Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting small exhibition at the Design Museum introducing the work of Simone Brewster. Brewster seems to have started as a jewellery designer and there were some amazing pieces made of hair. They reminded me of Victorian memorial pieces. She had then branched into household objects and architectural spaces. It would have been good to have photographs of the spaces and installations she had created as I found it hard to build a vision of them from a few objects. I did love these bright planters. Closes January 2027

Fun exhibition at the Design Museum looking at the films and archive of Wes Anderson. I have found some of these shows on film directors challenging when you don’t know the movies and again, I'm afraid I didn't know Anderson's work well but I came out desperate to see the films and impressed by the level of detail in them. The show was arranged chronologically by film and displayed as tableaus of costumes and props with designs shown around it as well as clips on screens. The commentary was clear and engaging. There were also lovely displays of the puppets from his stop motion animations. I loved the costumes and was intrigued by the production of printed material for the films such as playbills for plays which are mentioned and books by the protagonists. Closes 26 July 2026 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard

Stolid exhibition at the Design Museum highlighting four research projects which are seeking to make impactful changes to bring about environmental change. Each display highlighted one of the projects and showed it with a piece of contemporary art commissioned to summarise the findings. They ranged from a project for NHS Scotland looking at sustainable care, two from Rathlin Island off Northern Ireland, projects in Bristol and Swansea aiming to bring back century old housing back into use and an initiative to create a community map of Anglesey to aim planning authorities. These were interesting ideas and I loved the inclusion of the contemporary art, but they were big concepts to represent in a small space and I'm not sure I always understood what the aim was. I did love these medical test kits made of plastic alternatives. Closes August 2026

Fascinating exhibition at the Design Museum looking at the Blitz nightclub and its influence on design and culture.   The show was very well explained and started by looking at the culture which it grew out of and how the 1970s were a decade of reinvention. There was a fun section on how people dressed to go to the club followed by a recreation of the club itself. The show then widened out to look at designers who emerged from the scene from fashion designers, through architects and furnishing designers. Being about the same age as the designers, although I'm sure I'd never have been allowed in the club, I realised how things I bought and did were influenced by this group of people. The last room looked at the music which came out of the club with a lovely wall of album and singles covers and a show of a selection of the videos for songs. Closed 29 Mar 2026 Reviews Times Telegraph