Cathy's Art Diary

Atmospheric installation at Fabrica in Brighton by Olafur Eliasson. First created for a gallery in New York in 1998 this work is part of the Towner Collection in Eastbourne and usually shown in white spaces. It seems to be one of those works where owning means you own the concept and idea but it seems to be made anew for each space it is shown in. It consists of over 3000 cut saplings and branches which Fabrica sourced from a local wood and the end of the show it will be chipped and used as mulch for new teams at the local Stanmer Park. I didn’t realise that at the time and, by coincidence, we walked round Stanmer Park the next day. It consists of enclosed pathways and you can choose your route through. I loved the way the light filtered through the branches and the contrast between the natural materials and the old stone floor. The sensation was a bit claustrophobic though and I was pleased the pathways were quite short. Closes 20 June 2020

Disappointing exhibition  at Tate Modern of new and older work by Olafur Eliasson. I realise I might be in a minority of one in being disappointed in this show. I think I’d read such amazing things about it that it was going to be hard to live up to the hype. Also I am getting a bit fed up of contemporary art that has to be an experience. I’m quite happy to just look I don’t need to be doing! Having said that there were some works in this show I loved such as the light effect work shown here called “Your Uncertain Shadow (colour)” from 2010 which projected a colourful shadow of the people in the room. I liked the gentle sound of “Wavemachines” in the first room but it was hard to hear them over the chatter in the room. I did chicken out of the fog corridor but enjoyed “Beauty” with a thin mist of water in a dark room and was intrigued by the light effect outside the lifts on the floor of the exhibition Closes on 5 January 2020 Reviews Times Guardian Te...

Fascinating exhibition at Tate Britain of work by Olafur Eliasson which seeks to represent the colour in a Turner picture in fine detail and represent it as a spectrum. Each work was a circular canvas which a hole in the middle with the colours from one picture represented round it grading from dark to light and back again. I wish the Turner or a reproduction of it had been shown with each work but I did cheat by looking them up on my phone. They did give a good idea of the colour palette used in a picture and the subtlety of tone used. However they also produced beautifully works in their own right which gave a sense of calm. Even if you have never seen a Turner these are subtle and lovely works. Review Telegraph    

Exhibition at the Fundacio Joan Miro in Barcelona showing the work of this Danish/Icelandic winner of the first Joan Miro Prize. The works look at the relationship between light and colour in the form of a series of installations. The first projected cubist patched of colour against a white wall showing how the colours worked with and against each other. My favourite though was the huge table of white lego where you were encouraged to play building fanciful architectural designs. There were children but mainly very intent adults. You couldn’t resist adding a staircase to something left by a previous builder. You found yourself going back to see if your design was still there and if anyone else had added to it.