Cathy's Art Diary

Fun sculpture trail round the City of London of large and small sculptures of the Aardman character Morph. Morph is a fun reminder of my childhood and a good simple shape to take decoration. Organised by Whizz-Kidz, the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users, and put on by Wild in Art, the trail of 79 large and small pieces has step- free access throughout. There is an excellent app which is easy to use and includes a map and the ability to log the Morphs you find via a code number. The figures look particularly good against London landmarks. As I write this I’ve see 43 around London Bridge, the Guildhall and St Paul’s but I’ll certainly be looking for more.   STOP PRESS: My final total was 51 of 79. Closed 20 August 2023  

Interesting installation next to St Paul's Cathedral where two artists were invited to explore ways to use colour, pattern and text to enhance the urban experience in winter.   This commission is part the Lord Mayor of London's "Let's Do London" visitor campaign.   And the artists came from the University of the Arts London. The geometrical works called "Tread Lightly" were by Sophie Cornish and they aim to disrupt the space around them. I'm not sure I understood the commentary on them which says they "seek to engage with its viewers in a collective act of thoughtfulness and resilience" but I was interested in the effect of the pattern which made the box like structure appear wonky as you walked through them. The other pieces called "There is Enough to Go Round" were by Annabel Maguire and reference textures from the surrounding area which I must admit I didn't realise until I read the blurb. Each also had an affirming ...

Impressive exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery of large paintings from the City of London’s collection. The show took an interesting approach to the subject. It began with what I had assumed might be the whole show, large scale picture of events in the city from a Lord Mayor’s river procession in the 18th century to the   Queen’s Coronation lunch in the Guildhall. I came across artists I didn’t know such as Terence Cuneo and Frank O. Salisbury who were obviously highly thought of at the time but have fallen out of fashion. I loved the way Cuneo represented everyone as individuals in huge group scenes. The next section was more unexpected and looks at how artists have chosen large formats to represent ordinary life. It was nice to see a Ken Howard of Cheapside from 1970 alongside an Oliver Bevan from 1995 off disassociated figures on a road crossing. Next were large panoramic views of the city. I could have looked at the detail in David R Thomas’s 1965 “London from the To...

Interesting sculpture trail around the City of London showcasing work by contemporary artists. I make the same criticism as last time that the map on the City website isn’t very easy to follow and it would help if it came with brief descriptions of the work to help you spot it. However it’s still a good chance to walk round the city and see some interesting work. The most incongruous piece was the huge Damien Hurst of an anatomical figure which dominated a small square but looked very striking. I loved Mark Wallinger’s “Black Horse” which did what it said on the tin, it was a life sized black horse., in fact a scan of a race horse he part owns. I also liked Bosco Sodi’s large lumps of volcanic rock with a ceramic glaze, a lovely tactile mix of rough and smooth. Closes in May 2018. Reviews Evening Standard

Nice exhibition at All Hallows by the Tower of work by people living and working in the City of London to represent their daily experience of the buildings around them. There were some great images, many from people’s offices of views you can’t see from the street. The commentary on each picture gave the name of the person who had taken it and who they were. My favourite two were a view by Linda Wadkin of a view through a door where the sky is replaced by a view of the Gherkin and one by Robert Gray called “Two Towers” of the Tower of London and the Shard. Some of the images had been printed onto cotton sheets and put together as a ships sail in an installation by Victoria Burgher, which gave some shape and height to the exhibition. A really nice touch. Closes on 2 October 2016

Great sculpture trail round the City of London. I will admit I got a bit lost, partly because Google Maps decided I was somewhere completely different to where I was, so I did miss a few of the works! However once I got my bearings it was   good to go round bits of the city I’d not been to before and the sculpture was a good excuse for a walk! The most dramatic work was Damian Hirst’s “Charity” a huge version of a charity collection box in the shape of a disable child which I remember from my childhood. It had the back broken open as if the money had been stolen. Set against the Gherkin in quite a small lane this was the star of the show. I also liked “Carson, Emma, Takashi, Zezi, Nia” by   Tomoaki Suzuki, small but beautifully detailed sculptures of the people who might be in the area and looking at them. I’d like to see more by this artist but displayed at a height where you could look at the detail, these were shown on the ground so it was easy to miss the...