Cathy's Art Diary

Thoughtful exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of new work by Michael Armitage. I first saw Armitage’s work at a Venice Biennale and was attracted by its vibrancy. He paints on Lubugo, a cloth made from fig tree bark from Uganda that is traditionally used in ceremonial burial rituals, sewing pieces together to make canvases and using the imperfections in the cloth in the work. I like the way he layers images and I would like to know more of the stories behind them. The paintings were shown with some of his sketches and watercolours which I find them delightful. I liked Armitage’s choice to show his work with terracotta sculptures by Seyni Awa Camara, an artist from Senegal who is now in her 80s. These were totem like pieces with bodies covered in creatures and tiny heads. They were set into the walls as well as being shown among the paintings. Closes 30 October 2022 Review Telegraph

Colourful exhibition at the Royal Academy of work by Michael Armitage. I had seen some of Armitage’s work in the Venice Biennale and liked it so was interested to see more. They were large bold pieces painted on Lubugo bark cloth, a rough prestigious cloth used for ceremonial purposes. I loved the way Armitage incorporates the seams and holes in the fabric into the pictures giving a great texture. I think my favourite was the majestic “Pathos and the Twilight of the Idle” showing a bikini-clad male protestor during the 2017 Kenyan elections. He rises about the crowd with echoes of Titian’s “The Assumption of the Virgin” which makes this a very grand image with religious overtones. There was also another side gallery with works by other East African artists which put Armitage’s work in context. However I have to say that I think £13 was very expensive for this show. There were about 15 works by Armitage then the related work. It felt very sparse. A similar show at a private gal

Colourful exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of new paintings by Kenyan born artist Michael Armitage. I’d sum up these pictures as Gaugin meets African textile prints and I did like them! They were figurative works often telling a story with great swirls of pattern around the main subject. They were painted on a quite textured canvas which was pitted and raised in places adding to the impasto of the paint. I liked one called #mydressmychoice which drew on the classic art historic image of an recumbent female nude but added in a group of men watching her, represented by their feet at the top of the picture and a group of bust babies in the undergrowth at one corner. These were interesting works and I’d like to see more. It’s nice to find a contemporary painted that wants to tell a story.