Cathy's Art Diary

Delightful experience at Blenheim Palace celebrating Christmas. I went with friends and we started with the house where the theme was Sleeping Beauty. They told the story via Christmas trees and lavish decorations over the whole of the ground floor. It was nicely paced and had things to attract all ages. I loved some of the details. We then did the illuminated trail round the ground which was long but again well-paced with plenty to see. The halfway/turning point was down at the lake with a beautiful fountain display to music. Add in a Christmas market and it was a magical evening. Closed 1 January 2024  

Lovely display at the Sam Wannamaker Theatre at the Globe of work by Rutgers BFA theatre designers from New Jersey, USA, who are currently in residence there. I was a bit confused as I saw a similar show at the Globe last year. I assume this was by a new intake of students but that wasn’t clear. Costume design and costume technician students had to design and create a cocktail hat that embodies a Shakespearean character which would work under candlelight. My favourite was this one for Lady Macbeth. My favourites though were by scenic and lighting design students who created small open boxes of a scenery design which, when you pressed a switch, produced a shadow on the back which was stunningly created from the shadow of the scene in front. My pick this year was this one of Bottom. No end date given but it had disappeared by next visit in February 2024. 

Fascinating exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the 15th century Florentine artist Francesco Pesellino. I’d done a useful online talk about the show a few days ago which really illuminated the show. It was based around two panels on the stories of David which the gallery owns and has recently been conserved. I love the detail in them and a long time studying them. Pesellino was best known for his small works and was known as a book illuminator but he did also do altarpieces, one of which is in the show albeit that it was finished by Fra Filippo Lippi on his death. it was lovely to have the small works hung at eye level. Closed 10 March 2024 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph

Interesting exhibition at the Gillian Jason Gallery of new work by Eleanor Johnson. Johnson does large paintings based on the colour palettes of Old Masters and Renaissance works. They are vibrant pieces with fluid, indistinct figures yet they have the sense of a Rubens. I would love to see them in a bigger space and hung with the works which inspire them. Closed 14 January 2024    

Interesting small exhibition at the Cartoon Museum looking at the work of Nigerian comic creator Oluwasegun Babatunde. The show explained how Babatunde developed the idea for a superhero universe set in Nigeria during lockdown after struggling to find any characters in comics which reflected his West African background. It showed some of the comics and books set among the Towncriers of Motherland and a fictitious land of Naijaland. It also discussed how he found an illustrator in lockdown, Daniel Egharevba and how they worked together in those circumstances.   Closes 21 January 2024

Fun exhibition at the Cartoon Museum celebrating 30 years since the release of the animation “Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers”. The show outlined how the film was made with a large collection of the original concept drawings and story boards. There was a fascinating section, with a video, looking at how the train scene came about and was executed. Even today people were standing and laughing at it. There was also a selection of figures and props from the sets as well as a display of merchandise from the time of its release. Closes 16 April 2024    

Atmospheric exhibition at the Pontone Gallery of new paintings by the actor Timothy Spall. The works were based on real landscapes but had a surreal, sublime quality. I preferred the ones of views over water particularly this one of Birkenhead with a dramatic sky. I also loved one of an airplane trail across a sky entitled “The Healing Sky”. It was good to chat to the gallery owner about the work and Spall’s influences. Closes 23 December 2023 Review Times