Schwitters in Britain

Surprising exhibition at Tate Britain of the work of Kurt Schwitters focusing on work he did in Britain.

I say surprising as I had not come across Schwitters before even though he was a significant figure in the early 20th avant guard who was an influence on other artists. I went along rather as a duty not being a big fan of abstract art but I really enjoyed it.

It introduced me to the idea of Metz, a combination of any materials to form art. I loved the small collages and the use of bus tickets, sweet wrappers and other found items. You can’t help but compare this to Duchamp at the Barbican and I liked this a lot better. The work seemed less self-conscious.

I was particularly interested in the section on his internment on the Isle of Man and the artists’ community which grew up there. It was also fascinating to see some of his paintings. He did some nice lovely landscapes and portraits.

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