Gallery highlights
Tastes of the Ancient Eras Until 15 November W. Shanshan, London
Beijing-born antiques collector Shanshan Wang opens her first gallery in London, dedicated to Asian pottery and sculpture, with this exhibition spanning nearly , years. The nine objects on view range from a Neolithic amphora to an th- or th-century white-glazed Korean jar. A particular highlight is a small marble figurine, dating to the Tang dynasty ( – ) and depicting a guardian derived from the Indian Buddhist deity Vajrapani. 5 November–February 2022 Colnaghi, New York
Quality not quantity is the word at Colnaghi; five sculptures and a single canvas comprise this display in New York, but none would look out of place in a museum. The stand-out is Donatello’s life-size terracotta bust of San Lorenzo (c. ; Fig. ); carved for the Pieve di San Lorenzo outside Florence, it was owned in the th century by Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein. There are also new attributions to Tintoretto and Benedetto da Rovezzano.
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones:
That Which Binds Us
19 November–9 January 2022 White Cube Bermondsey, London
In a lush palette spanning indigos and oranges, and with rhythmic, flowing lines, the UKborn, US-based painter Tunji Adeniyi-Jones conjures twisting spirits from landscapes of dense forest – a nod, he says, to the ancient myths of West Africa and his own Yoruba heritage. This is his first solo show at White Cube, and coincides with his first museum display in the UK – at Charleston in Sussex. 28 October–3 December Pilar Corrias, London
These paintings by the Portuguese artist Julião Sarmento ( – ) were inspired by Goya’s drawings, after a visit by Sarmento to the Prado in . Arena, the title of the series, is also the Spanish word for ‘sand’ – ‘the floor is always sandy’ in Goya, Sarmento said. These late works are an attempt to get across ‘the overpowering heat’ of the Iberian peninsula; and in their mixing of mediums and influences, they also evoke the arena as a site of conflict.