought more prolonged periods of contemplation, and the marks on the MDF
started to remind the artist of paths trod, roads taken, routes explored. He was inspired to start
adding colour to the boards; their ruts and furrows becoming like neural networks of memory
and experience. These beautiful marks echo the creation of useful, carefully crafted objects, but
the boards also stand alone as creations in their own right and invite the observer to trace the
paths of their own stories.

 

"We Want Cake" - a solo exhibition by Donk
22nd Oct - 12th November 2022

"We Want Cake" a solo exhibition by Donk at Atom Gallery

Work from this exhibition is available to buy here.

 

"Ephemeron" - a solo exhibition by Peter Mammes
5-26 March 2022
Poster for "Ephemeron" a solo exhibition by artist Peter Mammes
Born in Johannesburg, Peter moved to the UK in 2018 on an exceptional talent visa and now resides and works in London. His interest in a wide range of topics - such as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, motifs from Indian temples and cremation pits, Soviet and Russian neo-classical patterns and dead animals found in the Namibian desert - are clearly displayed in his recent work, which encompasses detailed paintings and drawings, as well as sculpture and printmaking. "Ephemeron" comprised completely new work, both paintings and screenprints, which conjured "Memento Mori, visual spells and other manifestations".

 


"Back Lit" - a solo exhibition by Andrew Gibson
18 Sept - 9 Oct 2021
Poster for "Back Lit" a solo exhibition by artist Andrew Gibson

Throughout his life Andrew Gibson has worked mainly with people and posters. He’s spent time in the NHS mental health services, supporting the recovery of people through making and sharing art, and he’s worked in street advertising, driving around London when the day turns to night and back again. He’s obsessed with making art that nurtures the inner spark of light – that uses paint and junk and light to remind us that, given the right conditions and time, everything and everyone is a jewel.
“The work in this exhibition is painted mostly on objects that I’ve  salvaged from the streets and buildings of London. The image painted on each one relates in some way to its original purpose, breathing light back into it as an artwork and allowing it to shine on”.

 


"Waiting For Yesterday" - a solo exhibition by Daniel Hosego
7 - 28 March 2020

Poster for "Waiting For Yesterday" a solo exhibition by artist Daniel Hosego

Daniel Hosego’s work examines contemporary culture through a Classical lens, using humour to highlight the absurdities and anomalies of our digital age. Dickpics, selfies, social media and environmental damage are depicted through images that make reference to Classical mythology and traditional engravings. His work begins as intricate ink drawings and is scaled up to create large screenprints, often on Perspex. This exhibition included a selection of Daniel’s recent print work along with Risograph prints and four brand new limited edition screenprints on paper.


 

"Everybody's Welcome" - a solo exhibition by SAKI & Bitches
8 - 29 February 2020
Poster for "Everybody's Welcome" a solo exhibition by artist SAKI & Bitches
Born in Japan but London-based, SAKI&Bitches cut her teeth in London’s street-art scene back in 2009, earning a reputation for her hand-painted paste-ups of “buxom and unapologetic” female characters which appeared on walls around Shoreditch. Over the past ten years her style has developed and become much more refined, with meticulously painted portraits on wood and canvas, and delicate pencil drawings referencing sensuality in Japanese culture.

In this exhibition of new work she applies this new style to the hyper-sexualised and provocative themes of her street art – her pin-up girls clutch religious and pop cultural symbols with the confidence and sexuality of manga comics, and beautiful paintings and drawings are populated by a growing menagerie of seductive horned female devils, monsters and other nocturnal creatures. This is a world in which nothing is sacred – but everybody’s welcome.


 

"Can I Get A Slice?" - a group exhibition to raise funds for Hackney Foodbank
2 - 23 November 2019
Poster for "Can I Get A Slice" a group exhibition to raise funds for Hackney Foodbank
“An opportunity to buy a unique and original signed artwork from one of the UK’s emerging/established artists while supporting a much needed cause.”

Contributing artists included: Tombstone, Carrie Reichardt, Pure Evil, Rob Ryan, Artista, Skeleton Cardboard, Jessica Albarn, Heath Kane, Supermundane, Ryan Callanan, Stewy, Marty Thornton, Russell Taysom, SAKI&Bitches, Dr D aka Subvertiser, Ben Rider, Quiet British Accent, Madga Archer, Donk, Tom Blackford, Villain, Babak Ganjei, Paul Rogers, Daniel Hosego, WeFail, Choots, Johnny X, Keeler Tornero, Alex Bucklee, Emma Harvey, The Misfortuneteller, Oli Fowler, Stedhead, Sean Worrall, Charlie McFarley, Adriano (AKA) Fidalgo, Carl Stimpson, Jess Wilson, Benjamin Irritant, Stephen Davids, Mr Edwards, Rosco Brittin, Will Blood, Hello The Mushroom, John Pedder, Leo Boyd, David Vassie, Steven Quinn, Gerry Buxton, Marc Gooderham, Howler Monkey, Julieta H Adame, Richard Pendry, Dan Holliday, Sian Pattenden, Pandora Vaughan, Hamish Macaulay, Meestahstink, Charlie Mellors, Mr Frivolous, Corrosive8.


 

10 Years of Raw Art - a retrospective exhibition
5 - 26 October 2019
Poster for "10 Years of Raw Art" a retrospective exhibition
Ten years of drawing and painting, which wouldn’t have happened without social media and the internet – which needed social media and the internet. Process is what artists talk about it when they presume people are interested in what a process is and not the final product, although the word is overused and often meaningless, I realised the process of the Raw Art paintings was quite important. And I was always going on about it.

FAST – like a Marinetti lemon peeler or maybe a drill. Too long a process and the brain will engage, and mostly art is better when the brain is not engaging.
ONLINE – so people can take a look at what you’re doing and how. In real time. And after. And before.
DEMYSTIFICATION – as above. Art is for all, and so it must be seen as accessible and human and flawed.

So far, we have spelt out FOD. I would have preferred to have spelt LIVEDRAW. #livedraw Eurovision and sport is represented here, drawing in real time, while watching the telly, while on Twitter. Art can be instant; can be accessible. Multiples are important to Raw Art too. Daniella and “Self portrait” were painted a long time ago, but I realised there was a theme…

A new series of paintings, in oils, is based on Photoshop AI. The “heal” brush in the program, especially on the app, will “correct” areas if you highlight them. The app will not just smooth things out, or add a glow to skin. After using it on a photo, I realised the AI (or is it just “I” at this stage?) wanted to add extra eyeballs, a nose on a cheek – maybe extend the pattern on a top – or the background. These randomly-generated features were a way of freeing up what my mind thought it could see. Eyes, noses and ears are patterns to the program, not necessarily an important part of the human face. It’s also about fragmentation of the self. “Healing” is doing the opposite.

Siân Superman, October 2019


 

"Forget You Ever Saw Me" - a solo exhibition by Benjamin Irritant
18 May - 8 June 2019
Poster for "Forget You Ever Saw Me" a solo exhibition by artist Benjamin Irritant
Benjamin Irritant has gained a reputation as of one of London’s most original, hard-working and prolific street artists. His images of politicised rabbits holding placards with messages and slogans have earned him recognition not just on his home turf of East London, but internationally too, with his work appearing on streets from NYC to Kathmandu.

Ben’s work often originates from hand cut collages using found images from old books and magazines. He began putting them on the street with a budget of £1, photocopying the rabbits and cutting them out before sticking them up all over London with traditional wheat paste (flour and water) which he cooks up himself. He sees his work as a part of the historical tradition of protest in this country. The rabbits have grown in scale (now standing at 6’6″ / 2m tall) but their message remains the same.


 

"Fantabuloso" - a solo exhibition by Villain
30 March - 20 April 2019
Poster for "Fantabuloso!" a solo exhibition by artist Villain
Villain’s stunning graphic and print work celebrates Polari, (the lost gay language) whilst playfully subverting Pop Art and the comic book and superhero genre, and asks us to imagine a past where homosexuality was never criminalised. He has worked as an Art and Graphics director in the Fashion Industry for over 20 years, and is now bringing his mischievous perspective to the art world via Atom.


 

"Everything is really bad..." - a solo exhibition by Babak Ganjei
2 - 23 March 2019
Poster for "Everything is really bad..." a solo exhibition by Babak Ganjei
Babak Ganjei graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Central Saint Martins in 2001. Since then he has been working independently as an artist, playing in bands (Absentee, Wet Paint), writing comic books (Hilarious Consequences, Early Learnings, Twit) and hosting regular radio show “Hot Mess” on NTS radio.

In 2014 Babak sold a set of twigs from his neighbourhood on eBay for £62. He has turned books by Jeremy Clarkson, Nigel Farage and Donald Trump into works of blackout poetry, and tried to sell a painting of his credit card back to Barclays for the value of the debt. It didn’t work but he made a “friend”.

In 2018 a selection of the 180 and counting “Film Ideas” that Babak pitched via Instagram were printed into a zine by Rough Trade Books.


 

"Instant Mash" - a solo exhibition by Carl Stimpson
2 - 23 March 2019
Poster for "Instant Mash" a solo exhibition by Carl Stimpson
Carl Stimpson’s work mixes carefully painted portraits of icons from the worlds of music and film with cartoon imagery and techniques, and classic but obscure advertising logos. So far, so pop-art, but where his work diverges is in his treatment of this classic material – his use of the ‘ligne-claire’ technique, the imposition and projection of his mashups onto suburban and urban walls as fictional murals, a slight twist in some of the lovingly painted portraits.

Having trained initially as a painter – he studied Fine Art at The Arts Institute of Bournemouth (now Arts University College Bournemouth) –  the recent addition of screenprinting to his painting techniques has allowed Carl to introduce an element of mass-production to his work, producing beautifully varied editions where the flatness of a screenprinted black ink layer contrasts with the softer hand-painted elements.


 

"Carta" by Linda Toigo - a solo exhibition curated by Elisa de Martini
20 Oct - 2 Nov 2018
Poster for "Carta" a solo exhibition by Linda Toigo
Taking inspiration from childhood memories, traditional storytelling and observations of reality, papercut artist Linda Toigo creates three-dimensional scenes from assembled sheets of paper, drawing the viewer into a fun, surreal and ironic world full of hidden details.

Linda’s work has previously been shown in solo exhibitions and touring group shows in Italy, UK, Spain, Taiwan and the USA, and her delicate papercut illustrations have recently been published in the Italian best selling children’s novel Olga di Carta.


 

"The Gift of a Skort" - a solo exhibition by Joy Yamusangie
15 Sept - 6 Oct 2018
Poster for "The Gift of a Skort" a solo exhibition by Joy Yamusangie
"The Gift of a Skort" was an exhibition of work by artist Joy Yamusangie, interpreting the theme of gender through a deeply personal lens. As with much of their work, moments and memories are captured in abstract figures and written musings. The skort (neither wholly a skirt or pair of shorts) works as a metaphor, as the artist sensitively examines the nuances of gender through new works. These include three limited edition screen prints produced by Atom Printing (now sold out).


 

"Psycho Geographic" - a solo exhibition by Stewy
2 - 23 June 2018
Poster for "Psycho Geographic" a solo exhibition by artist Stewy
Stewy’s artwork is part of an expanding library of life-size stencils of British Icons and also a series of images representing the A to Z of Indigenous British Animals. The icons are site specific placed in locations relevant to them and animals are seen in an urban setting to highlight the notion of nature reclaiming the city. Many of his stencil designs are now also available to buy as limited edition screenprints and two new prints will be released for this exhibition.


 

"Welcome to the Simulation" - a solo exhibition by Leo Boyd
5 - 26 May 2018
Poster for "Welcome to the Simulation" - a solo exhibition by Leo Boyd
Of philosophy’s major preoccupations, trying to figure out what is real from what is a trick of the light, a shadow dancing on a cave wall, is up there with the biggies.

In 2003, Nick Bostrom wrote a paper titled ‘Are you living in a computer simulation?’ Which argued that we were much more likely to be bits of code on a future ancestor’s hard drive than not. His reasoning was hard to argue with and for a moment the world collectively lost its shit until people realised that there were only 3 obvious responses to the dilemma.

1) Go mental in order to escape a life of existential angst.
2) Spend your whole life (simulated or otherwise) trying to disprove the argument.
3) Realise that the dilemma is neither provable nor disprovable and, unless the world starts to decay like a badly pixelated jpeg, take the stance that the agnostic position is by far the most sensible.

Unsurprisingly choice No.3 won out and the world collectively got its shit together and carried on as if nothing had happened.

But what if this was not the case? What if our universe had been constructed in such a way that the simulation was obvious? What if we had known from the moment we invented clip art fire that we were an active software running on a substrate in the real? What if our universe was so obviously simulated that it was unthinkable that we would not see the pixelated wood from the bitmapped trees?

Welcome to the Simulation presents a series of cultural artefacts that span the Simulated Worlds’ history; from early tech worship etchings, mass produced sim erotica, pixelated agitprop to intimate portraits of simulated individuals. These artefacts tell the story of a world where the philosophical quest for the real is a moot point, a world where the fake and the fictional are held in the highest regard.

Presented as a collection of real artefacts from an unreal world this series of experimental screen prints aims to throw a satirical light on our own deep seated and often confused ideas of what it is to be real and asks ‘If you can’t tell the difference, what the fuck does it matter anyway?’


 

"Portrait of Heroes" - a solo exhibition by Heath Kane
24 March - 7 April 2018
Poster for "Portrait of Heroes" a solo exhibition by Heath Kane
Napoleon said ‘history is written by the winners’. He might also have said ‘And painted by the rich’. The result is a gross distortion of our past. “Portrait of Heroes” is Heath’s latest collection inspired by master painted portraits that reveals how classical art was often a means for wealthy individuals to portray their alter-ego. It playfully suggests that the classical portrait artist was the Photoshop and Instagram filter of their time. Today we all have the ability to take selfies and live our lives through social media. But how much of what we share is real and how much are we all trying to hero-ise our lives?”

 

Eat Lead - Letterpress. Curated by Pixel Press.
24 Feb - 17 Mar 2018

This exhibition, curated by Hackney based letterpress studio Pixel Press, aims to inspire artists, designers, printers to continue with this old tradition and bring to the fore the paramount role printers have played and continue to play in this process.

Exhibiting artists: Alan Kitching, Andrew Areoff, Baddeley Brothers, Bunker Type, Corn Wagon Thunder, Dafi Kühne, David Vassie, Dimitri Runkkari, Double Dagger, Edwin Pickstone, Eileen Wallace / Leslie Walker Noell, Flowers & Fleurons, Julieta H. Adame, Justin Knopp / Typoretum, Luca Lattuga / Anonima Impressori, Luke Lucas, Marta Dos Santos, Mr. Smith, Mizdruk, Natalia Simal, New North Press, Novo Typo, Starshaped Press, The Print Project, Type & Press and Thomas Mayo.

This exhibition was dedicated to Jim Spalding and Ken Cave, master printers and friends who occupied Atom Gallery’s site from 1996 to 2015, under the name W.H. Jones, a printing company established in 1897 in Stoke Newington in the premises now occupied by Atom Gallery.

 

"Head, Thorax, Abdomen" - a solo exhibition by Danny Pockets
3 - 17 Feb 2018

Multi disciplinary artist, curator and pamphleteer Danny Pockets has worked from and on the streets of London for twenty five years. He has exhibited internationally, including at the 54th, 55th and 56th Biennale Di Venezia, and extensively at home in the UK, having had work shown in both Tate Britain and Tate Modern in addition to many other galleries. His Universal Racket Press has been bringing printed work to the public since the 80’s.

His aesthetic is driven by the spirit of Punk and Rave DIY culture,Marvel, DC and the Grand Masters. Sometime around 1995 from his  Curtain Road studio in Shoreditch, he recognised the change about to happen and commenced a series of paintings: “Congregation”, the shopfronts and icons of a transitional city. Out of this came the “Houses Of The Holy” series of paintings – music venues, dancehalls and clubs: the cathedrals of our Rock’n’Roll heritage.

 

"Tomorrow's World" - an open call group exhibition
8 Dec 2017 - 27 Jan 2018

Exhibiting artists: Julieta H Adame, Caitlin Alexandra, Sam Baldwin, Steve Bee, Andrew Berry, Beyond Thrilled, Leo Boyd, Louis Craig Carpenter, Mark Charlton, Darren Cullen, Dissent, John Doe, Susan Eyre, Luke Fairhead, Harishazka Fauzan, Fernando Feijoo, 57 Design, Oli Fowler, Stanislaw Gajewski, Le Bear, Matteo Galesi, Helen Grundy, Scott Hawkins, Daniel Hosego, Heath Kane, Stephanie Kilgast, Ian Kirkpatrick, Jaime Kiss, The Krah, Matt Littler, Ryota Matsumoto, Steve McCarthy, Anil Mistry, Barbara Nati, Ray Noland, Otto, Sian Pattenden, Mark Perronet, Vickie Perry, Steven Quinn, Attia Rashid, Ben Rider, Mary Rouncefield, Mark Scammell, Serigrafica 7585, Spizz Energi, Carl Stimpson, Theo Tagholm, Zoe Toolan, David Vassie, Frederic Voisin, Walden Press and more.


 

"Time Off" - a solo exhibition by Yukai Du, curated by Elisa de Martini
11 Nov - 2 Dec 2017


 

"Survival Techniques" - a solo exhibition by Naomi Edmondson
7 Oct - 5 Nov 2017

Designer Naomi Edmondson began legal street art project ‘Survival Techniques’ in 2015 after a period of feeling low. The paintings aim to promote hope and optimism. “It started as a list I made for myself to remind me what to do when I was feeling really low: things that always made me feel a bit better” says Naomi, “They were always super simple things like ‘Talk to someone, anyone, about anything’ which came from me chatting to the guy in my local shop for a few minutes. I realised that I would leave the shop feeling much more a part of the world again”.

After finding that friends found similar ‘Survival Techniques’ worked for them, Naomi began to think about ways of sharing the list, and after seeing a local street artist at work in East London, she decided that the street would be the best, most democratic place to share them.
The first wall she painted was “Hide Less Chat More” – words from a friend with whom she first shared her Survival Techniques list. She now has many paintings spread across London.

The exhibition, which ran for three weeks (and was extended by a further week), was Naomi’s first solo exhibition and showed both original paintings and limited edition screenprints of her work.  The exhibition coincided with World Mental Health Day on Tuesday October 10th, and 10% of all money raised by the exhibition was donated to the Rethink Mental Illness charity.


 

"Ladies First" - a solo exhibition by Ian Hoskin
15 - 30 Sept 2017


 

"Hip Hop Heads" - a solo exhibition by Dale Edwin Murray
8 - 29 July 2017

Graphic artist Dale Edwin Murray began the ‘Hip Hop Heads’ portrait series as a way to practice his caricature skills during downtime from his work as a successful illustrator, with international clients including Nike, Toyota, Facebook, The Observer (London) and The New York Times.

The ‘Hip Hop Heads’ collection has grown steadily over time, and now features over 50 hip hop and rap legends, but each print is titled with a number rather than a name, turning the collection into a fascinating game of Hip Hop Guess Who? This exhibition was the first time the collection was shown together.


 

"Multi Me" - a solo exhibition by Pawel Krol
24 June - 2 July 2017

A collection of paintings, drawings, posters, sculptures and music-boxes by Polish-born artist and illustrator Pawel Krol.

With special guests: Fabio Rizzoli – Music and Marek Abramowicz – Photo art (Music Boxes Project)


 

"Pictarama" - a solo exhibition by Sara Gilbert
29 Apr - 13 May 2017

Pictarama is a collection of witty, unique and often surreal dioramas, constructed using LEGO bricks – often vintage, collectable or custom-printed pieces – representing a variety of scenes from history, London life, film and popular culture.


 

"Reconnaissance" - a solo exhibition by Alexander Johnson
1 - 22 April 2017

These silkscreen prints were inspired by the aerial intelligence photographs the artist’s father took as a Spitfire pilot between 1942 and the end of WW2.

Towards the end of his life Alexander’s father began to talk more about his RAF years and together they looked at a scrapbook of monochrome photographs; collaged fragments and offcuts that his father had painstakingly reassembled jigsaw-like after the war. The photos were top secret at the time, but the woman who developed the films in the dark-room noticed his father sneaking off-cuts from the floor and agreed he could take two pieces for every roll of film he brought her, so the collection began to get more structured. The photos were taken over Germany, Holland, the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa to provide intelligence for the allied forces. They are mainly photos of dockland areas, industrial centres and city street-plans. Alexander remembers seeing them for the first time by candle-light during the power cuts in 1973 when he was nine or ten. They made a big impression on him – he had never seen photos of the earth taken from the air before then. He never forgot them.

Seeing them again forty years later Alexander realised they were a gift to him as an artist which he needed to make use of. He began working from small sections of the photos and enlarged them, adding colour and reworking the patterns into abstract images. He picked out runways, ports, street patterns, railway tracks and coastlines, which you can see in the finished work. The titles reflect the purpose of the original photograph, where it was taken or what it was taken of. This work is an attempt to prevent the photos from being forgotten, continue the narrative about the lessons we need to learn from WW2 and to try and make something beautiful and lasting from a situation that was ugly and transient. Alexander has always felt his job as an artist is to tell the story of his own experiences and this is part of that process.

The silkscreens are hand-made in Alexander’s studio in small editions of 8 or less. Once an edition has sold out there can be no reprints as the stencils are washed away after printing – the editions are strictly limited.

 

"Excited State" - a group exhibition
2 Dec 2016 - 27 Jan 2017

“Excited State” was the successful inaugural show in Atom’s new Stoke Newington gallery, and showed contemporary screenprinting, block prints and letterpress work from 23 diverse artists: David Armes, Ian Bailey, Lynne Blackburn, Yann Brien, Gerry Buxton, Graham Carter, Tinsel Edwards, Clare Halifax, BC Hamlin, Sadie Hennessy, Julieta H Adame, James Jessiman, Clare Johnson, Heath Kane, Tony Lee, New North Press, Richard Pendry, Mark Perronet, Ben Rider, Richard Roberts, Natalie Ryde, David Shand and David Vassie.


 

"Phantasmagoria" - a solo exhibition by Bo Fowler
10 June - 2 July 2016

Hermit-like in his cramped cellar, Bo Fowler paints, glues, mutilates or in other ways tampers with piles of discarded toys, plastic animals and old and broken religious figures. He then arranges these objects in front of painted two dimensional landscapes, surrounds them with ornate frames and covers them in thick layers of resin to create bizarre but compelling tableaux.

Bo Fowler is the son of artists Nancy Fouts and Malcolm Fowler, has a PhD in critical and creative writing, and has been making strange assemblages in his basement since 2010. His blog – More notes from the Autopsy of God, in which he challenges well established philosophies – by presenting alternative and often witty aphorisms, has been viewed over 60,000 times and has been nominated as one of The Times websites of the week. He has a loyal Twitter following of 36,000.

His pseudo-religious pictures are heavily influenced by Dadaism and the 15th Century Netherlandish Realism school of painting, notably Hieronymus Bosch. Fowler’s ‘paintings’ are intentionally ambiguous and resonate with submerged symbolism and forgotten allegories, fluctuating between the sacred and the sacrilegious, the two and the three dimensional, the serious and the comic.

Not everything in the Universe should have an explanation.


 

"High Rise" - a group exhibition
22 Apr - 14 May 2015

Exhibition showing work from Andy Council, Jemima Carter-Lewis, Guillaume Cornet, Oli Fowler, Clare Halifax, Jesse Richards, Daniel Speight, Camille Walala and Susie Wright.


 

"Hung Up, Ripped Off" - a solo exhibition by David Shand
5 Mar - 2 Apr 2016

David Shand makes intriguing collages from photographs of decayed posters and adverts. He manipulates and subverts the imagery before producing screenprints on paper or wood. They combine a keen eye for abstract composition and transform the commercial four colour printing process into something of intrigue and beauty.

In the early 1990s David became drawn to London’s expired advertising. He began to photograph and later montage the images together. In 2010, he started to screenprint his favourite compositions.


 

"Map Tout" - a group exhibition
12 - 24 Dec 2015

Twelve artists and illustrators who make maps contributed to this group show. Some maps are charming, some are rude, some are funny, some are informative.


 

"Between The Lines" - an exhibition by Mark McClure and Yann Brien
15 Nov - 5 Dec 2015



An exhibition of prints, paintings and wooden structures from two exciting and original artists. Each takes a very different approach to their work but the subject matter of simple and intriguing interlocking abstract shapes is shared by both. The other characteristic they share is a deep respect for their chosen materials and an almost obsessive attention to detail.


 

"Bomb The Bass" - an exhibition by Gideon Feldman and Mark Perronet
3 - 31 Oct 2015

Gideon’s ‘Everything Shatters’ series is based around a generic type of image of a bomb falling amid various brightly coloured backgrounds. Fair enough, but these are real stained glass pieces made in the traditional way with lead holding them together. They are mounted in heavy black frames and have an integral led light source. Each one is like a window looking out to a bright day. They are made in series but each one is different, as Gideon says every cut of glass is unique so every one of his pieces is unique. Some of the glass is modern and some is as much as one hundred years old. By reproducing objects of destruction in the fragile medium of glass, Everything Shatters comments on the futility and intransience of modern day warfare.

Mark’s ‘Spin Speakers’ are spin paintings on sheets of 70x70cm paper in bright colours with screenprinted bass speaker image over the top. Fair enough, but the screen print is made of ‘crumb rubber’ ground up recycled rubber tyres sometimes call ‘Astrodirt’ used for surfaces in playgrounds and sports pitches. The small rubber particles allow some of the image below to be visible while having a thickness which makes the speaker design almost three dimensional. Mark says he chose to reproduce speaker cones as they are a reminder of the visceral excitement of loud bass heavy music but also they are a major part of many subcultures and signify rebellion and independence.


 

"Liminal Vision" - a group exhibition
11 - 30 Sept 2015






 

Art Shed Gallery - "Open Sesame"
3 - 8 Sept 2015


 

"Driven To Abstraction" - Gina Parr, Ian Hoskin, Simon Matthewson, David Gittings
4 Jul - 1 Aug 2015






 

"An Introspective" - an exhibition by John J Sheehy
30 May - 27 June 2015

John Sheehy lives alone in a basement flat in Upper Holloway and paints and draws. He plays the flute and banjo and writes poetry as well abut mainly he paints. And he paints and he paints. Much like the artistic compulsivity of ‘the dot lady’ Yayoi Kusama he cannot stop painting. It’s compulsive and obsessive and it’s fascinating. The urge to create is stronger than any other force in his body. The result: his one bedroom flat is bursting at the seams with stacks of his work, piled high all the way to the ceiling – his art fills every surface, orifice and vessel – including the bath.

Earlier this year founder of Atom Gallery, Mark Perronet, met John J Sheehy and was inspired by his works, his method and his compulsion and was determined to give him his own show. Now, Sheehy is set to make his first big splash in the burgeoning new North London art scene with this exhibition: “John is a genuinely driven artist, as he says, he has to do it. What he doesn’t do is any sort of selection, that task came down to me. It has been a great pleasure choosing work from the thousands of pieces he has in his flat for this exhibition, this will be the first time most of these pictures have been exhibited anywhere.”

John was born in South West Ireland in 1947 and came to London as a young man, where he worked in the building trade.  He has had mental health issues and he has been homeless. Through selling The Big Issue he became involved in its art group and started painting at the age of 51, and since then he hasn’t stopped. He paints and draws in his flat and at centres such as Project 240 and Crisis Skylight.  A lot of his subject matter comes from memories of Ireland, horse fairs, farm animals, folk musicians. Other subjects are London streets which often include words, as if they are shop signs or advertisements and sometimes simply things which John associates with the places.

Of his work, John says: “Like a hurricane, blowing very fast. It’s like desperation to get the paints on there. When I’m in it I’m not really worried whether it’s dried or whatever, it’s the action, it’s the movement. I can’t describe it. I have to do it you see. I’m not trying to do a great piece of art. It’s something I have to do. I have to do this. Yes I’m compelled to do it. I have to do it. It’s a necessity. It gets me through the day, see. It’s a must. If I don’t do it then my day is going to be a bit rough, like. It’s like entering another planet.”


 

"Some of my stuff" - an exhibition by Mark Perronet
10 Apr - 23 May 205






An exhibition of recent screenprints, mono prints and paintings on aluminium of cowboys and pin ups.


 

"Urban Distance" - a group exhibition
14 Mar - 4 Apr 2015
Urban Distance group exhibition at Atom Gallery
Urban Distance exhibition at Atom Gallery
Urban Distance exhibition at Atom Gallery
Urban Distance exhibition at Atom Gallery
Urban Distance exhibition at Atom Gallery
Urban Distance exhibition at Atom Gallery
London cityscapes, paintings and prints by Marc Gooderham, Oliver Yu Chan, Alex Mulder, Helen Brough and Ronnie Cruwys.


 

"Disturbance" - a group exhibition
28 Feb - 8 Mar 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
Disturbance is an all female exhibition chosen to run up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2015
An exhibition of work by Hermione Allsop, Alexandra Drawbridge, AnnaMaria Kardos, Paula MacArthur, Kate Murdoch, Mitra Saboury, Wendy Saunders, Susan Sluglett and Geraldine Swayne.

‘Disturbance’ draws together work from 8 artists. Using different media: sculpture, video, photography, installation, painting, text and performance; the artists take conventional objects or images and disrupt them. Though not necessarily driven by a feminist agenda, all the work is underpinned by a feminine perspective.

Painter and curator Paula MacArthur has carefully selected this group of artists both for their alluring and unsettling imagery; and to convey the disturbance thrown up by the complex negotiations facing artists engaged with female identity today. ‘Disturbance’ ranges from painter Susan Sluglett’s lushly painted floral bouquets which have been trashed and trampled, Hermione Allsopp’s ‘re-made’ sculptures which push at the boundaries of attraction/repulsion and ideas of taste, to Mitra Saboury’s surprising and sometimes visceral films.

The exhibitions showcases high quality work by contemporary women artists, not espousing a particular feminist line but working within their own practices creating art which moves from the subtly subversive to the overtly challenging. There is humour alongside serious questioning of norms – all combining to provide a feast of visual excitement.


 

"Up and Atom!" - a group exhibition
23 Jan - 25 Feb 2015
"Up and Atom!" a group exhibition at Atom Gallery in 2015
"Up and Atom!" a group exhibition at Atom Gallery in 2015
"Up and Atom!" a group exhibition at Atom Gallery in 2015
"Up and Atom!" a group exhibition at Atom Gallery in 2015
"Up and Atom!" a group exhibition at Atom Gallery in 2015
A varied and colourful group show with Nick Smith, Pixel, Ben Rider, Gerry Baptist, Tamago Buddies, Gideon Feldman and Keeler Tornero. Work includes screenprints, stencils, woodcuts, etchings, collages, giclees, and even stained glass work and one neon piece. Most of the screen prints in the show were printed by Atom Printing.


 

"'errods Christmas Bizarre" - a group show curated by Agent Provocateur
12 - 24 Dec 2014
'Errods Christmas Bizarre - an exhibition at Atom Gallery in December 2014
'Errods Christmas Bizarre - an exhibition at Atom Gallery in December 2014
'Errods Christmas Bizarre - an exhibition at Atom Gallery in December 2014
'Errods Christmas Bizarre - an exhibition at Atom Gallery in December 2014
'Errods Christmas Bizarre - an exhibition at Atom Gallery in December 2014
'Errods Christmas Bizarre - an exhibition at Atom Gallery in December 2014
Curated by Agent Provocateur, this was his third Herrods and the first time North of the river. Featuring work from himself, Blam, My Dog Sighs, Carrie Reichardt, Id-iom, Paul Don Smith and Pahnl who designed some exclusive Christmas cards for the show.


 

"System Failure" - a solo exhibition by Agent Provocateur
20 Nov - 6 Dec 2014
"System Failure" - a solo exhibition by Agent Provocateur at Atom Gallery in 2014
"System Failure" - a solo exhibition by Agent Provocateur at Atom Gallery in 2014
"System Failure" - a solo exhibition by Agent Provocateur at Atom Gallery in 2014
"System Failure" - a solo exhibition by Agent Provocateur at Atom Gallery in 2014
"System Failure" - a solo exhibition by Agent Provocateur at Atom Gallery in 2014
The first solo exhibition by South London stencil artist Agent Provocateur. A regular at festivals such as ‘Upfest’ in Bristol and ‘Sun. Sand and Spray’ in Blackpool his ‘cutting’ satire has been attracting a loyal and growing following in the past few years. The exhibition featured very large wall paintings and stencils, screenprints, and original work.


 

"Pocket Money Loans" - an installation by Darren Cullen (Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives)
27 Nov - 8 Oct 2014
"Pocket Money Loans" - an installation by Darren Cullen (Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives)
"Pocket Money Loans" - an installation by Darren Cullen (Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives)
"Pocket Money Loans" - an installation by Darren Cullen (Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives)
"Pocket Money Loans" - an installation by Darren Cullen (Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives)
"Pocket Money Loans" - an installation by Darren Cullen (Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives)
As 77 Stroud Green Road (the premises that Atom Gallery had taken over) had previously been a payday lender it was the perfect venue for Darren Cullen’s ‘Pocket Money Loans’. The signage was changed and the posters in the show were swapped but otherwise everything was left as it was, and the result was so convincing that every day people were inquiring about loans for them or their children, or getting quite cross about the whole idea of trying to indoctrinate children into the culture of debt. Press coverage was extremely good including the Independent on Sunday print edition, the Huffington Post and BBC London News.

Read the BBC News article