The Summer Exhibition

Annual exhibition of new works at the Royal Academy .

OK as ever I loved the two small Weston Rooms with their works of art piled high up the walls. It was nice this year that one wall in the small room was devoted to black and white pictures.

A lot of the rest of the exhibition was very abstract. I don’t mind the odd abstract but there seemed to be rooms of them!

It was a relief to get to the end and see figurative and landscape work again. This tear the two I would have stolen were at the end “Lat August, Hertfordshire” by Ben Levene was a very green landscape with a hill and “Figs” by Mary Feddon, a rather minimal still life of figs.

I did however also fall against my better judgement for the Damien Hirst St Bartholomew figure. It showed the saint having skinned himself and contrasted the exposed muscles, the loose skins and the smooth scissors. The whole thing was made in silver and was just stunning.

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Comments

Anonymous said…
I loved that Hurst statue too and couldn't believe he had created something like that. Bit of googling and I found the original he seems to have "borrowed" from
Jean-Antoine Houdon
l'Écorché (Flayed Man)
1767
22 June, 2009
Cathy Linacre said…
How interesting. I must admit I'd not come across Houdon before.

The Hurst piece had made me think of Bodyworks which I've not been brave enough to go to. I think I'll stick to anatomy in silver!
30 June, 2009
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