Debut Exhibition “The Idols We Keep”
Hackney artist showcases new paintings on Bonfire Night
Five oil paintings on faith, authority and the figures we place on pedestals, at Malavenda Cafe, 5 to 19 November 2026
Remember, remember the fifth of November. Then ask who you remember it for.
On Thursday 5 November 2026, Alejandro F Hernandez (alexgringo) opens his debut exhibition, The Idols We Keep, at Malavenda Cafe, 1E Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3DQ. The show runs until 19 November as part of the Visual Artists Association's OpenSpaces 2026, a global, artist-led art trail that transforms everyday spaces into vibrant platforms for creativity.
The exhibition opens on Bonfire Night and takes the date's old rhyme as a question: who are we told to remember, and why? Five oil paintings sit between the serious and the playful.
The paintings
"It began with a routine cycle past the statue,"
Desecration of Idols (oil on canvas, 50 x 80 cm). A cycle past Churchill's Westminster statue, streaked white by pigeons, sparked this painting. A man remembered for his work, worn down by something so ordinary. The bird burns with colour. The bronze weeps beneath it. Who gets to sit above the work of others, and call it leadership?
Not as Wise Men (oil on canvas, 35 x 50 cm). A man's head becomes a water balloon, a goldfish circling inside, unaware the water is already leaking out through small tears. Painted after a sermon on Ephesians 5:15 to 17, it holds a quiet warning: life escapes while attention stays fixed on what's close and easy to reach.
Are these Tools or Temples? (triptych, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 cm each). See No Evil?, Hear No Evil? and Speak No Evil? give the three wise monkeys a VR headset, headphones and a phone, and ask how technology has quietly reshaped what we value.
About the artist
Alejandro was born and raised in the UK to Colombian parents. After A-level Art in London, he moved to Colombia at nineteen to study graphic design and illustration, and a nickname followed that became the name of his practice: Alexgringo. After two decades as a graphic designer and photographer, he returned to the canvas in 2021. His oil and acrylic paintings explore identity, culture and the human condition. He has been longlisted for the Visual Arts Open (2024 and 2026) and the Artist of the Year Award (2026), and is a member of the Visual Artists Association.
Visit
The Idols We Keep Malavenda Cafe,
1E Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3DQ 5 to 19 November 2026
Visit during the cafe's opening hours.
Monday8 am–5 pm
Tuesday8 am–7 pm
Wednesday8 am–7 pm
Thursday8 am–10:30 pm
Friday8 am–11 pm
Saturday9 am–11 pm
Sunday9 am–7 pm
The works are for sale, with prices on request. For enquiries, email alex@alexgringo.com or follow @alexgringo247.
A second exhibition, [The Regular House Guests](link to post 2), opens the same day at Meykade in Chelsea.
