January 19, 2026 |
New York-based artist Sam Lipp, whose debut London exhibition Base opened on Saturday, isn’t interested in a pristine canvas. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Using various destructive techniques, such as frottage (a quick Google search told me this is the process of transferring the textures of one surface onto another by rubbing), he uses texturised steel, made via friction with pavement cement, as the canvas for his intimate human portraits. Part of the collaborative, city-wide exhibition known as Condo, wherein 50 galleries across London have opened their doors to international artists who rarely (or have never) exhibited in the UK, Lipp’s exhibition is signalling the beacon on talent across the pond.
The steel is often rusted by Lipp, a choice which also speaks to his wider artistic practice of not taking things as they are. Using his work to question the capitalist systems of power that sustain Western society and the position of the image within that, Lipp’s work has many layers, figuratively and literally. Take frottage itself. Alongside its artsy meaning, frottage also denotes rubbing against someone else, fully clothed and amongst a crowd, as a way of getting sexual gratification. But that’s certainly a no go. This double entendre also speaks to another idea Lipp explores in his work – the commodification of the human body, especially within the sphere of sex and relationships. Grindr, for example, is one of the subjects dissected by the artist. It takes a second to wrap your head around, but once Lipp’s complex approach has been digested, the strength of his message lands a sucker punch.
Lipp also tends to manipulate the image from its original form before it even goes onto the wrecked canvas. Using overexposure, the images feel fluid in their aesthetic. Striking in their colourways – deep red and metallic yellows form the base for some pieces, silvery grey for others – Lipp’s work stops the viewer in their tracks, encouraging them to scratch beneath the surface, in all senses, and face what’s underneath.
‘Base’ is open now at Soft Opening in East London and runs until March 14. Photography courtesy of Soft Opening.
