Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating video installation by John Akomfrah at Tate Britain examining the life of social commentator Stuart Hall. Displayed on three screens it looked at his life and views mixing his own words from interviews with contemporary film and pieces of poetry. I had not come across Stuart Hall before but that didn’t matter looking at any life in this way was really interesting. I did make me want to find out more. I loved the way it was punctuated by photographs of him and he didn’t seem to change. I must admit we stayed into the this on the promise of somewhere to sit down for a while but were mesmerised by it and had to be thrown out before the end.

Interesting display at Tate Britain of a project by Margaret Harrison, Kay Hunt and Mary Kelly where they studied the lives of women working in a metal box factory in the 1970s. This had a feel of the mass observation and I loved the way the work was presented as an art work such as the sheets describing the timetables of people who worked in the factory which were printed in the same style and hung together. Similarly the pictures of each process with the number of men and women who were employed to do each one also hung together in sequence. The work was done to tackle political and industrial issues from a feminist view point but is now a fascinating insight into people’s lives.

Fascinating exhibition at Tate Britain of the artistic work of Sylvia Pankhurst. I had known she was an artist but knew very little about how she used that in the cause of suffrage and women’s rights. I loved the pictures she did in 1907 when she toured the country looking at the lives of working women and recording them in words and pictures. The pictures were lovely well observed works and it was interesting to see how many were still owned by the Pankhurst family. I was also interested in her branding of the cause with her designs for posters and leaflets. She also designed the brooch which was awarded to women who’d been to prison.   I loved the tea set which she had designed and which had been used at the Women’s Exhibition of 1909 and which was sold to raise money for the movement.

Interesting display at Tate Britain looking at the conservation of a Joshua Reynolds picture of a small girl “The Age of Innocence”. The cleaning had given it a crisp clear finish and made you look at the quality of the painting rather than the slightly sugary subject matter. I was interesting to see it hung with copies and studio versions as they showed what a good work the original was. It was also interesting to see it with prints taken from it as some of those showed that some of the restoration had been done quite early on in its life and therefore may have been done by Reynolds himself. I also thought he display of souvenirs based on it were rather fun and a nice touch to show the popularity of the picture over the years.

Slightly dull exhibition at Tate Britain of sculpture by Alison Wilding. The colours in the works blended beautifully with the Duveen Gallery but the works were dwarfed by the space and there weren’t many of them I guess it give them room to breathe but I felt it made them look a bit insignificant. I did like the round one like a lily pond but felt a bit annoyed that it was not in the middle of the space. I am sure this was deliberate and artistic but I could only focus on that fact it was crying out to be placed on the central marble feature of the space. I would like to see this work somewhere else to see if I have a different reaction to it.  

It’s taken me a while but I went to look at the refurbishment at Tate Britain and I loved it! The new staircase is so elegant and looks like it’s always been there. I love the use of the black and white marble and the way the floor and the staircase blend together. Upstairs in the rotunda is always really nice and makes a great friends room. A number of friends said they only joined the Tate for the great room at Tate Modern but I think the new one just enhances that. Because the seats go round the space it never felt too busy when I was there and I like the mix of wooden and comfortable furniture. Now next time I need to go downstairs to see how that space works! Reviews Times Telegraph Independent Independent  

Beautiful selling exhibition at the Mall Gallery for the Society of Designer Craftsmen. There were lots of beautifully made items but I think the furniture and jewellery stood out for me. However I also loved the glass items made by Sara Fell based in 20s dressing table sets and incorporating items of jewellery, the landscape broaches by Michele White and the patchwork and applique maps by Alicia Merrett. I did weaken and buy a vase by Kathryn Bonson which reflected the landscape around Bradford where she works which I know well. Some sides had a glaze giving the impression of hills and landscape while others   have a brick design. I can’t wait to pick it up in a couple of weeks’ time.

Stunning exhibition at the Mall Galleries showing shortlisted work in a competition for readers of Artists and Illustrators magazine. After my recent moaning about bad painting I have to say this was stunning painting. The works may not always have been trying to say something profound but in being well done they provided subtle observations of life and therefore said a lot! It’s hard to pick out favourites but there were a number I could happily live with! The large “A Bee in Winter” by John Horford, had a bright blue sky and big blousy roses. I loved “Fish and Chips” by Jane Morgan and “Sunshine on a Plate” by Marjorie Collins of 2 fried eggs and a coffee.   Roo Waterhouse’s triptych of a shed was unusual showing the contents of cleaning materials and buckets in the middle section and the doors with things hanging on them formed the wings. Oh and I forgot until I skimmed the leaflet again a lovely portrait by Raoof Haghighi. All in all a good show!

Interesting display at the ICA looking at the club scene in the 80s in Ibiza setting the scene and looking at the art which came out of it such as posters and ephemera. It highlighted two artists in particular Yves Uro and Armin Heinemann. I loved the display of posters and I particularly liked one which over lay a sepia watercolor of a a ruined far over a black and white photo of the town. Review Guardian

Mixed exhibition at the ICA of new artists chosen by fellow established artists. I have to talk about bad painting again. I suppose it was expressive but there was too much painting which just seemed to be dabs of paint in a vague design. There also seemed to be a lot of throwing a few bits of rubbish together and giving it a long rather poesy title! However clever your idea the product has to be good. OK middle aged grump over I did like the big steel basket with sand had been allowed to flow through and form patterns and add texture. I laughed out loud at Adam Faramawy’s video of a 1970s style mad doing exercises in the nude, sweet! I also saw my second work of art made from food of the year and it’s only mid January with a picture made of mustard, wasabi, pepper and wall paper paste by Isabella Southwood. Review Independent  

Fun festival at Canary Wharf with ice sculptors from around the world working on large pieces throughout the day. It might of been better to go later in the day when the works were more finished but even at lunchtime it was fascinating to watch a block gradually become a work of art. I found it interesting how they seemed to keep the design in mind and knew just which but to cut off and when. Many of them had the final design on show. Sometimes they seemed to be cutting away most of the block with a chainsaw. It was an interesting way to see sculpting happening quickly and get an idea of what must be involved in the much longer process of stone carving. Review Independent

Excellent exhibition at Dulwich Art Gallery looking at works by Whistler of the Thames and exploring he relationship with the river. I loved the etchings at the start of the show looking at the area round Docklands and the Pool of London as I go to work on Thames Clippers so it’s a section of the river I see every day and have grown to love. Whistler had captured it at a moment when it was still busy and thriving but was about to change. I particularly liked “The Lime Burner” with a wonderful multi-framed composition. The middle section looked at the various houses he lived in in Chelsea, his studios there and the work that came out of them. It also explored his nocturnes and his attempts to paint the river at night. The last section looked at how he was influences by Japanese prints particularly those showing important stages in trade routes such as bridges, All in all a really well thought out and displayed exhibition. Note to self however, to try to visit Dulw...

Fascinating exhibition at Marlborough Fine Art looking at Matisse’s use of lithographs and etchings. This exhibition was really well presented with good descriptive boards and nice chronology of Matisse’s life. I felt I was seeing beautiful works but also learning something. They also used some wonderful quotes from Matisse one of which I have to share as to me it describers portraiture so well “ I ended up discovering that the likeness comes from the contrast which exists between then face of the model and other faces, in a word from its particular asymmetry. Each figure has its own rhythm and it is this rhythm which created the likeness.” My favourite pictures were a series of the same girl in a floral dress with a stand up collar. He drew her from different angles and with different levels of finish to the work. In some he concentrates on the detail of the pattern on her dress in other he just hints at it. It was also good to see a rare set of plates from “Jazz” a ...

Interesting exhibition at Saatchi Gallery looking at contemporary art using the human body in some way. There were some really unusual things in this exhibition. It’s the first, and I suspect the last time, I have seen a label describing the work as “Iberico ham and concert” and yes it was a sculpted ham by Kaspar Kovitz! There were also some stunning photos of Russian grave stones where a life sized photo of the dead person had been etched onto a standing stone. These set off all sorts of dialogues about a photo of a photo used for another purpose plus it reminded me of the Mummy portraits and debates about whether they were painted in life to be used as a portrait for the house then used in death. I loved some Stanley Spencer like pictures by Michael Cline particularly one of a scene round a table including the feet of a figure drawing at the bottom which I assume is a self-portrait. Also a picture called “Singed Picnic” by Dana Schitz which seemed to be a take Dejeuner ...

A revisit to an exhibition of British contemporary art at the Saatchi Gallery. I got annoyed when I visited this exhibition before, twice , as the gallery kept lending some of the space to other exhibitions so there were two rooms I’d never seen. I wasn’t go to go back again but it was still on when I visited another exhibition so I took a look and   there was actually some interesting work there I felt I had to mention. How annoying! This was the work by Charlie Bingham which included a segmented and a contorted Rowlandson print and a wonderful screen with bottoms on it! The screen had a Bloomsbury feel to it and I want it!  

Imaginative new gallery at the National Maritime Museum looking at the life and death of Nelson and putting him into the context of the history of the time and life in the navy. I was fond of the old Nelson gallery and was a bit worried that the new one might be too themed and loose the story of Nelson himself but it strikes a really good balance. It takes you through his life explaining the political situation at the time and what life would have been like for officers and men in the navy at the time. The gallery had a logical way through but felt slightly meandering with vistas through the exhibits as if you were discovering things for yourself. I loved the fact the floor was planked like a ship and that pride of place was given to Nelson’s uniform complete with bullet hole.  

Lovely exhibition at the National Maritime Museum looking at Turner’s sea paintings. It is well worth taking the audio tour as it adds lots of context, both historic and contemporary. I liked the touch of interviewing life boat men and fishermen to listen to next to relevant pictures. However it is also good at explaining how the pictures were viewed at the time what stage of the Napoleonic war pictures were painted at. Most importantly thought these were stunning pictures and all the better for seeing them in the flesh as you could see the minimal brush stokes which sometimes made up the waves and the thickness of the white paint denoting the crests of waves. The sense of light in them was stunning and I had never thought of clouds being back lit by the sun before. I particularly liked the section on the Battle of Trafalgar including Turners huge picture of the aftermath. I would have been there at the time in the queue to see what was not just a picture but also a t...