Nam June Paik at Tate Modern is a reminder of art’s prescience in raising awareness of changes in our world. His viewpoint on the way technology can and has changed our lives is, by and large, accurate. It’s startling to note the dates of pieces and see just how ahead of his time he was. […]
One-minute blog of interesting things
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As a working contemporary artist I visit many exhibitions and shows, but sometimes it is the things I see that are part of daily life that capture my interest. My one-minute blog of interesting things reflects the fact that although we are increasingly time-poor, there is creativity all around us.
Dora Maar at Tate Modern
Thanks to Tate Modern for this show, especially the revelation of Dora Maar’s later work, much of which was only discovered after her death. I was already familiar with her Surrealist photography from the 1930’s and her relationship with Picasso (including her photos of the creation of Guernica), but the most exciting part for me […]
Leonardo at The National Gallery
This exhibition is all about one painting in the collection: “The Virgin of the Rocks”, giving context and background to the work. The entrance features images, reproductions of drawings nd statements from the artist’s notebooks. The text is reflected in mirrors to the side but I enjoyed the game of reading them back to front. […]
Pushing Paper: contemporary drawing from 1970 to now. British Museum
The British Museum has such a variety of treasures that I think we sometimes overlook its magnificent print and drawing collection. Pushing Paper, a selection of drawings from 1970 till now, presents just a few of the pieces from this period of time. I’m not going to write much here but the selection of images […]
The theatre at Alexandra Palace
Some said it would never happen but, after 80 years of neglect and one year after reopening, the restored theatre at The Peoples’ Palace looks splendid and is now available for event hire as well as gigs and plays. I happened to visit it quite by chance as it is very close to my studio […]
Lights at Granary Square
Connecting with the elements. I last walked through Granary Square when the Christmas lighting was in place. The thing that struck me most there was the combination of elements in the fountains. Water and light combined to create a firework-like fizz. The camera caught just that magical transformation from water to fire coming into the […]
Käthe Kollwitz at the British Museum
The first UK show of this powerful artist’s work for about 25 years, this exhibition of Käthe Kollwitz reminds us why she was so respected during her lifetime and of her importance today. As my studio-mate raved about the prints I pushed this up to the top of my list of things to see. A […]
Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery. Post 2 of 2
Now this was the part of the show that I really got my teeth into: Bridget Riley’s sketches and her working practice. It’s fascinating to see her studies with their meticulous calculations and notes. And, just because she chose to create abstract art, it didn’t mean she couldn’t draw as these early beautiful life drawings […]
Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery. Post 1 of 2
This exhibition is a pretty comprehensive retrospective of Bridget Riley’s career ranging from the “optical illusion” black and white pieces that made her name to her latest more spare work. It was interesting to notice how differently the eye and the camera saw things: for example the overall composition of Tremor, below, is much easier […]
Precious Mettle by Michele Wassall at Fiumano Clase
Having worked with this gallery before it became Fiumano Clase I’m always interested to see their shows and this recent one showing work by Nicole Wassall didn’t disappoint. The different meanings of mettle and metal are explored and the depth of Nicole’s research, combined with the technical beauty of execution produced an impressive body of […]
