Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at White Cube Mason’s Yard of work by American sculptor Isamu Noguchi who died in 1988. The work was in a variety of materials and came from throughout his career. They looked good in the space but I must admit they didn’t speak to me. However I was fascinated to learn that he had made more than 20 dance settings for the choreographer Martha Graham. There was a film running of her work “Dark Meadow” and the set pieces were in the show. They came to life when you realised how dancers were meant to interact with them. Closed 1 July 2023    

Fun exhibition at the Sims Reed Gallery of drawings by Aaron Kasmin. Kasmin collects American matchbooks and these pictures were sweet chalk pencil drawings of versions of them with a variety of subjects from sport to music to sport and travel. They were shown with a selection of his collection. I loved the colour and finish of the work and the nostalgic yet modern style. They would make wonderful book covers. Closed 20 July 2023    

Intriguing exhibition at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert of recent self-portraits by Frank Auerbach. The show included 9 paintings and 11 drawings which were full of character. The commentary included a wonderful quote from Auerbach that “Now that I’ve got bags under my eyes, things are sagging and so on, there’s more material to work with”. I preferred the drawings which were finer but the paintings were full of life and colour. They showed his distinct style of building up layers of paint in slabs but were less thick that some of his early work which is almost sculptural. Closed 14 July 2023 Review Guardian    

Fascinating exhibition at Cristea Roberts of prints by Joe Tilson. The show included pieces from the 1960s to date. I know Tilson’s recent Stones of Venice pictures, combining images of the sites of the city surrounded by patterns from the buildings, but I hadn’t realised he was part of the British Pop Art movement. I loved the early prints with collage added which had been deemed at the time to be “not original prints” since then Tilson has sought to break other rules of print making. I liked the works based on Greek myth as I have just finished a book on them but my favourite section was the Venice prints downstairs. Closed 17 June 2023

Wonderful exhibition at Philip Mould & Co on the sculptor Stephen Tomlin. As a fan of the Bloomsbury Group I had come across Tomlin before but this is the first time so much of his work has been shown together. At first I thought the show was a bit thin with other pictures by the group in the first room to set the scene, a number of which I had seen at the gallery before, but as you go into the second room and turn around it is like walking into a Bloomsbury dinner party. The portrait busts are set on Bloomsbury-esque painted plinths at a height where it is easy to study the details. The commentaries are good but the stylish white on black is hard to read especially when set quite low. It was lovely to see so much from Charleston and it was like bumping into old friends. I think the bust of Bunny Garnett which is usually in the garden has been cleaned for the show. It will be interesting to see it back in situ. Closes 11 August 2023    

Eclectic exhibition at Somerset House for this bienniale design show. The theme of the show was international collaboration and all the projects, presented by countries, organisations and universities, highlighted global issues or work with other organisations around the world.   Other themes which seemed to grow out of the exhibits were response to crisis, aging and weaving as a metaphor. I very quickly became annoyed by the convoluted commentaries on some of the exhibits, many of which were verging on incomprehensible. An example would be "living collective of initiatives". I understand that some may have originally by people for whom English isn’t the first language but could someone please read them for sense plus cut out the academic, philosophical twaddle. Just tell me the problem you are addressing and its solution in simple language. That said there were some fascinating displays. I loved these sheep stools from the Japanese room on rural life. Also a chair des...

Interesting exhibition at Glyndebourne by Lubaina Himid. Himid draws on her love of opera to respond to the current season at the opera house. Himid trained as a theatre designer before turning to art and grew up listening to opera records owned by her grandfather. The centrepiece, which is also the cover of the season's programme, looks at what love sounds like combine the title with an abstract piece based on the structure of the ear. This was combined with some of her signature pieces painted on the inside of draws. The commentary says she images the portraits are people involved in the operas. Himid has also done paintings inspired by the operas in the current season which are used in the programme to introduce each work which I think are on display in another venue. I must investigate as I am due to go again! Closes 27 August 2023 Review Guardian    

Interesting online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum introducing their exhibition on tartan at their outpost in Dundee. Kirsty Hassard, who curated the show, led us though the history of the textile and its international reach. She talked about some of the choices made in the show and why it is laid out as it is. I was fascinated to hear that, as they don’t have conservation department up there, they had to have a consultant costume mounter to dress the mannequin for the fashion items. She then led us though the five themes of the show, the grid, innovation, identity, power and transcendence highlighting key objects in each with great illustrations. I wish this was show was nearer to me as it looks great fun. They did say they hope it will tour so here’s hoping it reaches London in some form.

Enlightening online lecture from ARTscapades looking at the relationship between the British monarchy. Desmond Shawe-Taylor, former Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, explained the concept of the Grand Tour using pictures from the Royal Collection where possible. I thought I knew a lot about the Grand Tour but I had never thought about the political background to it before and the fact that the Old Pretender and Bonnie Prince Charlie had set up a rival court to the Hanoverians in France and then Rome. Young gentlemen were travelling through Europe at a time when the British were out of favour and had no ambassador in Italy. He also talked about how the monarchy tried to acquire the knowledge and kudos of the tour when they couldn’t actually go on it themselves and in particular, he took us through George III’s purchases of prints, drawings and paintings to fill that gap. He was also very good on the difference between the earlier Grand Tourists, who were going to see things relate...

Interesting small display at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at the Japanese dye 'beni’. The dye is made from safflower petals and produces red hues and an iridescent green. It fades quickly and often represents passionate but fleeting love. The display looks at its uses in fashion, textiles, cosmetics and ukiyo-e woodblock prints. I loved these heel-less shoes by Noritaka Tatehana although I’m not sure I want to wear them! There was also a nice selection of prints showing the dyes use in fashion and cosmetics. Closes 31 March 2024

Beautiful refurbishment of the Photography Centre at the Victoria and Albert Museum. At first look I felt that not a lot had changed as the first galleries, although rehung, don’t look that different but you then go through the door at the end and find four new rooms.   The first is a digital space which is currently showing a work by Jake Elwes analysing the effect of AI online on images of trans people. This then leads into a beautiful space for the Royal Photographic Society Library which has been donated to the museum and to highlight the role of books in photography. It includes a temporary display space which is currently showing books on photographing dogs so of course I loved it. The last two rooms are showing new acquisitions which contrast nicely with the refurbished 19th century rooms. Reviews Guardian Evening Standard  

Stunning exhibition at the National Gallery on St Francis and how he has been perceived and represented. The show was cleverly themed to also give a roughly chronically narrative as well. The central round room used the galleries panels by Sassetta from 1437-44 to tell the story of Francis’s life. It was lovely to see these hung at eye level so you could study the detail. My favourite room was to one side and had the earliest images in the show. I was stunned by an altarpiece from about 1250-60 which may be the earliest image of the saint alongside a work which is said to be painted on the back of the board his body was washed on after his death. The next room looked at Counter-Reformation images which used mystical images of Francis. It was wonderful to see Caravaggio’s picture of Francis with an angel over from America. I’m not sure I’d ever seen it in the flesh before. The next two rooms looked at how later generations have seen Francis as an environmentalist and radical. I...

Delightful exhibition at the Wallace Collection of portraits of dogs. I’d really been looking forward to this show as I have a soft spot for dogs in art and it didn’t disappoint. It was cleverly divided up into categories of dogs from aristocratic ones, through allegorical ones, lap dogs, royal dogs and artists’ dogs. I love that it opened with a Roman statue of two dogs playing plus the addition of two stuffed dogs. It was a bit heavy on Landseer but then he was a genius at dogs. I loved a wall of George Stubbs pictures and the last room of pictures by Hockney of his two dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie, which represented joy to him at a time when a number of friends were dying. My favourite was Pilau, a performing dog by John Charlton. Pilau could do maths problems with their paws but was sadly killed in a road accident in Pisa. Closes 15 October 2023 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard    

Charming exhibition at the Wallace Collection of photographs of the Queen and her corgis. In just ten pictures they told the story of her love of the breed from an image of her with the first two dogs her parents owned to the two who joined the crowds lining the route of her funeral cortège on its way to Windsor. It explained how all her dogs were descended from the first one she owned, Susan, and included a family tree of them. I loved the sweet, gold silhouettes of the dogs round the edge of the room. I particularly loved this show as my father bred Corgis, albeit it Cardigan Corgis not the Pembrokes favoured by the Queen, so I grew up surrounded by these dogs and will always have a soft spot for them.  Closes 6 August 2023 Review Telegraph  

Useful online lecture from the British Museum introducing their current exhibition on China in the 19th century. Jessica Harrison-Hall from the British Museum and Julia Lovell from King’s College London guided us through the history of the period from 1796 to the Revolution in 1912 focusing on how this era is often left out of histories of China and yet it was a period of turmoil and change. They then led us though the main themes of the exhibitions and how they had picked a person to represent each one shown as a shadow silhouette in the show with a recording of their writings where appropriate. They explained how each one was picked. I have since been to see the exhibition and will blog it soon. I found this introduction really useful as I didn’t know much about the period and knowing the themes was helpful in pacing myself around the show.

Excellent online study morning by Paula Nuttall looking at the sculptors who came after Donatello in Florence. Nuttall had already done a good three-week course on Donatello himself to reflect the exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. That course had led to questions about the artists legacy and how sculpture in the city evolved from him to Michelangelo’s David in 1501-5 and this study morning addressed some of those issues. The talk could have descended into just a lost of names and pretty pictures but Nuttall crafted the narrative to show a continuation and development over the period emphasising the links between artists. I was surprised at how much of the work I knew from trips to the city without realising its significance. We are so often distracted from a lot of work by the power of a few artistic superstars. I learnt about some fantastic artists who I will look out for in the future.

Excellent online lecture from the National Gallery on the life and career of William Hogarth. In the first half of this two hour talk Matthew Morgan, the director of The Turner’s House Museum, took us though the life of this 18th century artist with an emphasis on his portraits, etching series and paintings. He discussed some of the themes in his work such as establishing a British identity and social concerns. In the second half he went through the Marriage a la Mode series of paintings in the National Gallery in detail outlining the details, the symbolism and the moral message behind them. I thought I knew these works well but he pointed out things I had never noticed before such as the fact that the paintings on the wall add another layer of meaning. I will look at them differently in the future.  

Disappointing online lecture from the National Gallery on Giotto’s St Francis frescos in the church at Assisi. Artists and art historian, Aliki Braine, guided us though the technique of fresco and the narrative of the major fresco in the upper church as a coda to the National Gallery’s current St Francis exhibition which, of course, couldn’t include the frescos. It is always wonderful to look at this cycle again and Braine had beautiful illustrations but I would have liked a bit less on the technique, which I have studied quite often, and more on the iconography of the frescos themselves, why they were so groundbreaking and how they helped to establish the fame and importance of Francis.

Charming exhibition at Charleston Farmhouse of ceramics by South-African Hylton Nel. The plates and bowls read like a diary going around the room marking events and people and drawing on a variety of ceramic traditions. The work looked good en mass but it was also well worth viewing it slowly to take in the lovely details of the work. A lovely additional touch was that Nel had been invited to pick pieces of ceramics from the house for a small installation in the neighbouring room. Closes 10 September 2023 Review Guardian  

Colourful exhibition at Charleston Farmhouse of pieces by married artists Betty and George Woodman. This American couple bought a house in Italy where they went every year to make art. Betty mainly did ceramics and George painted but the show looked at how they influenced each other’s work and how it drew from the light and countryside around them. The show was beautifully arranged so the pieces set up dialogues between each other. The feel of the work was very similar to that of Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell who worked together at Charleston itself. I loved the vibrancy of the work, particularly this screen, and the way the pieces worked together. Closes 10 September 2023

Engaging interview at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival by conceptual artist Jeremy Deller. Deller was interviewed by arts producer, Claire Doughty, who took him through his career and major works. I was pleased at how many of them I had come across. It really helped that there was a screen with illustrations of the projects. The projects ranged from the video project re-enacting the Battle of Ongreave in the miners’ strike, through the wonderful piece putting young men in First World War Uniforms on the streets to mark the centenary of start of the Battle of the Somme, which in wished I’d seen, to the inflatable Stonehenge. They talked about how the work was commissioned and where he got his ideas from. I’ll certainly be looking out for his projects in the future.

Brain expanding discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival looking at whether we all see the world on the same way. Will Gompertz, talked about his new book “See What You’re Missing” which looks at how 20th century artists have used different ways of thinking about how we see and this was paired with neuroscientist, Anil Seth, talking about his work on perception. It was a lively and far-reaching discussion which left me with lots of ideas to think about. I had heard Gompertz talk about his book before but this event gave it a different emphasis. I am off to try out Seth’s Perception Census .    

Magical evening at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival looking at the Vampire’s Wife brand. We were taken into another world by founder and creator of the brand, Susie Cave, and her design assistant and model, Matthew Keller, in conversation with Lucy Moore. They talked about the origins of the brand, where creative ideas came from and working on specific projects such as for Florence Welch. I was fascinated to find out that the brand is based in local Lewes and has a largely local team. It was a packed venue and the atmosphere was buzzing. The stage and grounds were transformed with mannequins displaying some of the glamorous dresses.    The icing on the cake was the performance of a song at the end by Susie’s husband, Nick Cage. A truly magical Charleston moment. P.S. In writing up this blog a number of weeks later (yes I am quite behind) I was Googling to check a few things and spotted that the brand is facing a winding-up petition by HMRC. Su...

Fascinating discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival on the social and historical role of fashion. Ably chaired by journalist and broadcaster Bidisha Mamata, designer/artist, Osman Yousefzada and x editor of Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, discussed their relationship with clothes. This then branched out into current sociological and economic impact of the fashion industry from the fact we have invented fabrics that can take 500 years to decay to the role of second-hand clothes. Charleston Festival had over 40 talks over nearly two weeks and I booked to go to them all! If I blog all of them I’ll be here for ever so, as last year, I’ll cover events on art, fashion and design in the blog. That’s not to say ask the others weren’t fabulous too. It was also sometime hard to find an appropriate picture so I’ve used photographs I took of the garden instead.

Small exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall on David Bowie at the venue. The archive display was to mark 50 years since the release of the Aladdin Sane album which the South Bank is celebrating and included material from a number of occasions when Bowie had played on site from a minor appearance as a mime artist in 1968 through to his curation of the Meltdown Festival in 2002. The story was told via programmes, posters and ephemera with neat commentaries on each event. Closed 18 June 2023

Excellent exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall to mark 50 years since the release of the Aladdin Sane album by David Bowie. I was expecting an over stylised show about the album but it concentrated on the iconic album cover of Bowie with a lightning bolt across his face taken by Brian Duffy. Most of the material came from Duffy’s archive and was used to set the scene and tell the story of the photo session. I loved a section on album covers explaining how Sgt Pepper was the first album to have such an ornate, artistic one. Prior to that covers had been quite bland pictures of the artists. There was a wonderful selection many of which I not only recognised but have. The show explained how one requirement of the shoot was to cost a lot of money! Bowie’s manager    calculated that if they ran up a big bill the record company would have to put money into marketing to recoup the costs. Duffy therefore choose an innovative printing process which could only be done in Switzerl...

Fun exhibition at Bankside Gallery of prints by members of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. There was a lovely variety of work and I was very tempted to buy but resisted. Highlights included the attached engraving of a staircase by Louise Hayward. I loved the different textures in it. I also liked a lino print of the Thames with mudlarkers and an old pier, some classic still lives by Annie Williams and the Hilary Paynter’s Lawyers London which a dense picture of the Inns of Court printed in sections and collages. Closed 2 June 2023

Stunning exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery looking at Georgian fashion. I’d booked a curators talk for before I went round which was given by Anna Reynolds and it set the scene well. It made the narrative of the show a bit clearer as the design of the gallery can be a bit limiting. She talked us through the materials used, the layers of clothing, changes in fashion, the role of uniforms and much more. The show itself was well laid out, starting with two wonderful group pictures of crowds in St James Park and George IV’s wedding. I loved the mix of paintings and objects which were often well placed to let you see how the clothes worked in reality. There were lots of pictures I’d not seen before including some beautiful ones by Zoffany. It was well explained and packed with information. If anything it was a bit overwhelming and I’m already planning a second visit to pace myself better! Thank goodness for the fact you can get your ticket stamped so it lasts a year. Closes 8 Octob...

Quirky online lecture form ARTScades examining the hidden meanings of pigments in art. Kelly Grovier, author of “The Art of Colour: The History of Art in 39 Pigments” felt that there are layers we don’t understand when we look at colour and that it can it point to something outside the work. She came up with the interesting thought that we don’t question studying the depth of meaning of words in literature so why not examine colour in art. She used a selection of examples with good illustrations. She asked whether the use of bone black, made from ground bones, could give overtones of death in a work? The effect of toxic paints on artists and how Giotto’s skull was identified by the presence of the minerals in the pigments he used in the bone. “Flaming June” by Frederick Leighton, shown here was used to talk about how little orange was used as a colour when it could only be created using saffron which was very expensive but once Chrome Orange was manufactured it could be more wid...

Fun but overwhelming exhibition at Somerset House showcasing galleries specialising in selling photography. I had always wanted to go to this show but it usually clashes with the Charleston Festival which I go to. I had not appreciated quite how big it is! It takes over the whole of Somerset House including erecting a temporary structure in the courtyard and the Embankment galleries. I quickly learnt that the best approach was to walk round fairly quickly just lingering at images which really caught your eye. It would have been good if the galleries provided a bit more information on the works on show. I liked the mix of contemporary and older work and I impressed myself at how many of the photographers I recognised from other shows. I think the only was to review the show is to mention pieces I particularly liked! Fan Ho's Hong Kong street photography from the 1950s A lovely picture of Amsterdam from 1934 by Wolfgang Suschitsky Jeffrey Milstein's aerial views of Rome ...

Interesting exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland of work in pastel from the collection. The show was well explained and nicely displayed although the light reflecting on the display cases was distracting. It looked in detail at two artists, the Irish Hugh Douglas Hamilton, and Italian Rosalba Carriera, but also showed a lot of other work including a Degas. Evidently half the pastel works they own were in this exhibition. Closed 5 June 2023

Grand exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland of new work by Hughie O’Donoghue. The works were shown in a beautiful room called the Shaw Room and hung with Daniel Maclise’s monumental “The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife” which they respond to. The works are six large wall hangings fitting the space exactly, made in mixed media on tarpaulin. They show six figures, three British and three Irish, who had contributed to the story of their countries. They included two Saxon era figures, a saint and a king, two Norman era ones and two 20th century, Emily Davidson and Michael Collins. Each came with a good explanation of the person.   The works worked like tapestries in sepia colours incorporating a staged photograph of the person and images relating to them. I found them beautiful in their own right but also enhanced by the space they were down in. I’d love to see how they work in other spaces. Closed 21 May 2023