Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting installation at the London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE of work by Lee Robinson. Inspired by the Temple of Mithras in the basement Robinson has “converted the space into a contemporary ritual ground through imagined cultural images and sacred objects” according to the commentary. I’m not sure I got that from it, but I’d done a lot already that day so might have been a bit jaded and brain dead! I did however like the presentation and particularly the large tapestry. Closed 29 June 2024    

Delightful installation at London Mithraeum, Bloomberg Space by Oliver Beer. The piece was responding to the Roman artefacts found on the site and consisted of 28 suspended historic British vessels, mainly ceramic, each with a microphone inside it which amplified its acoustic resonance and was triggered by the people moving around the exhibit. I am a sucker for any contemporary art involving old ceramics and this worked beautifully. I was pleased to see a chart on the walk to tell you what the pieces were so they felt like they were there in their own right, with their own histories, not just as this installation. Closed 15 July 2023 Review Evening Standard    

Colourful exhibition at Bloomberg Space of two pieces by Isabel Nolan. The main work is a dramatic, bright tapestry taking up two walls of the space which represents the Walbook River which lies beneath the building. It thinks about the historical and physical layering of the site. It combines wonderful shapes and colours to create an abstract landscape which dilutes into black and white at the edges. It sits with an angular, cream and red sculpture. I wasn’t so attracted to this as it seemed to be quite abstract but according to the helpful guide I was chatting to   it represents a bull, the symbol of the Roman temple in the basement. Closes on 3 June 2018