Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting if rather dry exhibition at the British Library looking at the history of Black British music since 1500. The show was packed with information and there were good audio clips but it’s hard to tell a musical story largely with documents and objects like vinyl records. One section did make the best use of the height of the exhibition space that that I’ve seen with tall displays of records in a section on record stores in the late 70s. I was most interested in the early sections which included the note to John Blanke, the black trumpeter at the Tudor court granting him a pay rise and a lovely section on Soho jazz clubs with costumes. I found the later sections less relatable as, I must admit, I don’t listen to a lot of current music but I did notice young people around me were enjoying it.   Closed 26 August 2024  

Beautiful exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery to show the shortlisted paintings in this year’s portrait awards. The show marked the return off the annual exhibition to the gallery after its refurbishment as well as a new sponsor. I thought it was of a much higher quality than some years where you felt you would recognise the sitters if you saw them in the street. Some years the images have got quite abstract. Favourites started with the first picture I saw by Alexander Macdonald of his daughter in law which included a self-portrait being which was shown in the 1986 version of the show. A portrait of dancer with alopecia by Massimiliano Pironti was stunningly detailed. There were some good paintings of older people such as Aleksandra Sokolova’s painting of his grandfather who died while he was painting it and “Man with Closed Eyes” by Daniel Nelis. This year’s winner was a beautiful egg tempera piece by Antony Williams whose work I’ve seen in Messum’s Gallery. I recog...

Thoughtful exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery looking at Henry VIII’s wives. The show cleverly started by looking at the afterlife of the women and how their stories have been told on stage and screen and in literature. It discussed how each era has projected their own values onto them. As a child of the 70s I was excited to see costume designs for the tv series on them which I loved and which probably sparked my interest in history. These were shown alongside costumes from other productions including the current “Six”. The show then went on to set the scene of what the court was like and in particular the role of mythical and biblical stories in the art and literature. The meat of the show then went through the Queens in order discussing their lives and the people around them and giving a flavour of what they collected and had around them. There were beautiful objects and paintings including good use of miniatures. The show was full of excited Tudor geeks when I wa...

Fabulous exhibition at the National Gallery focusing on Degas’s painting of 1879 “Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando”. The show started by looking at Miss La La, a famous acrobat whose real name was Anna Albertine Olga Brown, using photographs of her and posters from her shows to tell her story. It then looked at the circus in Paris and how it influenced artists. The main section was an appropriately circular space with the painting at the centre. Around it were the studies Degas did at the circus and in his studio to create the work. As La La was a woman of in colour the show then looks at Degas’s trip to family in New Orleans, how he saw more people of colour there and how that influenced his art. The show finished with a section on how the painting influenced later artists and included a Duncan Grant painting of elephants in the circus that I’d never seen before. Closed 1 September 2024 Reviews Times Guardian  

Interesting online lecture from the Royal Collections Trust discussing how royal portrait photographs have been used in newspapers. The talk accompanied the exhibition at the King’s Gallery marking a century of royal portrait photographs. Helen Lewandowski talked about how photographs were adapted for use in the press. She talked about the decisions over what image was to be used and how it might be tweaked. She also talked about how the technology of both photography and printing changed and the effect this had. She also talked about the relationship between the sitters and the photographers focusing on Cecil Beaton, Dorothy Wilding and Lord Snowdon and how the royal family have used photographs to change their image over the years.

Delightful exhibition in the visitors’ Centre at the Old Royal Naval College Greenwich looking at the Chocolate House run by Grace Tosier in Blackheath in the 18th century. Although the show was small, and used a lot of reproduction pieces, it told the story of this successful establishment clearly and used it to try the wider story of Greenwich from the collapse of the Tudor Palace to a new prosperity in the 18th century. It also explained the chocolate industry and how it became more popular after the British occupied Jamaica in 1655. You could have easily missed the main installation of the show, a lovely recreation of the establishment with a video and soundtrack of likely discussions which took place there. It was hidden behind a modern door to one side. Closes 3 November 2024  

Interesting exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery of work by four photographers and film makers exploring environmentally friendly techniques. I loved Scott Hunter’s “Darkroom Ecology” where he is growing plants in the darkroom residue and then harvesting them to reuse as non-toxic developers. I must admit I didn’t understand a lot of the technicalities of this show but I thought this looked beautiful. My favourite pieces were by    Almudena Romero who printed hands onto leaves. Again I don’t really understand how but the images reminded me of ethereal early photography. Closed 28 July 2024  

Strange exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery looking at fashion photography. I say strange as, although there were some beautiful and artistic images, I wasn’t always sure what they had to do with fashion. I think of fashion photography as either selling, making or recording clothes or a style but a number of these had no clothes in them. The show had four themes allure, fantasy, surrealism and realism, with each room being presented in a striking colour which set the images of well. Images which will stick with me include a classic for Marc Jacobs of Victoria Beckham in a bag, Scheltens and Abbenes abstract of tracksuits and   this stunning image by Solve Sundsbo for Gaultier of multiple images of one model in one picture. Closed 8 September 2024

Exquisite exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery showcasing the best of botanical art and photography. The Royal Horticultural Society awards medals to art which has been entered into their awards in the same was they award gardens and displays at the Chelsea Flower Show. I was mesmerised by the detail in the paintings and drawings which often make you feel you could touch the plant. Many show beautiful flowers but I find the more strange works most engaging such as this stage in a magnolia seed pod by Toni Dade. My favourite photographs were by Andrea Jones and looked at light effects in different gardens. One of a sunrise over a snow covered formal garden was beautiful. However I am going to have one of my usual moans. Please don’t use such reflective glass on works with steering overhead lighting. It was hard to see some of the images because of the reflections on them. Closed 28 July 2024    

Interesting study day from the London Art History Society held at the Foundling Museum looking at Scandinavian art in the 19th century.   Kathy McLauchlan started by giving an overview of the period and how the art culture in the various countries operated with royal collections, academies and independent art societies called Konstforening. She then moved through the period chronologically which also fell into geographical areas over the next three talks.   The pattern of development was similar to Europe as a whole partly as the period was so dominated by Paris. We looked at how tastes moved from the Classical to the naturalistic, through Impressionism and social realism to Symbolism. It was fun to discover new artists and I particularly fell for Christoffer Eckersberg’s clean detailed works very evocative of one of his teachers, David. However I chose this wonderful portrait Frederick Sodring by Christen Kobke which I loved to illustrate the post.

Interesting exhibition at the Wallace Collection looking at the life of the 19th century ruler of the Punjab, Ranjit Singh. Using contemporary paintings and objects, many owned by Singh, they clearly told his story from starting to rule at 21 to building a cosmopolitan, cultured empire despite threats from the Britain, Russia and Afghanistan. The basis for the show being at the museum was its collection of contemporary armour much of it associated with Singh. I must admit I found that quite hard to relate to albeit that much of it was very beautiful. I loved the use of exquisite miniatures to illustrate a lot of the points. I am very fond of that type of jewel like Indian painting. I particularly liked an intricate picture of his court. There was a section on how he attracted Europeans to his court and to fight in his armies including a number of Napoleon’s former generals. There were good portraits of them including a lovely drawing by Landseer. The most intriguing pieces w...

Delightful and clever exhibition at the Wallace Collection using contemporary art to look at the Rococo period. There is a lot of art influenced by the Rococo around at the moment and this show used work by Flora Yukhnovich to set up a dialogue. In a plain space downstairs the show hung two paintings by Boucher without their frames, as you would look at a contemporary painting. The effect was interesting and I found myself looking in more detail at the image. I generally find the style too frilly but without the frame they seemed more paired down. Upstairs the two contemporary works were then shown in gold frames which seemed to elevate them. They were abstract pieces in the luxurious colours of the Rococo and worked well with the other work and furniture and them. Closes 3 November 2024 Review Times