Cathy's Art Diary

Monumental exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of work by Jenny Saville. I love Saville’s work and it was dramatic to see so much of it together. The work is on a monumental scale. At first view it can be quite brutal but the more you look the more beautiful it appears and the clearer the detail becomes. I particularly liked the multi-figure works and the blending of different coloured flesh. Closed 7 September 2025 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard    

Excellent online lecture from ARTscapades comparing the work of Anselm Kiefer and Vincent Van Gogh. Although the talk was instigated by the current exhibition of the same title at the Royal Academy, Ben Street made it more than a description of the show and instead developed a clear and well thought out discussion of the similarities in the artists work despite working about a century apart. He explained how Kiefer, the contemporary artist, has always responded to Van Gogh’s work from his first trip out of German using a travel grant to retrace Van Gogh’s travels in Europe. He spent time comparing works by both artists and tracing the links. He discussed the concept of ‘deskilling’ in art as well as how both artists view the role of artists. My favourite section looked at how we view older art with contemporary eyes bringing to it events which have happened since the work was painted. For example how can we look at Van Gogh’s painting of his boots without thinking of the image...

Lovely summer iteration at Woolwich Works of this contemporary print fair. This was a sparser show than the winter version however it was all the better for that. There was some gallery representation but in the whole the more open stalls were for individual artists or collectives and in many cases there were local artists. It was also nice that the artists were there and up for a chat as it was quiet. Shout outs go to Melanie Bellis’s urban landscapes, Lucille Clerc’s botanical works and Maxine Gregson’s vintage collages. My favourite was this print of a train by Rebecca Choi. I felt you would always see new things in it. C losed 29 June 2025

Eclectic exhibition at various venues around the city of Liverpool of contemporary art taking inspiration from the bedrock of the city. OK I admit I am slightly cheating on this one! I was in the city for a Springsteen concert and left on the day before the show opened however I saw a couple of previews and some of the works which had already gone up in the streets so I am allowing myself to blog it! My first find was a sculpture by Anna Gonzalez-Noguchi outside the Open Eye Gallery referencing exotic plants which were imported into the city. I loved their tactile element with pieces which turned and dangled. At the Walker Art Gallery I loved Isabel Nolan's wall carpets in bright colours but my favourite pieces were Cevdet Erek's models of football stadium shown like picture frames. As I'd been at Anfield the night before and am fascinated by frames this pushed my buttons. I also liked Leasho Johnson's dense colourful paintings. Thanks to a chat to a gallery as...

Strange but beautiful exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery marking Graham Crowley winning the John Moores Painting Prize in 2023. Crowley had entered the prize 16 times over the years and had been shortlisted twice as well as being a juror. He won in 2023 and part of the prize was to have this display which was focused on his painting "Light Industry" which the gallery bought in 2021. All the works were in cadmium yellow and grey and yet they were amazingly detailed. They all showed his workshops, studios and gardens, all areas of creativity for him. They were slightly dazzling en mass but I loved the effect. He is in essence painting the light and shadow of the place. Closed 13 July 2025

Interesting exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery bringing together ceramics by the comedian Johnny Vegas and ceramicist Emma Rodgers. Vegas did a degree in art and ceramics and has returned to the studio three decades after he graduated. Having met Rodgers at the gallery their joint show explores ideas of mental and physical metamorphosis. I loved Vegas's piece "Broken Angel" in which an angel cradles her broken wing. I would like to know more about his method as this appeared to be a 3D print. I'm not sure why I feel differently about this than say a bronze which is also a reproduction of another piece. Rodgers work shows more of the hand of the maker. Closed 27 June 2025

Moving exhibition at Tate Modern looking at the work of Do Ho Suh. Walk the House is a South Korean saying which Suh takes to describe how we carry multiple places with us across space and time. This show examines art works he has made from and about his homes in South Korea, London and New York. I found the idea of us carrying the places we have lived deeply moving and the way he represents them delicate and touching. From the rubbing he made of his childhood home I was hooked. The show made you slow down and reflect. At the heart of the exhibition was a tunnel of spaces from his houses and flats made of diaphanous material. From the installation photographs I had assumed they were neon but they are much subtler than I expected. I loved the light effect within them but also the attention to detail like this electric plug. Reading the blurb I discovered he has measured all the spaces he has lived in in order to carry them with him and reproduce them. I loved the blend of imagi...

Welcome return of Louise Bourgeois’s giant spider sculpture to Tate Modern to mark 25 years since it was the first art work to greet visitors to the then newly opened gallery. I don’t remember seeing the work at the time so this was a lovely opportunity to fill that gap. It suits the space on the bridge of the Turbine Hall beautifully. This is a lovely way to mark the anniversary. Entitled “Maman” I hadn’t realised the sculpture includes a sack of eggs which seems to give it an infinite future. Closes 25 August 2025

Feisty discussion   at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival pairing contemporary artists Maggi Hambling and Sarah Lucas. At first this seemed an unlikely pairing but it turns out they are great friends, living close to each other in Suffolk. The discussion flowed freely ably chaired by art critic, Louisa Buck. They compared their studio practice and an exhibition in Hastings which had just been announced where they are to choose work by each other they admire. Hambling revealed that she has recently lost the little finger on her right hand so is increasingly working with her left hand in her daily practice of drawing. As ever her eye rolling said so much. Review Times Guardian    

Fun exhibition at the Tithe Barn in Lenham of work by artists in the Pilgrims' Way Artists group. We went along as a friend was showing there, the sculpture Eve Shepherd, and it was good to see her work in a different setting. Alongside her were some lovely painters including Claire Sparkes with delicate figurative work and Heidi Laughton's landscapes. It was also worth the trip to see the venue, an original medieval barn, and there was a nice welcome not least from a lovely black Labrador. Closed 26 May 2025  

Fun interview at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival with Grayson Perry around his current exhibition at the Wallace Collection. This was a lively discussion wrangled by journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer who led Perry into why he did the show and how he found himself reacting to a collection whose art he found he didn't like. As ever with Perry I found myself noting down quotes and soundbites to think about later such as "narrative is the most potent form of art", "I'm becoming a militant traditionalist", of AI "It's like a pedantic 14 year old" and of his studio set up "I have Colin who does the photocopying". Review Guardian  

Fascinating discussion at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival with two members of the activist group Led by Donkeys. Guardian columnist Zoe Williams interviewed James Sadri and Oliver Knowles, two of the founders of the group. Before the talk I hadn't thought I knew their work but as they spoke I realised I had come across it but more from the press than galleries etc. In fact in the introduction they admitted they didn't think of their work as art but more as political statement. However I think it is a type of art so here I am blogging it. There was an excellent rolling display of their projects from the Covid Memorial Wall, through Tweets from politicians turned into billboards and a very moving installation of children's clothes on Bournemouth beach representing children killed in Gaza. They explained their work in a humorous but inspirational way. Just let’s say I've done a lot of Googling since and have followed them online wherever I ca...

Interesting exhibition at White Cube Masons’ Yard of lead works by Antony Gormley. In just a few sculptures the show charts the artist’s experimentations with lead between the 1970s and 1990s. I had seen some of the pieces before over the years. Upstairs were the smaller works but the more striking pieces were the full sized body works shown in the basement which looked impressive in the large white space. I loved that you could walk among them but it was a shame this wonderful standing figure with a girder for a head had to be guarded by four attendants. Closed 8 June 2025 Review Guardian

Confusing exhibition at the Royal Academy, one of a series of three showcasing the work of 2nd year students in the schools. I have found all these shows annoying for the lack of information about the work. It’s often conceptual in nature and needs some explanation. It might cope with that if it was beautiful but on the whole it hasn’t been. This one took the biscuit as they had run out of the handout, not that it is that useful, so I didn’t even know which work was by which student. By checking the website I think I worked out that these striking paintings are by Djofray Makumbu and that possibly the small model is for an animation and is therefore by Zachariah Riley but if so it might have been nice to see one of his animations to put it in context. As for the other work presumably by Katrina Cowling and Joshua Fay who knows which was which. I rather liked a mechanical wave of corn which I thought was quite witty and the fact the arch of the staircase had been encased in fabri...

Charming exhibition at Charleston in Lewes of newly commissioned work by San Francisco artist Koak. This was a mix of paintings, sculpture and installations which cleverly mirrored the themes in the Vanessa Bell show downstairs. I could see echoes of Bloomsbury art in it. I think my favourite was the large sleeping woman which looked so bold in the space but I also liked the take on a pond.    Closes 21 September 2025

Fun public sculpture trail around London of decorated eggs to mark the Easter holidays. The trail was organised by Elephant Family to raise money for their conservation work and had a total of 147 eggs scattered around the city. It was accompanied by a good app on which you could log your egg sightings and learn more about the designers and sponsors. The map was a bit difficult to read at times particularly in locations on various levels but that adds to the sense of it being a hunt. The eggs seem quite delicate as quite a few had been taken away for repair. I collected 46 mainly over four sites Covent Garden, Marylebone, Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf. I’d hoped to do Sloane Street which seemed to be packed with them but I ran out of time. It was a good excuse to have a wander round these areas and some of them took you into strange locations like pharmacies and hotels. I think my favourite was this shell egg in Covent Garden by interior design company Campbell-Rey ...

Effective new public sculpture at Canary Wharf made by artist/architect duo Jason Klimoski & Lesley Chang (StudioKCA). The work is a large leaping whale made from plastics from the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean sourced by the Hawaiian Wildlife Fund. It looks very effective in emerging from Wood Wharf and dominating the space. I love the fact the concert base is made from old coffee grounds from cafes around Canary Wharf but I would question the environmental impact of bringing the waste plastic from across the Atlantic. The gesture might have been more meaningful if more local waste plastic had been used, maybe from the nearby Thames? Permanent but new

Disappointing exhibition at the Wallace Collection of new work by Grayson Perry to mark his 65th birthday. I loved the art works in the show but found the narrative of it over engineered. As well as responding to the collection Perry had invented an artist called Shirley Smith who herself as an   alter ego – the Honourable Millicent Wallace, rightful heir to Hertford House, where the Wallace Collection is housed. Add in a strange introductory section on two outsider artists and I for one was a bit confused. The pieces would have worked well without this added layer just as responses got the collection. My favourite was a tapestry bringing together images from the collection in bright colours. Sadly there was no place you could stand and photograph the whole but have this section from it instead. As ever there were some interesting ceramics with fascinating commentary from Perry on the ideas behind them. I loved the big bold carpet in the last room and his take on a medieval ew...

Fun outdoor exhibition in Granary Square of pictures highlighting the lives of ordinary women by artist Hanna Benihoud. The 16 works were mounted on benches around the square and each featured a picture of a woman juggling life with a caption. The pictures are based on conversations the artist had with various women and many of them make you smile with the truth of them. I’d love it if you could get cards of them to send to friends. My only moan is that because they are on benches and it was a lovely sunny day there, there were often people sitting on them so it was hard to see the image. Maybe the picture could be a bit higher. Closed 20 April 2025    

Confusing exhibition at Somerset House by Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser) exploring the complex subject of Britain’s imperial salt monopoly in India. The show marks the refurbishment of the Salt Stairs which ran through the Salt Office which oversaw the national interest in salt. I say confusing as it helps to view the installation in the courtyard first as that is where the concept of the Inland Customs Line, a monumental 2500 mile-long ‘hedge’ composed of living vegetation created by the British to enforce salt taxation during colonial rule, was explained. Downstairs they just referred to this as the hedge which confused me and left me imagining a hedge catching salt. Downstairs there was an AI generated video to try to recreate the hedge from texts as no images of it exist. I’ll admit I’m not sure I understood. I did however like the archive display in what had been one of the offices which did flesh out the history a lot more. Closed 27 April...