Cathy's Art Diary

Exhibition of new drawings by Richard Serra made for and displayed in the Courtauld Gallery. They were made using a fascinating technique using a sandwich of see though sheets with thick crayon between them, the finished work being the middle sheet with crayon on both sides. However I must admit I wasn’t moved by them, in fact I am not sure I would call them drawings. As textural abstract pictures I thought they were interesting as a study in black and surface. However I expect something more specific from a drawing such as an idea of what the subject was and I found I was looking at these and trying to work out what they were. Review Guardian    

Surprisingly good exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at art in Mexico in its revolutionary years. It was interesting to see both how the revolutionary leaders had used art to establish their rule but also how it had attracted foreign authors and artists to go and see what was happening. The paintings were very vibrant with a real sense of warm colour and action. Alongside them were some fascinating photographs with some particularly gory ones from the time of the revolution itself. I was interested to see that Edward Burra had gone there and done some enlightening work on his return home. My favourite piece through was Giotia’s “Old man seated on a trash heap” which had a wonderful texture and a great light blue sky. Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Independent Evening Standard  

Fascinating visit to the Sands Films Studio  as part of the London Open House weekend. This was a wonderful old docklands warehouse and the guide explained why it was perfect to use as a film studios and workshops because it had no windows and was virtually sound proof. We were also shown round the workshops and saw costumes in the process of being made and their amazing store rooms of costumes and accessories. I was particularly moved to see heads from the” Tales of Beatrix Potter” as I had loved that film as a child. Most interesting though was the sense of the place and what a wonderful company it seemed to be to work for. A real family atmosphere.

Super study morning at the National Gallery focusing on Ruben’s “Peace and War” from the collection led by Rebecca Lyons. We began by looking at where Ruben’s was in his career at this point and how he came to be in England on a diplomatic mission which led to the painting of this work as part of a plea to Charles I to end his war with Spain in the Netherlands.   We then sat in front of the picture and dissected its iconography and tried to imagine looking at it with a contemporary eye of the time. We now just see the children in the foreground as part of the mix of people but at the time it would have been very obvious that these were contemporary children incongruously appearing in a mythological scene.   Finally we discussed the context of the picture, who the children were, whether it has expanded in size and why and what happened to the picture when it was sold from the Royal Collection on Charles execution. All in all a fascinating morning and a ...

Interesting exhibition by the ICA at the Old Selfridges Hotel which looked at the period between the end of Punk and the present day and examing what emerging artists have in common with their cultural forebears. Each contributor, including shops, designers, magazine, clubs and lots more, presented a 4x2 foot flat display case which they felt represented them and their work. It was a fascinating look at an era however I did realize how little I know of subculture and that possibly I’ve reached an age when I don’t want to join in! The most interesting thing was the space in which the exhibition was housed as it was the gutted first floor of the Old Selfridge Hotel and was therefore a wonderful mix of a warehouse type space but with a few features left in place. A super view of an abandoned space! Reviews Independent Evening Standard  

Selection of displays at the V&A marking the London Design Festival. This was a fun set of displays and installations all over the Museum looking at contemporary design. I was fascinated at the film looking at how a foot in a high heels reaction when it steps onto different surfaces. This had been used to design a new support for a shoe but was also really compelling to watch although I found myself wincing at the slippery surfaces! I also liked a moving sculpture of a skull made with a liquid which reacts to magnetic fields. This meant that the liquid crept up the skull, formed peaks and then ran away again. Smoothing if a bit creepy! There was also a dinner party set up in the Norfolk Music Room and an display of the design process at Alessi which included all the components of some of their iconic products. I think I got round about half the displays in an afternoon and was pleased I’d spotted this was on.

Brilliant exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery looking at the work of the students at the Slade School of Art in between 1908 and 1912 where they formed part of what their esteemed drawing teacher Henry Tonks described as the school’s last ‘crisis of brilliance’. The exhibition was based on David Boyd Haycock’s book of the same title. The main artists were C.R.W. Nevinson, Stanley Spencer, Mark Gertler, Dora Carrington, David Bomberg and Paul Nash who, I admit, are some of my favourites. The exhibition had all the main pieces you’d want to see if you know anything about the lives of these artists and some I had not seen before. I loved the first wall of portraits and self portraits of them particularly the run of pictures of Carrington and Gertler. It followed their lives not only through their college years but also in the First World War and beyond. I loved the room on how the war had influenced them either because they went or because   of their pacifism. I ju...