Lydia Slater

Our curated route through the city’s centre takes in four stellar shows by a quartet of very different artists who are united by their bold, boundary-bending approach: Vicken Parson’s first UK show in four years, the Brooklyn-based Canadian artist Danica Lundy’s power-themed canvases, Gareth Nyandoro’s mixed-media works and the arresting history of Robert Rauschenberg.

We start things off at Cristea Roberts Gallery, to see new work by Vicken Parsons who is best known for her delicately layered paintings. Parsons looks at the potential of the small scale canvas to suggest three-dimensional space picking out simple architectural details. The works are small but powerful, each with its own individual atmosphere.

And then for something completely different, with White Cube Mason’s Yard and 'Boombox', a new show of paintings by the artist Danica Lundy. Presenting large scale and complex figurative scenes that veer between the dreamlike,  nightmarish or strangely prophetic, these works are littered with references from the art historical to the everyday. They are all-encompassing and hard to turn away from.

Turn away we will, eventually, to walk up through the glorious Burlington Arcade and through to vibrant Cork Street, today home to more art galleries than any other street in the city. We head to Tiwani Contemporary, the newest kid on the block that has a show of Zimbabwean artist Gareth Nyandoro, presenting mixed-media drawings and installations that engage with Zimbabwean politics and sustainability.

We end our tour at Thaddaeus Ropac, with a historic show of works by Robert Rauschenberg created during his project the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI), between 1984 and 1991. This was a truly ambitious project, realised in ten different countries, from Mexico to Venezuela to Malaysia. ROCI is pronounced Rocky, the name of Rauschenberg’s pet turtle! Come for the art and stay for the space: this gallery is one of the most beautiful in London.