Cathy's Art Diary

The latest public sculpture on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square by Katharina Fritsch.   I am not too sure what its saying and have read the reviews which talk about it being a masculine statement about French pride in a square which commemorates a French defeat. I just know I like it! I wasn’t sure about it in the exhibition which showed the contenders but as with the boy on the rocking horse I was wrong. Once produced on this enormous scale and when you see the detail and almost feel the colour it is wonderful!   I saw in on a lovely sunny day with the blue zinging off a blue shy but look forward to seeing how it works on darker days.   Only the British though could erect a big innuendo in one of its main squares! Reviews Guardian Telegraph  

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery on the role of plots in 17th century England and how they were publicised via prints. James I had a great suspicion of plots as his father, Darnley, had died as a result of one and his mother’s execution came from her involvement in plot against Elizabeth I. However it also seems from this exhibitor that he was right to be wary! The exhibition started with the Gunpowder Plot and went through the Titus Oates affair and the Rye House Plot. It also looked at the great sexual scandal of the time the Overbury Affair. This was a fascinating look at this period of history which I must admit is a little hazy for me!

Nice display at the National Portrait Gallery comparing portraits of 16th century Queens with their tomb effigies. The exhibition looked at Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots and compliments the “The White Queen” which in on TV at the moment. Both the Beaufort and York effigies were by Pietro Torrigiano and had beautiful hands.

Stunning exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of work by Dame Laura Knight. The exhibition included some wonderful pictures but also gave a good overview of how she worked and her immersion approach of spending months with her sitters who often seemed to become good friends. It also showed the balance between her commissioned work and the work she did for herself and to peruse a subject. I liked the arrangement of the exhibition into sections of her immersion work such as ballet and theatre, gypsies, circus and the war years. The section on her time in America when she painted black patients from the segregated wards of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore was fascinating My favourite though had to be the pictures from World War II when she was a war artist. She developed a smooth style which could be reproduced well as she knew it was important for the images to be circulated. The exhibition also gave a good view of her as a person and was as much about her as ...

Fabulous exhibition at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork looking at Irish artists who went to France to study modern art and explored Cubism. These were lovely pictures which were hard to focus on when you first went in because you could always see another great picture coming up but most interesting was that the majority of the Irish works were by women. I particularly fell for the work of Mary Swanzy who inherited a family fortune and had travelled widely looking at all the new isms in Europe (Vorticism in England, Furuturism in Italy etc) and also went to Hawaii and Samoa but ended up settling down just up the road from me in Blackheath! Her work was so vibrant and full of colour and life. I was also fascinated by Mainie Jellet and Evie Hone who had worked on religious subjects in a cubist form. I felt in an exhibition I had fallen upon a new world and group of people I knew nothing about and I want to find out more!

Exhibition of works in progress at Limerick City Art Gallery by Felicity Clear, Anita Groener, Pamela Dunne and the School of Architecture in the University of Limerick (SAUL). The idea was that the works would develop during the course of the exhibition and some of them would be destroyed at the end. I must admit nothing has stuck with me from this exhibition except a wall of digital maps and info graphics. The other works just didn’t impinge. Maybe they needed to develop a bit more!

Interesting exhibition at Limerick City Gallery of Art which commission 14 artists from around the city to respond to a work of their choice in the National Self Portrait Collection of Ireland. On the whole the original self-portraits came across as more interesting than the responses for example Robert Ballagh’s picture realistic picture showing himself moles and all or Vera Klute’s picture of herself in a stripped jumper with an electric switch. However some of the responses were lovely particularly Anne Maire Morrin’s “Cradle to Cradle” which was a set of hanging bells but shaped as little dresses. Really beautiful.

Strange exhibition at Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin exploring art and cinema. OK I have to say this is one of those exhibitions I just didn’t get! I am not that into avant guard cinema so all the illusions and parallels passed me by! There was so little in the basement, ie one neon sign, that a number of ladies were heading hopefully towards the toilet thinking that must be another room of art. However I did rather like the photographs by Lady Clementina Hawarden. These were lovely Victorian photographs with people posed in tableaux. I have no idea what they were saying about cinema but they were nice and reminded me of Julian Margaret Cameron.

Exhibition at National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin of watercolours by William Evans of Eton done in 1838 on tour of Ireland. The pictures capture an isolated by heavily populated area just before the potato famine. They were gentle pictures giving a detailed vision of a time and a place. They were shown alongside contemporary work by Wendy Judge which explored the difference between authentic and armchair travel. A couple of these were interesting sculptures of rock formation made to be viewed from a particular angel to give them depth.

Innovative exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin looking at painting without colour. It touched on Grisaille, painting in monochrome used to create sculptural forms and the effect of grey weather and had a good cross section of artists including Rembrandt, Millet, Constable, Orpen and Mantegna. There were two contrasting pictures of women asleep. A very sensual Goya and a very cool detached picture by Dod Proctor. I loved an illusionary plaque by Pieter Jan Balthazar de Gree which was so realistic you wanted to touch it. This was a really nice idea for an exhibition.

Small exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin looking at place sought out by visitors to Ireland over the last 300 years. It included illustrations for guidebooks and the commentaries compared the places then and now. I liked a picture of Londonderry by Andrew Nicholl with a bank of flowers in the foreground and a picture of the Customs House   in Dublin by James Malton from 1793 which made it look almost Venetian.

Fascinating exhibition at Tate Britain which seeks to put L.S. Lowry in an art historic context as well as showing some fascinating pictures. The first couple of rooms looked at the genre from which Lowry came placing him alongside Monet and Seurat as social commenters recording modern life displaying his work next to other inheritors of this real life tradition such as Van Gogh and Pissarro. It made you look at the work with a different eye and forget the 1970s cliché which its last revival had made it. I did reflect on the fact that we seem to inevitably go back to Lowry in times of economic hardship. The early works were by far the best and I loved the way the scenery and figures made you start to make up stories about what each character might be doing or feeling even the dogs! I was also interesting to read that Lowry had deliberately chosen his style if painting people as he felt real figures would have “broken the spell of my vision”. The social commentary on t...

Remarkably emotional exhibition at the British Museum looking at everyday life in Pompeii and Herculaneum when the volcano struck. The exhibition was beautifully laid out taking you through a Roman home from the street through to the kitchens using exhibits from the towns to show how people lived. It was like going round a Roman Ideal Home Exhibition!   You came away with ideas for things you could do in your own house. I loved the section which took you through the different decorative styles and was struck by the personal nature of many of the objects which were versions of things we use now. Whatever age you live in the human emotions and drivers are the same! I loved items which gave a direct link to a household such as the fish sauce producer who had proudly had a mosaic made of his product with his name on for his atrium. Also the fact that the remains of the dog from the start came from the same house as the “beware of the dog” type mosaic from a doorway. W...

Surprisingly refreshing exhibition at the V&A which developed from a work of fiction by Hart Kunzru which 20 graphic designers, illustrators and typographer were invited to illustrate. It was set in a future London where technology has been lost and nature has taken over, ruled by a group which enforces a life of extreme simplicity and recording, writing and collecting are banned. There were some wonderful illustrations brought to life in 3D. I particularly liked Jim Kay’s triptych which included Van de Weyden’s crucifixion with riot police behind, a post box and fabulously painted Tesco carrier bag! I loved the detail of the items in the pull out draws at the bottom and the menacing crows on top and above. I also liked the child catcher type wagon drawn by 4 dogs including a smoking dog! I even added a memory at the end to the store at the end which are being converted into posters at the end of each week. Reviews Times Telegraph Independent ...

Nostalgic exhibition at the V&A on how 1980s catwalk fashion was influenced by the clun scene. Nostalgic because I felt in a few cases I was still influenced by the clothes on show and maybe I should move on!   The exhibition was beautifully arranged with ground floor looking at the theme of the decade with sections on knitwear, the use of pattern, denim jackets and the main designers. The upstairs then looked at the various club trends such Hard Times, Gothic, New Romantics and High Camp. There were lots of outfits worn by Leigh Bowery and an Adam Ant costume. It was great to be able to walk round the outfits and see them form all angels although this did sometimes make it hard to match the commentary to the outfit. I left wishing I’d been Glam Fetish but I think I was more New Romantic/Goth! Review Evening Standard  

Very calming exhibition at the National Maritime Museum looking in at how telescopes and photography have changed how we view the universe. The earliest photo dated from 1840 but the works came right up to date with very recent images from satellites. The exhibition was arranged by subject so there were sections on the moon, the sun, earth etc. As well as showing stunning images the commentary told you about the things being photographed and I felt I came out knowing a lot more than when I went in. The images had an interesting effect on the viewers with everyone having a slightly far away peaceful look. It certainly made you think of the vastness of the universe and how small we in it. It seems to slot things into place.

Nice exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of pictures of people by French artists of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. It was based around a loan to the gallery of an Ingres of his friend and pupil Alphonse Hennett de Goutel which was the star of the show but other nice items included an unknown man from 1590-1610 with beautifully drawn curls. I was also intrigued by De Troy’s studies of studio assistants in sitters’ robes as preparatory drawings but I’m not sure these are portraits. The exhibition had nice works in it but could have done with building a narrative around them about whether styles or subjects had changed.  

Thought provoking exhibition at Courtauld Gallery curated by students on the MA in curating the art museum looking at islands in art. Islands have been seen as representing elusive ideas and fantasies as well as ideas of paradise and of primitive lives. It was a chance to see works not usually displayed both from the Courtaulds own collection and from that of the Arts Council. I loved a little Millais watercolour called “The Parting of Ulysses” with a beautiful blue sky and sea. I was also intrigued by Charles Avery’s on-going project set on an island with fantasy landscapes and narratives and will look out for more of this.  

Slightly thin exhibition at the Courtauld looking at their collection of Gauguin’s and how they were acquired by Samuel Courtauld. It was nice that the galleries own pictures and the two Gauguin’s that Samuel Courtauld had sold before he donated the rest to the gallery were reunited so you are seeing the whole of his collection. It was interesting to see that this collection had included paintings, sculpture and engravings and that the works were displayed alongside the bills for the works and letters relating to them. However that was it. There wasn’t quite enough of anything to give it much depth. Showing my bias I do wonder if this is because there is not much depth to Gaugin’s work. I’ve never really warmed to him and do fear that he found a market and played to it. Reviews Telegraph

Nice little exhibition at Greenwich Heritage Centre on a local suffragette Rosa May Billinghurst. The Centre has made the most of the few items them had and put them into context by looking at the life of an Edwardian lady and society at the time. As Rosa was disabled it also enabled them to look a health and disability in this era too. Inevitably though it was the items about Rosa’s own campaign and about the suffrage movement in Greenwich were most interesting.   I loved the idea of being able to catch a ‘brake’ from Beresford Square to the great Hyde Park rally. At this point I should say that I live about 100 yards from this museum so I was imaging myself queuing up for a ticket! A nice touch was to end the exhibition with a display on women’s issues in the borough now.

Interesting exhibition at the Wallace Collection of 19th century watercolours of Paris by British artists. In the brief periods of peace in the Napoleonic wars and after Waterloo it was possible for British artists to visit Paris and a demand for views of the city grew up. Some of these pictures were done for pleasure, some to sell and some to be published in books. It was interesting to see works in sketch, finished water colour and printed form such as a selection of Turners. Also to compare the different styles of watercolours such as Turners ethereal smoky finish compared to the detailed polished finish of Thomas Shotter Boys. The works gave a picture of a city about to change with the town planning of Haussmann but also showed views of the city which are still being painted by artists today. Reviews Telegraph

Stunning exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery of sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn. These were wonderful works by the son of Anthony Quinn who has done work for the United Nations. In fact I’m not really sure where to start! I found the pieces very peaceful and all gave a positive view of love and relationships. The modern Atlas, a life sized male nude doing a handstand and balancing the world on his feet rather than his shoulders, was amazing. The matching globes revolving in the window with male and female figures in them called “Each in their own world”. Downstairs were some lovely chess sets with large versions of the pieces all of which were hands so for example the tower was a clenched fist. Also variations on a theme entitled Gravity of one figure supporting another figure hanging from them hands. All wonderful!

Nice exhibition at the Fine Art Society of works by Walter Sickert both for sale and lent from private collections. It includes pictures from all periods of his career and includes paintings, drawings and etchings. Some of them were even cheerful, much as I like Sickert I do find he can get a bit brown and muddy. I particularly liked the selection of pictures of Venice many of which had been in the 2009 Dulwich exhibition and some nice Paris street scenes. This was the first time I’d been to this gallery and I will certainly be checking what else it has on in the future.