Cathy's Art Diary

Beautiful exhibition at Victoria Miro Wharf Road of new work by Columbian artist Maria Berrio. These were large scale figurative works in radiant colours. When you got close you realise they are made up like a collage made of painted pieces of paper which at times seem to sculpt the contours of the figures. Reading the press release you learn they imagine the people of a Columbian village after a tragedy but you don’t need to know this to see the beauty and poignancy of the work. Closes 27 November 2020

Stunning exhibition at Victoria Miro Wharf Road of work by Grayson Perry inspired by his three-part Channel 4 documentary “Grayson Perry’s Big American Roadtrip”. I’d watched the tv programme and really enjoyed it but you don’t need to have seen it to appreciate the exhibition which consisted of a large tapestry, a map, five vases and six slipware platters. I loved the detail of the pieces. The longer you look at them the more you see. The tapestry, called “Very Large Very Expensive Abstract Painting”, is a layered map of New York with words about the city over a map over what appears an intricate background which looked to me like rugs. I loved the texture of it. There was a stunning vase called “War Head” which was shaped like a missile then had the silhouettes of missiles on it which were set up like the diagrams of slave ships and there were ghostly images of   Donald Trump in the background. A really haunting piece. I liked the slipware platters and their nod to ...

Stunning exhibition at Victoria Miro Mayfair of new work by Grayson Perry. The show included pots, sculpture, large-scale prints, a tapestry and a carpet and the commentary says he is looking at the “collision of art, money, power and desire.” The show does poke fun at itself, particularly in the range of handbags for Osprey, as it does acknowledge Perry’s place in this quandary between the monetary and cultural roles of art. There was a wonderful room of pots which you could walk around to look at the detail. I show a detail from “Shopping for Meaning” which included photographs of Perry outside famous shops by Eleni Parouisi. He has started working with the Martin Parr Archive which, as I love Martin Parr’s photographs, feels like a marriage of National Treasures. The tapestry was a map of London including words which relating to the geographic areas and yet it also has an abstract feel with drip like designs. I loved the carpet “Don’t Look Down” which showed a homel...