Cathy's Art Diary

Delightful exhibition at Eames Fine Art’s print gallery of work by Austin Cole. This was a lovely selection of prints and drawings of Wales, London, Venice and New York, all places I love so they had a lot of resonance. I loved the way he captured the decaying the Venice palaces, real shades of “Stones of Venice”. I was fascinated to compare the drawings and prints as the day before I’d done a show at the Courtauld on Renaissance drawings used for prints. The drawings had a lightness whereas as the prints had a dark, solidity. Both worked well. My favourites were a series of wide prints of Borough Market, which, despite being small were full of detail and had a majesty about them. Closes 11 September 2022  

Vibrant exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of new work by Ilana Savdie. These large images seemed to be bright, surreal paintings of figures which were then over laid in thick patches of coloured beeswax. According to the commentary they “speak to an unravelling of power through performance and excessive behaviours”. I did get a sense of performance and Carnival. I loved the effect and texture of the beeswax. There were three pictures where the image underneath was different but the beeswax pattern was the same. I also loved the bold neon colours which gave a real sense of life to the white space. Closes 11 September 2022  

Dramatic exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of new paintings by Dancia Lundy. These were amazing, large, layered images evidently painted after the death of her father who was a photographer for a local paper. “Stop Bath” refers to the last process in photography that fixes the image. She is implying a memory preserved. I loved the way the more you looked at the pictures the more you saw and the strange mix of scale in the layers of images. They had a realistic quality while being fantastical in their composition. Evidently, they also quote John Donne’s poetry. I don’t know it well enough to spot that but am off to read the full press release to find out more. Closes 11 September 2022  

Interesting exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of new paintings by Louise Giovanelli. These were mainly large pictures apparently based on cropped photographs which reminded me of Sickert on a much larger scale. The subjects covered drinking wine, hair and theatrical curtains. According to the commentary they “reflect on new modes of devotion and iconography in the modern world”. I liked the repetition of image in different colours and sizes in the wine pictures and they did make me want a glass but I’m not sure that was the point. My favourites were the majestic pictures of theatre curtains like the attached which was about 3m wide. Closes 11 September 2022 Review Telegraph

Joyful exhibition at Eames Fine Art of new work by John Crossley. These were bright, colourful, abstracted images of real things in acrylic on paper with a few prints. Chatting to the chap on duty I learned that many of them are based on the Sussex seaside which I know well. I loved the layered effect with sharp edged blocks of paint which almost looked like collage. Some had rounds blobs of paint with gave them a feel of Bloomsbury decoration. I liked the ones that felt like looking up at the as sky such as this one called “As I Take My Morning Promenade”. Also the ones which used a strong artificial pink. I’d have like a skirt made of material printed with some of the more patterned pieces. Closes 4 September 2022    

Charming  exhibition at Somerset House looking at ideas around repair of objects and people. The show equates repair of objects with renewal of people. The first section looked at techniques and new art works made by repairing objects. I loved Georgina Maxim’s work using found garments from relatives and friends and Angela Maddock’s ceramics repaired with nurses’ uniforms using stitching techniques used on people shown here. The middle section was a repair shop commissioned by Carl Clerkin which was manned by a chatty guy. It encouraged people to bring in items for repair. At the end was also a workshop space set up by TOAST, a lifestyle brand renowned for its thoughtful, contemporary design and commitment to traditional textiles and craftsmanship, with examples of repairs to toys done at their sessions. I’m off to look up something called FORMcard, a pocket-sized card in a bioplastic which, when dropped in hot water, is pliable but hardens when cooled to be used for repairs...

Interesting exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery highlighting the Courtauld National Partners Programme. Using five loans from partner organisation they discuss the scheme which shares works from the collection with likeminded organisations working in communities to inspire learning and explore local identities. The organisations are often connected with towns which had Courtauld factories. This was all a bit convoluted but the loans were lovely. There was a nice Gwen John from the Ferens Gallery in Hull and a wonderful portrait of Seamus Heaney by Edward McGuire from National Museums NI. My favourite was this beautiful John Piper of Coventry Cathedral painted the day after its bombing in 1940 from the Herbert Art Gallery in the city. Closes 2 October 2022