Cathy's Art Diary

Moving exhibition at Woolwich Works showing a selection of panels of the AIDS memorial quilt. I’d last seen it laid out on the floor of St Paul’s Cathedral so it was lovely, this time, to see sections hung up and looking so good in the space. This show was organised by METRO Charity, in collaboration with Woolwich Works and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It was nicely presented with QR codes to take you to some of the stories of the people commemorated. When I went there were a number of people walking quietly around obviously moved by the display. Closes 18 December 2022

Interesting exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of work by Helen Saunders, one of the two female members of the Vorticists. I had not come across Saunders work before but loved it. The commentary said she was on the edge of the Bloomsbury Group despite being a Vorticist and I could see similarities to their early and later work. I was interested to see a large collection of her work had been left to the Courtauld by a relative and fellow artist, Brigid Beppin. I loved a portrait of her friend Blanche Caudwell done in an almost Cubist style and making her look like a sculpture made of felt sewn together. I also liked a Vorticist picture of a man being shot from the barrel of a rifle. The show also included some post war pictures of lovely French rural scenes around L’Estaque. Closed on 29 January 2023  

Intriguing exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery looking at drawings of women by Henry Fuseli. As ever at the Courtauld this was a scholarly presented show while still being clear and approachable. I was fascinated to see that he had been Keeper of the Premises when the Royal Academy was at Somerset House so had lived in the building he was now being shown in for about 30 years.   The first room looked at drawings of women with elaborate hairstyles, mainly his wife Sophie. These took on a fetishist quality and it seems his wife was as creative about arranging her hair as he was at drawing it. I think my favourite though was an amazing plainer portrait of her shown here which, I think, is one of the best portrait drawings I’ve ever seen. The second room looked at his drawings of Courtesan’s, again mainly with elaborate hair. Some of the finished works may have been done for sale to their clientele. I loved one drawn at the salon of a friend on an envelope of the, probably image...

Fascinating online conversation from the National Gallery discussing the recent restoration of Piero della Francesca’s “Nativity”. Carlo Corsato from the gallery’s education department interviewed Jill Dunkerton from the conservation department who had been working on the project since early 2020. She took us though earlier restorations and the thinking behind the current one. She explained how a mm of the panel had been lost after panels had been rejoined in the past which had distorted the face of an angel and their lute. This had been filled and the missing paint retouched which had rectified the angel’s squint. She also took us through how, in cleaning the stable, she discovered a patch of light on the wall which is coming through the hole in the roof which one shepherd points to. Talking of the shepherds she also discussed how these were not unfinished as previous thought but just worn. The decision was taken to retouch their faces based on the underdrawing and pounce marks...

Comprehensive and enjoyable  online course from HistFest on Medieval art from the 6th to the 14th century. Over four weeks Janina Ramirez led us though this period via recorded lectures and live Q&A sessions. I think the course had run before with the same lectures but the format worked well and the Q&A sessions were lively and interactive. Ramirez was very approachable and welcomed new ideas.   She encouraged those with questions to turn on their video screens leading to some fascinating conversations. She started with the Dark Ages, which she doesn’t want to be called that, looking at how Christian art started to leak into England both from the Roman and Celtic traditions. She talked about the imagery of intertwined animals and the complex riddles used both in art and literature leading up to the Normal Conquest. Post Conquest we looked at the rise of the artist from anonymous craftsman to a period we see more individualism in society and art. Despite this bein...

Useful online lecture from the National Gallery outlining the life and career of Piero della Francesca. Jo Walton, one of the gallery’s Stories of Art lecturers, look us clearly through the work of this 15th century artist. I know his work fairly well both from the National Gallery a trip to Arezzo and Borgo San Sepulcro a few years ago but it was good to look at the works in detail with some idea of chronological order. She also discussed how for many years Piero was better known as a mathematician rather than an artist but came back to prominence as an artist in the 19th century and then told the story of Captain Tony Clarke who saved the town of Borgo San Sepulcro from extensive bombing in the Second World War as he had read an article by Adolphus Huxley which described “The Resurrection” in the town as “the best picture”.

Beautiful installation at the Victoria and Albert Museum of a reimagined Christmas tree by Korean fashion designer Miss Sohee. The piece compliments the current South Korean exhibition and looks super in the entrance hall against the beautiful Dale Chihuly chandelier. The work is an elongated dress with crystals on the front. When I went there the crepe cape was wafting gently as the breeze came in through the door. The commentary said it was inspired by religious statues around the museum. Closed 5 January 2023

Fascinating exhibition at the Science Museum on the development of the Covid vaccine. The show was well explained and divided into six clear sections Virus, Design, Trial, Manufacture, Vaccinate and Future. Each section looked back at what work had been done in the past that this research was building on. I discovered a new name of Onesimus, an African in America who showed his owner a technique for inoculation which he had witnessed and benefited from in his homeland. The show was full of iconic objects from recent years some of which seemed to have been donated to the museum. I loved seeing the laptop and mug used by Tess Lambe, co-designer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca, when working from home to develop the vaccine. To think so much came from such simple things. I also liked a display of items from the day the first person got the vaccine in the UK including the clothes worn by the recipient and the nurse plus the syringe used. The show made me appreciate just what an amazing ach...

Imaginative exhibition at the Science Museum looking at what science fiction tells us about our relationship to space and the world around us. This was a stunningly produced show and immersive experience where you are introduced to each section by an supposedly AI concept called ALANN. It introduced some fascinating ideas linking reality and science fiction. However if you were going for a history of sci-fi and lots of objects you might be disappointed. Quite a large proportion of the objects seemed to be replicas although there was an original outfit from Lieutenant Uhura from Star Trek and Boris Kharlov’s costume for Frankenstein. I’d have liked a bit more on the evolution of sci-fi rather than the heavy use of it to explain current and future science. There were good interactive experiences and quizzes which were all working even if I had to be shown what one was doing! A good show for sparkling children’s imaginations. Closes 4 May 2023 Reviews Guardian Telegraph

Comprehensive online course for ARTscapes looking at the how the British royal family have chosen to be represented since Tudor times. Desmond Shawe-Taylor, who has previously been the Surveyor of the Queens Pictures, led us through the subject over two hour long sessions with excellent illustrations mainly from the Royal Collection.   It was as much a history course as a history of art one as he covered changes in ideas about the monarchy, how it has adapted over the years and how this is reflected in the art. The most interesting section, as I knew less about it, was the later Stuart’s post the Glorious Revolution and the Georgians. I loved this picture of two of the son’s of George III by Zoffany from 1765 in Buckingham Palace with portraits of their parent and Van Dyck’s picture of the children of Charles I. He also talked about how in current times photography is taking over from painting for royal portraits and speculated about whether there will be a formal painted Co...

Spectacular installation at St Mary’s church, Beverley, by Anne-Marie Kerr. I was in Beverley for a weekend away with friends and we popped into this thinking it would be cute small angels made by children, but my friend, who knew the area, said it was an impressive church we needed to see. Instead I found it was a stunning installation of huge, figures of the archangels made of what looked like tissue and illuminated from within. This Michael flew up the Nave while Gabrielle lurked behind, leaning on the side of the arch. Others flew around them and one sat over a side chapel at the side of the choir. It was so effective and moving. Oh and indeed it was an impressive church where we got a friendly welcome. Closed 23 December 2022    

Interesting exhibition at Tate Modern in the life and work of Polish artist, Magdalena Abakanowicz. Anakamowicz worked in fibres and threads which developed from wall hangings through hanging sculptures to full installations. The shallow part of me felt some of them looked like monumental old cardigans hanging up but I loved the effect of them hanging together and filling a room. I liked the way the show was hung so you could walk between the work with minimal barriers as well as the way you could look out over the current Turbine Hall Installation, which has a similar approach, through a side window. Closes 21 May 2023 Reviews Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard  

Interesting online tour from the National Gallery of their current virtual exhibition Fruits of the Spirt. Revd Dr Ayla Lepine, who has been working at the gallery on an Ahmanson Fellowship on art and religion, talked about putting together this online exhibition. She explained how it was based on the personal and communal attributes set out by St Paul in a letter to the Galatians. Each of the nine attributes is represented by a painting from the National Gallery and one from a regional one. They are shown online as if in a gallery with a room for each pair. It also comes with an online catalogue with essays on the paintings not only from the galleries but also by community groups in each area represented. Lepine also talked us through some of the pairings. I’m not sure I always understood the links but it did set up some interesting contrasting styles and ideas such as Van Eyck’s “Arnolfini Wedding” from 1434 with “Two Auld Wifies, Dundee” by Ron Stenberg from 1982. I have sinc...