Hauser & Wirth London presents Figure + Ground, an exhibition of selected single-screen film and video works by 19 leading artists from the gallery’s roster. Coinciding with London Gallery Weekend, the North Gallery is reconfigured into a dedicated screening room for the first time, offering a unique cinematic experience within the gallery space. It’s a brilliant show.

The exhibition brings together a diverse group of artists whose moving-image works explore the dynamic interplay between figure and ground—visually, conceptually, and politically. Spanning from the late 1960s to the present day, the selection traces the evolution of the medium, from film to early analogue video in the 1970s and the subsequent emergence of digital formats. This technological progression gave rise to new forms of artistic production, expanding the possibilities of time-based media.

Featured artists include: Sonia Boyce with Ain Bailey, Mark Bradford, Geta Brătescu, Martin Creed, Jeffrey Gibson, David Hammons, Camille Henrot, Rashid Johnson, William Kentridge, Glenn Ligon, Paul McCarthy, Pipilotti Rist, Mika Rottenberg, Anri Sala, Cindy Sherman, Roman Signer, Gary Simmons, Lorna Simpson, and David Zink-Yi.

Highlights include Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist’s video work, titled Absolutions, Pipolotti’s Mistakes, presenting a striking contrast between scenes of the artist repeatedly falling to the ground and sudden flashes of electronic interference. Through this interplay, the work reflects on the fallibility of both the human body and the video medium itself, using technical imperfections as metaphors for emotional and psychological missteps.

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Image: (Entlastungen) Pipilottis Fehler / (Absolutions) Pipilotti’s Mistakes, 1988, Video (still), Duration: 11 min, Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth, Luhring Augustine and videoart.ch / 2025, DACS, © Pipilotti Rist