Cathy's Art Diary

Intriguing exhibition at the National Maritime Museum showing the work of ten artists who took part in an expedition to the Marshall Islands in 2023 which were affected by the testing of nuclear weapons in the 50s and 60s. The show included some interesting work but more importantly highlighted the story of the islands and the issues they face from the testing and climate change. I was amazed to learn in one explosion in 1954 three islands were obliterated. I liked these imagined machines by Solomon Ends which were painted on the beaches on the island. They are imagined devices which would draw radiation and poison out of the sand and transform it into clean air. Closes 4 October 2026

Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy featuring work by young artists aged from 4 to 18. I always try to go to see this show which is only on for a few weeks as you often see work of a surprisingly high quality. This year I made a special point of going as a friend's son had a piece in it, so a big shout out to Chip aged 11 and his zine about AI in art. It was a shame it was shown quite low down as it was all about the detail which was hard to see. Works which stood out for me this year with the hyperreal "Granny's Glassware" by Ella aged 16, a dark portrait of a couple called "Marriage" by Fimi aged 17 which wouldn't have looked out of place on Sky Portrait Artist of the Year and the cleverly composed urban landscape by Natalie aged 18. A special shout out to Inaya aged 16 for their "Political 'Sauces' Sources" a series of ketchup bottles each filled with a censored newspaper article about the world leader who was then refer...

Vibrant exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery South of new work by Cecily Brown. These big, bold, expressive paintings were inspired by the area around the gallery and showed abstracted vegetation and were shown with previous works dating back to 2001 covering similar themes. I loved how bright and lively they were and how they dominated the white space. They were shown with some of her drawing showcasing that she draws everyday often responding to illustrations in children's books. There was a useful leaflet which included interesting quotes from the artist making it fell like she was showing you around such as "I don’t have a central message to get across, so the subject is always just painting and how to push painting. I'm thoroughly absorbed by that". I will certainly look out for her work in the future. Checking this blog I've realised she did the wonderful new paintings around the top of the staircase at the Courtauld Gallery   Closes 6 September 2...

An excellent iteration of this annual pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery by LANZA atelier. This year's pavilion was built of brick with a glass roof, shaded by blinds. The central rounded space had a long curving wall down one side with a path along it which made me think the construction had a tail. The i nside had a small stage and the usual expensive café but otherwise the space was quite empty which I liked. Some years the space is cluttered by suggestions of things you should do there. Reading the blurb I loved the layers to the work. LANZA atelier, founded by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo described the work as a serpentine partly as a pun on the gallery's name and the nearby lake but also referencing the architectural feature called a serpentine or crinkle-crankle wall which originated in ancient Egypt. The shape provides stability via lateral support and requires fewer bricks than a straight wall. As ever it was a peaceful space to have a coffee and read f...

Interesting sculpture/installation outside the Serpentine Gallery of a work by Jesús Rafael Soto. As you walked towards this work it appeared to be a yellow box but as you got close you realised the yellow was closely hung soft plastic tubes which swayed in the breeze and enveloped you as you walked through it. As I was there a child was enjoying the sensation and running thought the space. I found it played with my eyes like a Bridget Riley painting and reading the blurb now I realise Soto was classed as a kinetic artist like her. It also says that the work is completed by the presence of the viewer. I would widen that to be the participant. I was interest to see this work was a relaunch by the artists estate since their death of a work originally made in 1999. Closes 25 October 2026

Vibrant exhibition at Eames Fine Art of drawings, prints and paintings by Andrew Marr and Gillian Ayres. The works were mainly abstracts in bright colours with the artists using a similar palette. It was only later that it dawned on me that Andrew Marr is THE Andrew Marr off the telly who has turned to painting following a stroke. I liked his expressive mark making. Closed 12 July 2026

Colourful and surprising exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum looking at the textile designs of the sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell. I say surprising because I hadn't realised how popular their work was and how much of it I had owned or remembered. I had bought a painting by them at an exhibition at the National Theatre a number of years ago without really knowing that much about them. The show highlighted how they not only designed the patterns but oversaw how these designs were transferred to the textile allowing them to control the colours and retain the copyright of the design. The designs were hand painted and in many cases the show had the original painting and examples of the textile in different colour way. The sisters worked for Liberty in the 1970s and designed Bauhaus for them which I recognised. Later in the decade they worked for Terence Conran at Habitat and those designed were so familiar to me. The show looked at how they adapted to the mar...