Cathy's Art Diary

Nice exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum looking at the work of Camille Pissaro’s son Lucien and the private press he ran in the years leading up to the First World War. The exhibition included all 32 books produced by the press and was a study not only of the art works produced but also of how a private press operated. It compared this press to others in this era such as the Kelmscott Press. This was a world I knew very little about despite it being an artistic period I am interested in so it shed light on a new aspect of the early 20th century. Reviews Independent

Small exhibition of drawings at the Ashmolean Museum to compliment their exhibition on Lucien Pissaro’s Eragny Press. This show looked at the progress in drawing after 1913 in particular the role of the Slade School. I must admit I found the link tenuous however it was a good excuse to show some lovely drawings. There were some nice Ruskins and a study for Sickert’s ‘Ennui’. I particularly liked an Augustus John of a Canadian soldier.

Super talk at the National Gallery between the artist Ben Johnson and Colin Wiggins, Head of Education at the gallery. This talk complimented the current exhibition of Ben Johnson’s work at the gallery which has included him working on a new picture of Trafalgar Square. It was really fascinating to hear an artist talk about the ethos of his work. He said he was fascinated by numbers and measurements and has always analysed pictures geometrically. It was interesting to hear how the current picture had developed over many years starting with photographs from the gallery roof and how he had then wondered if any pictures in the gallery equated to it. He found Canaletto’s “Stone Mason’s Yard” broke down into the same shapes and proportions. I liked hearing him talk about the Liverpool townscape in the exhibition as I had seen it in Liverpool as few years ago. He was very moving about how the people of the city had reacted to it and made the picture develop since he finished it.

A small exhibition of photos by Kevin Cummins of the band Joy Division at Somerset House . In the commentary he talks about working on film rather than with a digital camera and the importance this gives to waiting for a moment.It included rehearsal and concert photos plus cover shots and showed Manchester in late 70s looking retro plus moody.

Exhibition of recent work by Breon O’Casey at Somerset House . Breon is a contemporary of artist from St Ives and this exhibition included paintings, sculpture and prints. I liked the sculpture and the prints, particularly the prints of birds as thy were both colourful and peaceful. However I was not convinced by very abstract paintings.

Small exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of 16th and 17th century works on paper to compliment the Cezannae card players exhibition. This gallery focused on the Flemish and Netherlandish tradition of portraying peasant life. The grotesque features and vulgar poses of the people amused urban audiences but the landscape show they wanted their countryside unspoilt. There was a wonderful Bruegel the Elder drawing for a print complete with mobile brothel in the centre.

Small concentrated exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery looking at Cezanne’s pictures of card players. The exhibition had five paintings plus preparatory works and highly finished drawings. It was a rare opportunity to see these works together and was a good study of how the pictures developed. The models were farm workers on the family estate. The studies done individually then grouped in the imagination and studio. It is thought that he painted then as monumental figures suggesting an unchanging way of life. The exhibition also included lovely studies of individual peasants in tones of blue and brown. Often shown in the studio with known works behind them. Reviews Times Daily Telegraph Independent

Lovely exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the work of Canaletto and comparing it to the work of other artists working in Venice at the time. Each room subtly featured a different rival and discussed each of them and their comparative strengths. Carlevarjis pictures invariably had a gondolier with no shirt on in the middle. One section features three versions of the same view by Canaletto and his nephews. Canalettos work came out of it well and you realised what a clichéd view of him you have. Although many of the works are the picture postcards of their day the early work has much bolder brush strokes and less stylised views. In others such as one of the Ascension day ones you realised how thick the paint was in the detailed sections. Canaletto was always looking for a new view or image and his style changed through out his career. A clever trick was to have same view done in year of Canaletto's birth and death to show change in style. And of course he was a master of do...

Wo nderful exhibition/happening at the National Gallery of 2 townscapes by Ben Johnson plus a 3rd which he and his team were working on. I had seen his work before in Liverpool and was delighted that the Liverpool picture was in the exhibition. The new picture was of Trafalgar Square from one corner of the roof of the gallery and it was fascinating to see such a familiar place from a new angle. It was also so interesting to see it developing and to see the artist themselves working on it. He uses computer cut stencils and spray paint to build up the picture gradually into a wonderfully clear almost hyper real scene. I have had to go back since to see how it had developed and watch out for a blog on a talk he gave about the project. This was a perfect companion ehibition to the Canaletto one. Review Evening Standard

Super exhibition at the V&A looking at the work of Serge Diaghilev and his influential dance company the Ballet Russes. The exhibition started with a good section putting his work into context looking at Russia, Diaghilev’s life to this point and ballet at the time. It was interesting to think that he began work just 19 years after Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty was premiered. There was a magical section which showed various stages of set design for Firebird including squared up design and the real thing. It was magical to turn round and realise the real back curtain was there hung the full height of the gallery and creating a wonderful installation projection of the dance in silhouette against the designs. You then went round corner to Picasso front cloth of "Two Women Running on the Beach" for "Le Train Bleu". Favourite pieces? A costume for the filmstar in La Pastorale which was a Renaissance bodice and short fringe skirt. Also an early purple dress for Sche...

Luscious exhibition at the V&A of royal robes worn by the emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of China (1644-1911). The clothes were displayed as beautiful objects and grouped by use and purpose rather than date. This was partly because the style of the outfits did not change over the three centuries. There was lots of detail on what clothes were worn when and what different motifs meant. I found had questions in my mind as I went round such I wonder how often they were worn and if they were handed on to the next emperor? However just when I wanted some info on how they were made I got it in a nice display on the material and tailoring. I loved a piece of material with a gown embroidery on ready to cut out like a paper pattern. My favourite items which I wanted to wear were a red and purple empress’s skirt with a fur hem and a rather plain but classy brown and gold empress’s regular dress.