Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating exhibition at the Hayward Gallery exploring the work of the photographer Andreas Gursky. These are grand, large pictures giving them a feeling of old master paintings. This was enhanced by the line on the floor in front of the works giving them the gravity of art objects. Some of the works are made from a colleague of images but have the effect of one cohesive image but it’s worth remembering that what you are looking at may not be as real as we expect a photograph to be. A good example of this came late in a stunning photograph of the Rhine with the image divided in three with the river splitting the land and the sky however it turned out a power station had been edited out. I liked the things Gursky had to say about the relationship between art and photography and his way of looking at the world. There was a mix of works some had the effect of a sublime urban landscape such as a view of the port of Salerno with patterns of cars parked in the dock and the city an...

Interesting exhibition at White Cube, Bermondsey of a work by Andreas Gursky. When I say exhibition in this case I mean one picture. But it was shown on its own in a room giving it a sense of gravitas. It was a large digital construct picture showing Angela Merkel and the three previous Chancellor’s of Germany from the back, sitting looking at a large, red painting by Barnett Newman which looked a bit like a Rothko. It felt like a modern history painting. It had the feel of a hyper-real painting and I loved the smoke from a cigarette breaking up the red of the painting. In some ways it was a shame the surface was so reflective as it made it hard to see as a whole without also seeing the room however that also gave a sense that all of us in the gallery were also part of this scene. Gursky also has an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery at the moment and I am really looking forward to seeing more of his work. Closes 8 April 2018  

Interesting exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of large scale photographs by Andreas Gursky. Many of the pictures were expressed like a stage set with small figures to give an idea of scale. Some of them have a feel of being a photo collage with various elements brought together to make one image.   I loved the ones of a new Museum in Germany, Lehmbruck, with a big glass cube in the centre of a gallery with iconic artefacts in and around it and lone onlookers. It gave you a sense that someone was looking at you in a gallery looking at them in a gallery.    I also loved one of a cathedral where the stained glass windows were huge and shown in black and white while the floor was damaged and a small camera crew looked on. There was also a set with super hero figures in including one of a glass brick building with a men stuck in a display window looking out at Spiderman. I have no idea what they meant but I liked them!