Ai Weiwei, Straight (2008-12)

There are two epicentres under consideration in this monumental installation at the Royal Academy right now. One was in Wenchuan County in Sechuan; the other is the government in Beijing. The first meant a quake that destroyed 20 schools. The second has monitored the ongoing work of China’s best known…

Franz West, 6 Adaptives for Rolls Royce Silver Shadow (2007)

On some level you may already be offended. You don’t need to be a total petrolhead to find the addition to this prestigious bonnet to be something of a defacement. Let’s be honest, it lacks the easy romance of the flying woman usually found on the prow of a Rolls: The Spirit…

Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades (2010-2015)

4000 years after their first use in Egypt, Wael Shawky has made marionettes a central part of his art practice, spooking the viewer with what some say is the oldest form of theatre. These puppets are not found objects. The artist has them made using glass and ceramic to render…

UK Exhibitions: March 2015

I’ve been picking a monthly round up of art for a few years now, first on Culture24 and now on criticismism. If it’s not my imagination, this is getting more difficult. Cuts coming home to roost? It’s my unscientific impression galleries have got less likely to list forthcoming shows. It…

Christian Marclay and The Vinyl Factory

Do vast spaces bring forth big art, or does big art call for vast spaces? I ask because the current production at the South London outpost of White Cube is a monster of wholesale appropriation. Artist Christian Marclay occupies all five galleries and includes a performance space, a screen-printing operation…

Ruth Ewan, Back to the Fields (2015)

While this show must have been a logistical headache, the extensive catalogue of objects in Back to the Fields points to an impossible dream. And it’s the most beautiful and sad dream: revolution. This is not the first time Ewan has visited post-revolutionary France. You can read about her doomed experiment…

UK Exhibitions: February 2015

Welcome back to the new monthly survey of great shows from public institutions who’ve got their act together online. Cold outside, but it’s quite warm in the UK’s galleries. James Bridle: Seamless Transitions, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, 6 Feb – 15 Apr. Using planning apps and first hand accounts, tech artist Bridle has visualised…

UK exhibitions: January 2015

Happy New Year to readers everywhere. Here’s the first of a monthly round up of shows in (usually) public sector spaces around the UK. So, if you’re in Britain in January 2015, you won’t want to miss… Grace Schwindt: Only a Free Individual Can Create a Free Society, Site Gallery, Sheffield,…

Nick Davies, From Tippex Forms (i-iv) (2014)

It’s a curious thing. It is hoped that not many typos find their way from this keyboard onto your screen. But a recent blog post for Bad at Sports had at least three. My very bad. What made it strange was that the subject of my review, Nick Davies, has…