To celebrate Pride in London 2024, the iconic Kimpton Fitzroy London hotel will exhibit a selection of original artworks from some of the most exciting and burgeoning queer artists from east London and Margate.
Running from Thursday 27 June – Sunday 14 July, the So So So Hot Hot Hot Collective will present I Will Melt For You. This never-before-seen debut exhibition explores the queer body, masculinity, sex, pleasure and gender and will be narrated by a collection of original art spanning across sculpture, drawing, painting and photography. The art collection will be presented at Kimpton Fitzroy London’s winter terrace, with the unique work available to purchase following the exhibition’s run. For further information, please contact the exhibition’s curator Finn Yvo via their website.
The So So So Hot Hot Hot Collective are a dynamic group of queer artists whose work spreads across painting, drawing, textiles, film, photography and performance. The artists’ work have been individually exhibited in the leading UK and international galleries including Turner Contemporary, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The Royal Academy of Arts, The British Museum, Gasworks, British Film Institute, Quench Gallery, Toulouse’s Abattoir, Tbilisi’s New Narratives Gallery and National Gallery, and The Netherlands’ Pride Photo Exhibition. The collective was born organically through previous collaborations, exhibitions, residencies, wild romances and friendships. I Will Melt For You is curated by Finn Yvo, the founder and arts facilitator of Queer Art Club London, an LGBTQ+ art club which takes place regularly in queer spaces across London. Finn set this up to create an inclusive space for queer people to explore their creativity and build community.
The So So So Hot Hot Hot Collective is comprised of the following artists:
· Finn Yvo (they/them) – Finn is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist and arts facilitator. Their work is varied, experimental and explores and celebrates queer people. They choose to focus on queer joy, pleasure, connection and resilience through drawing, painting and some rare performances. Their work for I Will Melt For You is a series of pencil drawings which explore the tensions between pleasure, power, vulnerability and the erotic. The work is intended to create an embodied reaction in the viewer and is in dialogue with the queer natural world.
· Lo Lo No (they/them) – Lo Lo No is a trans-disciplinary artist, performer and producer. Their art practice has a focus on self portraiture, theory and collage in the expanded field, revealing queer+ and trans+ phenomenology. Their work for I Will Melt For You is a collection of drawing, painting and film photography which places perspective on a society who have struggled to see themselves self- reflected.
· Antonia Luxem (she/her) – Antonia is a filmmaker, painter, performer and writer. Their work explores different realities and bodies, transporting viewers to new mental spaces. Antonia’s works are personal projects, inspired by subjects spanning human perception, existential anxiety, dreams, time travel and queer identity. For I Will Melt For You, Antonia presents several paintings that were made whilst thinking about what it means to fall; they are meditations on the meaning of life, love, loss and transformation.
· Marika Kochashvili (she/her) – Originally from Georgia, Marika’s work ranges across photography, sculpture and video. Marika is drawn to a visual language that celebrates fluidity and the stories that emerge through gesture, posture, choreography and the blurred lines of the gender binary. For I Will Melt For You, Marika presents photographs from her book Peeping Dyke, and a range of hand-built sculptures, androgynous-looking figurines depicting intimate relations. Their connection radiates a dynamic energy that carries love, tenderness, aggression, hunger, play, shame and oblivion.
· Poppy Tingay (she/her) – Poppy focuses primarily on portrait and figurative painting, exploring themes such as sexuality, gender identity and expression, and both platonic and romantic love. She mostly portrays people she meets within London’s queer scene, and aims to provide representation for those who have been ignored. Poppy’s paintings for I Will Melt For You are visually complex, vibrant and express the aesthetic qualities she associates with the LGBTQIA+ community.
· Kit Griffiths (they/she/he) – Kit is an artist, filmmaker and poet with 14 years’ practice centring intimacy. Kit has most recently performed their first solo exhibition, Delusions of Grandma, at Quench Gallery. For I Will Melt For You, Kit will present a pair of radical pencil drawings reflecting on their Welsh upbringing, as well as a series of live performances offered as sealed envelopes on sculptural stands across the exhibition space.
Kimpton has been unwavering in their support of the LGBTQ+ community for more than 40 years, hosting multiple events throughout the year globally as well as being the hotel partner for The Trevor Project. They also annually participate in the Pride for London parade with their own float.
Finn Yvo from So So So Hot Hot Hot Collective said: “As a collective of queer and trans artists, we find it important to share our work in unique and unexpected places and are excited to partner with and exhibit at Kimpton Fitzroy London during the important time of Pride month.”
Gareth Walsh, General Manager of Kimpton Fitzroy London, comments, “We are excited to present this special exhibition commemorating Pride in London 2024. Kimpton Fitzroy London has consistently championed Pride, annually participating in the London parade with our own float. This year, we are thrilled to enhance these celebrations within the hotel by showcasing an extraordinary collection of artwork from prominent figures in the queer art scene. We aim to create an inclusive space where our guests and exhibition visitors can feel enlightened, engage in meaningful discussions, and continue to celebrate love, individuality, and equality.”
I Will Melt For You is free to view and will be presented at Kimpton Fitzroy London from Thursday 27 June – Sunday 14 July.
