There’s nothing quite like visiting another artist’s studio to get an insight into their work so I make the most of open studios whenever I can. I finally got to visit Kingsgate Workshops , workspace to a range of artists and makers and met Anne Leigniel there. The viewpoint of an artist towards their subject and how they […]
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. Email me at info@carolinebanks.co.uk with your name and email to receive a weekly post that only takes 1 minute to read.
Richard Long at M-Shed in Bristol
I’d never been to Bristol before (a few hours passing through decades ago doesn’t really count) so gave myself a few hours to wander around the city before setting up for The Other Art Fair. The area by the Arnolfini Gallery where we exhibited is really lovely with M-Shed just across the way. And what […]
Hornsey Town Hall
This large Art Deco former town hall in Crouch End North London may be turned into a hotel but for now it is a cultural and community centre. An imposing building, it was built in 1933 by New Zealand-born Reginald Harold Uren, winning him the RIBA London Architecture Medal for 1935. His portrait below stands in the […]
Young Masters at The Royal Overseas League in London
London Clubland (not the dancing type) is a world that most of us are only vaguely aware of and the Royal Overseas League is a case in point. A magnificent building tucked in a courtyard in St James and overlooking Green Park, it really is hidden away in the centre of London. I’d heard about […]
Cerith Wyn Evans at the Duveen Gallery at Tate Britain
I’d seen a lot of this piece on social media and finally managed to visit it in person a week before it closed at Tate Britain’s wonderful Duveen Galleries. Cerith Wyn Evans created this sculpture called Forms in Space…by Light (in Time) filling the gallery above our heads with neon shapes drawn in space. The […]
The V & A’s new extension
Gosh, how many years has it been since this entrance to the V&A was really properly used? Well it’s now open and architect Amanda Levete’s company, AL_A has transformed this part of Exhibition Road as well as, of course, the museum itself with this dramatic intervention. Fractal shapes dominate the courtyard: in tiles, grilles and windows […]
Chris Ofili: Weaving Magic. Tapestry at the National Gallery
The National Gallery is currently hosting Chris Ofili’s large tapestry woven by master weavers at the Dovecot Tapestry Studio for a commission by the Clothworkers’ Company. Weaving Magic is the exhibition of “The Caged Bird’s Song”, set in a darkened room surrounded by a monochrome painted chorus of dancers. The original painting below is in watercolour, a subtle […]
Street Art on the Millennium Bridge
Next time you walk along the Millennium Bridge, look down and see the tiny little artworks being created using the marks left by chewing gum on the metal flooring.I didn’t speak to the couple who are doing this but it’s utterly charming.
The Serpentine summer pavilion
It’s that time of year again when visitors to the Serpentine Gallery can also experience the annual Summer Pavilion, designed this year by Francis Kéré It wasn’t raining when I visited; rather than have a central cascade as designed, the area (on the right in the photo below) was used for seating. Bold blue stacked […]
Jewellery by Miki Asai at New Designers Part 1
This collection of brooches by Japanese jeweller Miki Asai shown at New Designers blew me away. A graduate from Glasgow School of Art her brooches showed such technical dexterity as well as an acute aesthetic sensibility. The discs on the brroch on the right can be turned to create different compositions and can be appreciated from all angles. […]