Cathy's Art Diary

Moving exhibition at the British Library looking at Dunhuang in north east China which was established in 111 BCE as a military outpost and became a vital stop on the Silk Roads. Most of the documents and objects were discovered in the Mogao Library Cave. Discovered in 1900 the cave included tens of thousands of manuscripts, paintings and other objects dating from the 5th to 11th century. The show was arranged by specific, usually named, individuals who represented a type of person or an aspect the culture there such as a trader, a fortune teller and a printer. This brought the often slightly plain looking documents to life. It is a lovely companion show to the Silk Roads at the British Museum which mentions this find. The most moving exhibit is a letter found in a lost mailbag and therefore never sent, written a merchant’s wife to her husband who she had not heard from in the years. Closed 23 February 2025  

Fabulous exhibition at the British Library looking at the lives of Medieval women. I studied Medieval history at university, a long time ago, and how I wished we’d had this exhibition. It was full of wonderful stories and new people to discover. I’ve been twice now and got just as much from it the second time around. I liked the way it was divided into sections on private, public and spiritual lives. The private section looked at domestic life and had a number of displays on women’s health. Spiritual lives included nuns as well as Joan of Arc and her signature had to be one of the highlights of the show. I think my favourite section was the public one which looked at queens and what agency they had focusing on those who became regents and women as patrons of the art. There was also a display on working women such as a notary Juliet Durer from Lubeck and Alice Claver, a silk weaver in London. And my favourite object was Christine de Pisan’s “City of Women” showing women doing b...

Interesting online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum introducing this year’s exhibition for the Jameel Prize for contemporary art referencing or influenced by the Islamic world. The curator of the show, Rachel Dedman, gave a short outline of the prize and how it has developed over the last 15 years. She also talked about how she puts together the show and how the winner is picked by a panel of judges once the finalists are installed in the exhibition. She then led us through this years seven finalists. I have since seen the show and it was rally useful to have heard this overview. There were nuances which I missed in the show. She talked about the two themes which emerged as she worked with artists, conservation and the loss of history and ecology and spirituality.  

Excellent three week online course from Paul Nutall looking in detail at the first thirty years of Michelangelo’s career. As ever Paula was very clear with excellent illustrations and quotes. Of course she ran over time but she always does and that’s part of the fun of her courses. Week one we looked at Michelangelo’s life until he left for Rome in 1496, a short period he spent in Bologna and the first few years after he arrived in Rome. We discussed how we know so much about him, what his influences were and where he might have trained, even if he claimed he hadn’t. Week two concentrated on the early masterpieces in Rome the Bacchus and the Pieta shown here then the David made on his return to Florence and the Bruges Madonna. We also looked at other work done in this period between these iconic works such at the National Gallery’s two panel paintings. Finally week three looked at his years back in Florence and in particular the battle of the battle scenes for the Palazzo Vecch...

Delightful interview from the Victoria and Albert Museum with Paul Tazewell, the costume designer for Wicked. The talk was originally given the night before the premier in London but I had to listen to it as a recording however that did mean that I’d already seen the film so I was enthralled as I’d loved it. Tazewell was ably interviewed by Simon Sladen from the museum leading him through processes and characters. They sat on stage with two of the costumes. I loved the detail of the work and the thought and philosophy behind it. It makes me want to go and see the film again!

Incomprehensible exhibition at Tate Modern on the art of experimental artist Mike Kelley. I’m sorry I tried but I just didn’t understand this show. I always find it hard to engage with conceptual art with a performance element in a static exhibition but it can work if well explained. I must admit I’d already done two exhibitions and an installation at the gallery so I probably wasn’t at my most receptive. That said I found the labels almost unreadable as they didn’t always explain where the work had been show nor really what it represented. I never found the overriding description for the last room so was left very confused. On the whole I didn’t find the work that attractive but that said I liked this revolving screen with projected images and I might try the wax tower with my Christmas candles! Closes 9 March 2025 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard

Small exhibition at Tate Britain highlighting work by Helen Chadwick in their Artists’ Rooms series. This show complimented the Zanele Muholi, which was also on at the gallery, as it had some similar subject matter and for way the artists used their own body. I must admit I found the work hard to engage with. I think any one piece in a different context would have been interesting but I didn’t respond to it as a train of thought. I did however rather like these sculptures made by Chadwick and a fellow, male artist peeing in the snow then making a cast of the shape made. I won’t be rushing out and trying it though! Closes 8 June 2025

Impressive installation at Tate Modern by Mira Lee. This is the latest commission for the Turbine Hall and I’d not thought I’d like it as, from photos, it looked like pieces of hanging meat but it was much more complex with the ‘skins’ being made on site via water falling on material via a turbine and then drying the pieces here before hanging them. I assume over the course of the show the space will become more densely hung so I’ll definitely be back for another look. Reading the commentary the piece is remarkably nuanced with various references to industrial processes including those which originally went on in that space and it reuses features of the building such as a crane. Closes 16 March 2015 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph

Interesting exhibition at Tate Modern looking at the art of South African artist, Zanele Muholi. The work was mainly photographic documenting LGBTQIA+ life in South Africa to raise awareness of injustices and create positive visual histories. For this the artist often uses their own body. The work was presented via series of works. I loved the series Faces and Phases of Black lesbians, transgender and gender non-conforming people shown along two opposite walls of the gallery and the section on queering public space where they photograph people in spaces they would not have been allowed in under Apartheid. I was most struck though by their sculptures particularly this one which appears to balance on its toes. Closed 26 January 2025 Reviews Times Telegraph Evening Standard    

Magical lecture from the London Art History Society held at the Art Workers’ Guild on the life and work of Alfonse Mucha. I say magical as it was given by his great grandson Marcus Mucha who now runs the Mucha Foundation. He led us through Mucha’s work from the early graphic design posters, which are his best known work, through to how he used art to further the cause of a free Czech nation, in particular his work on a grand project called   the Slav Epic. He then talked about the history of the collection since Mucha’s death in 1939 and how the family fought to keep it together and out of Nazi then Soviet hands. He outlined the work of the foundation including showing us the museum and plans for a space to finally show the Slav Epic works together.    

Beautiful exhibition at the Pontone Gallery of new work by Iain Faulkner. The works are evidently characteristic of his style of painting himself from the back looking out at landscape in the style of Caspar David Friedrich. In the case I gather all the views are of Lake Como. I love the hyper-real style with both figure and landscape highly focused and detailed. Closed 11 January 2025  

Sweet exhibition at the Fitzrovia Chapel looking at the history of nurses’ uniforms. The chapel is in the old chapel of the Middlesex Hospital and the show is based on uniforms lent by former nurses there plus some museum loans. It ran from a reproduction of the matron’s uniform at the hospital at the time of Florence Nightingale, though First and Second World War outfits to scrubs made in the Covid pandemic. A particular call out for the great mannequins which were used, made of stuffed hessian but with remarkably realistic stances. Closed 1 December 2024  

Pragmatic and fascinating online lecture from the Courtauld Research Forum looking at the 15th century artist working in Urbino, Justus of Ghent. Paula Nuttall guided us clearly through the life of the artist and various theories about his identity. There is some discussion that he may actually have been a Spanish artist, Pedro Berruguete who had possibly trained in the Netherlands. She then looked in detail at the paintings from Urbino which were attributed to Justus looking at their style and techniques. She discussed the fact that the paintings are in a poor condition and the technique is often not as pure as in the Netherlands. She theorised, in a pragmatic way, that this may be down to having to teach the methods to Italians in his workshop who were not as skilled as him. She also suggested it may have been due to his patron, Federico de Montefeltro’s demand for a large amount of work which didn’t suit the slow drying oil paints. She also discussed how in turn Justus may ha...

Interesting exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery in examining the photo collage work of fashion photographer Deborah Turbeville. Turbeville’s signature style was to place models in decaying buildings and to use a soft focus. I loved the series taken in Versailles for a book commissioned by Jackie Onassis emphasising the dust and objects in closed areas. I would have liked to see more explanation of the collage work, given that was the focus of the show. Closes 23 February 2025    

Thin exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery looking at the impact of the photography journal Ten.8. The journal, which ran from 1979 to 1992, provided a forum for West Midlands-based photographers to come together, share images and exchange ideas. This show focused on two issues Black Image (1984) and Body Politics (1987). This seemed an interesting topic but it was represented by quite a lot of text and just a few archive copies. It emphasised quotes from the issues without giving them very much context. I wasn’t always sure what I was looking at and why. Closes 23 February 2025

Striking exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery looking at the career of Letizia Battaglia. Battaglia mainly worked as a press photographer in Sicily and as such had covered Mafia activity on the island as well as daily life. The Mafia murder photographs were graphic but stunning. At first I found I could hardly look at them, but after a while they lost their reality and the most shocking aspect was that people were carrying on everyday life around them. My favourite works were the pictures of everyday life particularly religious activity and her pictures of children. The works were shown in no particular order to show their   breadth and the recurrence of themes. The lower galley was hung like an installation she had done in 2015 when the works had been hung from the ceiling. Closes 23 February 2025 Review Guardian    

Fantastic exhibition at Sotheby’s of art and artefacts by the Bloomsbury Group. As you know I’m a Bloomsbury nut so made sure to see this show curated by fashion designer, Bloomsbury group collector and now vice chairman of the Charleston Trust, Kim Jones. The show has partly been organised to show case the 50 for 50 campaign which aims to have 50 new, important works donated or pledged by the 50th anniversary of the trust in 2030 and the show included one work which has been pledged. There was a room of old friends from Charleston which looked a bit disjointed here. It was very odd to see cupboard doors from the kitchen without the cupboards. However the display worked well and it was nice to be greeted by busts of Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Virginia Woolf. It worked its magic as I overheard two ladies planning a trip down there. The second room was more of a treat as it had works from private collections with some revelations like a dressing gown by Wyndham Lewis, a fun pi...

Surprising installation at Sotheby’s of the old Real Madrid locker room. I’d come to Sotheby’s for the next blog entry which is much more me but in looking for it I discovered this! I love London for the bizarre things you find while wandering round! The locker room was laid out like an installation with photos of the players on the doors and one of their shirts above. They were arranged around a mosaic from the stadium. I’m not the right audience for this but it looked very impressive and like an artwork in its own right. Closed 26 November 2024  

Disappointing version of this art fair at Woolwich Works showcasing contemporary prints. I say disappointing as I’ve been going for a few years and it’s getting a bit samey. There is interesting work there but it needed a bit more explanation and a change of presentation as it’s looking tired. I will also make my usual moan that bigger labels would help and not placing them so close to the frame that you can’t read them. That said I did have a great conversation with one artist who spotted me photographing this duck picture and explained the technique to me. Sadly so good a conversation that I forgot to note his name! There were some nice blocky prints of the South Bank by Paul Catterall who I always like and I loved Tobias Till’s dense map of London complete with now vanished buildings. It was a nice touch to include an interior designed space showing how the prints might work in your home. A nice trick in this new development. Closed 24 November 2024

Lively online   discussion from the National Gallery looking at fashion and masculinity via portraits in the gallery’s collection. The event was chaired by Jacqui Ansell, an expert of the history of fashion, who brought together ph student Holly James Johnson dressed as her drag king alter ego Orlando and fashion journalist Mark O’Flaherty. They started by looking at the clone like male fashion in Manet’s “Music in the Tuileries” from 1862 then looked back to the 18th century to discuss how styles had changed from a more ornate aesthetic.   They looked at the ideas of the Macaroni and Dandy and the clothing of the Grand Tour and how styles which look feminine to us were considered masculine at the time. I liked the free flow of this event with some fascinating facts and stories coming out of the discussion.

Interesting exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery marking this year’s photographic portrait award. I’m going to start with my usual moan about reflective glass on photographs particularly dark ones. In some cases it was very difficult to view the image without seeing yourself and the pictures behind you. Often you get undefined themes in these shows and this time I felt it was age and trans people. As ever it was worth reading the labels as often the story wasn’t how it first appeared. I loved the first picture I saw in the show by Clare Brand of an old lady’s eye with the blue eye makeup smudging. Also Drew Gardener’s recreations of American Civil War photographs with the black descendants of the original sitters and Adam Ferguson's pictures of a pastor in the Outback of Australia. My favourite was this Julia Margaret Cameron like one by Phil Sharp showing the tears on the sitter’s eyes due to the music they were listening to. This year’s In Focus display was by D...

Niche but  fascinating exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery exploring how different technologies of reproduction have shaped encounters with artworks since the 19th century. The main focus was on an ivory mirror case from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection of the “Castle of Love”. The show discussed the different types of casts which has been made of it to spread its image and allow study along with print versions of it. The original was there and I was surprised at how poor the modern 3D printed version was. The show also looked at the use of new technology in the 19th century from glass slides to brass rubbings used by art historians. Closes 14 February 2025

Strange but fun exhibition at Somerset House on the theme of robotics by Louis Morlae one of the members of Somerset House Studios. The show explores the impact of robotics via a series of small sculptures. I enjoyed playing with one with which you interacted via a keyboard with oddly configured letters. I liked the way a video was shown in the base of a bench which was then reflected in a mirror behind although I didn’t have time to engage with the film. I want sure about these two pieces but they were fun! Closes 23 February 2025

Intriguing exhibition at Somerset House looking at the Rukus! Archive, Europe's largest archive of Black LGBTQIA+ culture and history. The collection has been accumulated as a project founded by photographer Ajamu X and filmmaker Topher Campbell, who describe themselves as “two unruly Queers defying conventions of race and sexuality by taking up space without asking permission”. The dry yet often explicit work was cleverly displayed in themed groups echoing aspects of Black, gay love over the last 50 years. As the collection started with the founders’ own material it feels a bit focused on them but as more people contribute it will broaden out. It was a good example of how to order and display archive material which can be heavily text based. Closed 19 January 2025 Reviews Guardian Evening Standard  

Thoughtful exhibition at Colnaghi London of work from over 1000 years which explore the close link between beauty and its inevitable decay. The show explores the classical themes of vanitas and memento mori using objects from Ancient Egypt to contemporary work. It also takes work from both the Western and Eastern traditions which you don’t usually see. There were some stunning works such as this painting of skulls and a fine a trompe-l’oeil   painting. The second gallery was dominated by two huge architectural capricci which gave an immersive effect. I had an interesting chat to the curator what explained more of the themes. Sadly the show had closed by the time I wrote this up and all detailed information which I was reading on my phone as I walked round the show seems to have disappeared from the website so apologies for the lack of detail. Closed 8 November 2024

Interesting exhibition at White Cube Masons’ Yard of new work by Danh Vo. Vo combines broken, ancient sculpture and modern objects in installations setting up interesting dialogues. I don’t think I understood all the connections but I was at the end of a long day of gallery visits so was feeling a bit jaded! The space was broken up in new ways with chipboard structures with sculptures hidden inside. I do like the way he uses historic artefacts in a sympathetic way. Closed 16 November 2024

Interesting exhibition at the Redfern Gallery looking at the career of Pop Art pioneer Peter Sedgley. The show included work from 50 years in paintings on paper, canvas, panel, light and kinetic form of work which played with the eyes and seemed to move. I must admit I am not fond of this type of work but do find it clever and innovative. Closed 30 November 2024  

Creepy exhibition at Flowers of new work by Scottish artist Ken Currie. These were majestic works which imagined an archipelago of barren islands and the people who live on them without shelter. The upper floor was dominated a painting of a group of depressed looking people with shades of American Gothic and a similarly large image of a white, emaciated horse on a boat. I’m not sure what they are about but they got under my skin and were the stuff of nightmares! Closed 16 November 2024    

Innovative exhibition at Tiwani Contemporary of new work by Emma Prempeh. The show consisted of beautiful paintings looking at home, belonging and memory with gold detailing in the skies to give majesty. Some of the works were hung in installations representing interiors in the Caribbean and Uganda with projections adding to the images. For example one painting of a sitting room had a figure projected into one corner. It was joyous and creepy at the same time! Closed 16 November 2024  

Interesting exhibition at Messum's London looking at contemporary landscape painting. I am currently doing a National Gallery course on landscape painting so this mirrored some of the themes and ideas.   Shout outs to a clever diptych of a swimming pool by Claudia Pons Bonham displayed around the corner of the room, two beautiful square small pictures of Berkshire by Harry Martin and a dramatic picture of fire by Jelly Green. Closed 16 November 2024