As Apartman No: 26, we’re putting the spotlight on Swedish artist Alice Herbst’s first solo exhibition in London, The Whispering Game (Kulaktan Kulağa Oyunu), which opens at BEERS London in April. Starting today, this exhibition marks the first time the artist will present her distinctive methodology — what she calls a “productive system” developed over recent years — to a London audience.
Herbst’s artistic practice begins long before any brushstroke touches the canvas: it starts on a theatrical stage built from handmade paper objects and set pieces. The artist continually rearranges, reuses, and expands these paper drawings and objects, constructing a self-contained, ever-evolving visual language. Just like the childhood game of telephone (whispering game), the meaning of an object shifts with every placement, timing, and angle of light — changing like a quiet whisper each time. For Herbst, the act of painting is a careful yet equally chance-driven response to this performative stage.
At first glance, the paintings in the exhibition appear calm and static, yet deep within they carry traces of movement and duration. Herbst is fascinated by the ordinary transformations that occur through repetition: how light falls on a surface, how shadows stretch and retract, and how a simple paper object mutates through a chain of events. The passage of time rendered in her painterly language offers the viewer a sense of dissonance and endless curiosity.
The narratives in The Whispering Game do not reveal themselves immediately; instead, they unfold slowly and fragmentarily. What the artist calls “delayed discovery” is akin to listening to a song on repeat or returning to a beloved novel — each viewing brings a new detail, a new whisper, to light. By preferring meaning to remain slightly elusive, seductive, and just out of reach, Herbst transforms the viewer into an active participant within the painting.
Running until May 23, this exhibition is an unmissable opportunity for both collectors and art lovers to encounter Alice Herbst’s striking voice and aesthetic stance. As residents of Apartman No: 26, we’ll be at BEERS London in April to listen to those whispers in person.
