Cathy's Art Diary

Strange exhibition at the RIBA using the art of Pablo Bronstein to examine the longevity of the Georgian style. The highlight of the show were the drawings by Bronstein of contemporary buildings constructed in the Georgian style. These were delicate pictures drawn with an interesting eye for detail. Some of them took on a fantasy feeling as buildings were moved to new locations or mounted on Georgian detailing. The drawings were shown with items from the RIBA archive chosen by Bronstein to look at original Georgian ideas and how these have been used as a classic English style ever since. These were interesting items and with other works would have made an interesting exhibition in themselves, however equally the drawings would have stood on their own and I think mixing the two diluted them both. The exhibition however was beautifully designed, creating the look and feel of a Georgian house in the space. I loved the yellow and white striped rooms and the use of Georgia...

Fabulous installation at Pallant House in Chichester by Pablo Bronstein. To complement their current exhibition on classicism in modernist art (which I’ll review in a minute) the gallery had commissioned Bronstein, known for taking inspiration from classical architecture, to create this installation for the downstairs hall, one room and the main staircase. It’s a fabulous use of wall paper with huge classical designs in fabulous colours. My favourite was the downstairs room in a wonderful dark turquoise with large imagined classical structures seen from different angels with a large key design border and big Roman rosette motifs. The whole thing was wonderfully over the top and yet it worked so well. I wanted it as a dining room! Closes on 19 February 2016

Delightful performance art event at Tate Britain conceived by Pablo Bronstein. The work takes over the Duveen Gallery on the first floor and reinterprets the space. At each end of the gallery are large photographs of each of the galleries entrances which seem to emphasis the classical architecture of the internal space. Into this are placed three dancers, dressed in red and black and wearing mock pearls, which turns the space into a promenade area. The dancers reinterpret baroque dance styles in a very set sequence in which each scene moves up the gallery space. I found the whole thing mesmeric. I loved the fact that the dancers rotated their roles and kept going throughout the day so as you dip in and out of other galleries you return to find the dance still going. It gives it a feeling of human perpetual motion. Both the dance and the photo graphs make you look at the space with a fresh eye.   I also loved that the dancers were in your space and you could walk b...