Cathy's Art Diary

Comprehensive online course from Paula Nuttall on the life and work of the 15th century artist, Botticelli. As ever Nuttall delivered a clear narrative with great illustrations and good analysis of the art works. She began in the first week with a run through of Botticelli’s life from his early training as a goldsmith, through his work on the Sistine Chapel and his great works on his return to Florence. She discussed the context of the times he lived in and how he adapted to the political and religious turmoil.   Week two we concentrated on the famous mythological works looking at who they were painted for and where. We spent some time how groundbreaking they were and what texts they might be based on. She emphasized the artists design skills and intelligence as a visualiser of poetry. The final week moved to the religious works taking us through the artists major altarpieces for Florence and his role in popularising devotional pictures of the Virgin and Chid. We spent some time

Charming exhibition at the National Theatre highlighting the 12 prize winners in this award for theatre design. The prize is open to graduating designers or those who demonstrate equivalent skills and experience. Each is represented by a display with examples of their work. This was mainly photographs but also included costumes and set models. I loved Biz Sutton’s striking red outfit for “The Duchess of Malfi” set in 1910 which envisaged redesigned the Duchess and Antonio as a chauffeur and his female client. I also liked this set design by Peiyao Wang for “The Exterminating Angel” based on the film by Luis Buñuel. I loved the use of the piano lid as the stage. My favourite piece was a puppet for a play based on “His Dark Materials” by Yijing Chen. It was effectively displayed appearing from around a corner of the display. Closed 30 March 2024  

Interesting exhibition at Somerset House showcasing the work of three early career visual artists on an 18-month residency supported by Jerwood. The work all revolved round the theme of memory and alternative ways of existing. Ufuoma Essi presented a video installation combining archive film and pieces newly filmed in uper8. I didn’t engage with it for long as it was deliberately grainy and the soundtrack was very quiet. Leila Dear showed a series of paintings and wall sculptures inspired a building system called geodesics often used by alternative communities. They were geometric abstracts in pale colours. My favourite was enore’s 3D printed porcelain pieces of faces and body parts showing the imperfections in the process. They had a ghostly quality. Closed 7 July 2024  

Peaceful installation at Somerset House by Zheng Bo. The work consisted of a meandering courtyard created with troughs of ten types of bamboo. The work was in situ to mark Earth Day on 22 April.   You were invited to sit among it and draw. I don’t usually do interactive features of installations but I had time so I took a clip board and spent some time sketching. It was very relaxing. Closed 28 April 2024  

Excellent five-week online course from the London Art History Society on 18th century British portraiture. Prasannajit de Silva led us clearly through the topic starting by looking at the practicalities of producing the work and setting the scene then looking at how the work was seen and disseminated. Over the next weeks he talked us through various themes and genres of portraiture from the conversation piece, through fame and ending with families with excellent illustrations and clear descriptions of the works. He also had a useful week on the two main styles of portraiture in the age which became a good introduction to the two stars of the era Reynolds and Gainsborough. I learnt a lot from the course and it makes me want to spend more time going round the country houses of Britain to play spot the painting.