Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at Woolwich Works of pieces by Caroline Hinds. The work by Hinds who has been an artist in residence at the venue was shown throughout the venue and added colour and life to the venue. There was a variety of paintings, textiles and sculptures using reclaimed materials. I liked the sculptures shown in the courtyard as the backdrop to their outdoor summer stage. Closed 21 September 2024

Fun and informative exhibition at Young V&A looking at Japanese myths and how they influence modern life and design in the country. I was disappointed at first that the display was aimed at children however it struck a good balance between telling the stories clearly but not being condescending. As it wasn’t a subject I knew about at all I appreciated it. It divided the themed the stories around where they were based from the sky, through the sea to the city. It used a good selection of prints and objects to illustrate the tales. I found the most interesting sections were the ones which looked at modern life and the origins of the stories today particularly in toys and cartoons. Closed 8 September 2024 Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph    

My first visit to the refurbished Young V&A previously the Museum of Childhood. Apologies that it’s taken me a while to get to see this refurbishment which has been open about a year and has since won the Art Fund Museum of the Year award. I had been before the changes and it was looking more spruce and cared for. A fun spiral staircase with a mirror feature has been added with the café nestled underneath it. There were much improved toilets and an additional lift. However the galleries were somewhat hidden and despite fun, big signage it was unclear what they offered from the main space, almost like it didn’t matter. It has given the curators a chance to rethink the displays and they are now aimed at children not just about them. It certainly seemed to be working when I was there in the summer holidays as it was buzzing with children enjoying the space. Reviews Times Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard    

Excellent exhibition at the Royal Academy for their annual show. I thought this year was a good one with a lot of figurative work, less photography and more work that you felt skill had gone into even if you didn’t like it. The rooms were curated well especially two by Anne Desmet, the print maker, which featured a lot of the small work hung in vague themes. I have to admit that the next to last room of sculpture gave me visual indigestion! Highlights included two lovely paintings of water bottles, one by Gavinn Turk and the other by Rachel Robb. I loved Harriet Mena Hill’s pictures of the old Aylesbury Estate on pieces of the demolished buildings.   My favourite work was this print of a dog’s nose by Caroline Jones which sadly had sold out or I would have bought one. An interesting feature this year were some small installations my favourites of which was a string quartet set against a carpet with music on and music playing by Ron Arad. Closed 18 August 2024 Reviews ...

Strange video installation at the Hayward Gallery by Naomi Rincon Gallardo. I’m afraid this might have suffered from being one show too many in a day and from its sister show of work by Tavares Strachan being so good. The video followed children dressed as animals as they chased deities across Mexico, I think. The commentary says it reflects the artists belief that planetary collapse is imminent. It was shown with some of the masks that the children were wearing. I’m afraid I just wasn’t in the mood to engage with this colourful but confusing piece however I did notice a little girl who had settled on a bean bag and seemed enthralled or possible stunned! Closed 1 September 2024      

Fabulous exhibition at the Hayward Gallery of work by Tavares Strachan over the last two decades. Strachan’s work poses questions about who is seen and unseen and tries to rediscover forgotten black figures in history. He does this in a beautiful and layered way producing exquisite objects as well as making you look at history in a different way. I loved his ceramic pieces combining transitional shaped pots with the faces of historical figures in some instances combining two by splitting the older head to show a more contemporary one underneath such as this one of the Roman emperor Septimus Severus and Steve Biko. There were some interesting pieces around Matthew Henson who was possibly the first man to reach the North Pole and Robert Henry Lawrence Jnr, a black trainee astronaut who died while training. In both cases Strachan replicated their experiences visiting the North Pole and undertaking cosmonaut training. My favourite pieces were the giant heads particularly this one ...

Fascinating exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery looking at the air raid shelter drawings of Henry Moore and how they influenced his later work. I love this sort of small exhibition which not only shows beautiful work but also weaves an interesting argument around them. There was a lovely selection of shelter drawings. I hadn’t realised before that he just sketched and made notes in the shelters out of respect for the people. He worked them up into finished drawings later. I also hadn’t realised that his studio was bombed leaving him unable to make large sculptures during the war so he turned to drawing. The show concluded by looking at two post-war sculptural pieces which were visually influenced by the drawings and included a marquette for the relief wall of the Bouwcentrum in Rotterdam which I hadn’t come across before. Closed 22 September 2024 Review Evening Standard