art blog since 2009
We can tell a number of things about Mark Leckey from this autobiographical film. So, the Merseysider grew up in the shadow of the Beatles, the A-bomb and the 1999 solar eclipse. Dream English Kid is a life story made with footage found online. So we also pick up on memories of motorways, pylons, football crowds, …
July 11, 2016
Next year it will be 25 years since American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis; in that time various crimes have been exposed in the banking industry. So it seemed timely to reread. But it’s not just about greed and Wall Street. It’s about fashion, food, designer goods and popular music. It’s hardly about art at all, but …
April 27, 2015
A National Sculpture Museum is to be found in a small city, some 200 km north of Madrid. But don’t expect too much marble, bronze or mixed media here in Valladolid. During their golden age, Spain’s sculptors worked in wood. Presenting exhibit A: close up of a sizeable tiered seating arrangement for a church choir. Its makers …
September 3, 2014
Martin Creed has some good tunes. No, really. For the week following his gig in Brighton, there are still one or two which bounce around between the ears. His lyrics are to the point. Highlight of the show was a rendition of the alphabet, from “a-a a a a-a-a-a†through to “z-z z z z-z-z-zâ€. …
May 12, 2014
At the risk of over analysing a good joke, it’s worth considering this painting by Tala Madani. It’s as funny as anything in her scurrilous UK survey in Nottingham. The dude with the erect torch, well, in his mind he’s a sex god. He appears to think that red shaft is a part of his …
January 28, 2014
“Unfortunately, this being East Germany/Gert patriotically volunteered to be sent on a labour/Beautification course of the countryside north-west of Dresden/And never seen again.†* There is something punitive about Work Programme at the gallery known as CAC. At time of writing we’re on edition 28, and more than 27 souls have already pitched in and …
January 13, 2014
What’s behind a painting or drawing, literally? The reverse of a canvas is a necessary mystery, with its potential for jottings, classifications, signatures and in some cases failed attempts. In terms of drawing, Serra knows enough about failure. The 14 works made for the Courtauld are to some degree beyond his control. So the rejects “far …
December 5, 2013
Apologies for sporadic posting of late, anyhow I’m back on the trail: It’s the “art find of the century” (consequently the best Found Object ever). Hyperallergic reports on the discovery of 1,500 degenerate art works in the flat of an eightysomething hoarder Mordovia sounds like the complete opposite of a holiday destination. BBC News explores …
November 5, 2013
This sculpture makes a meal of a piece of gum. It may be marble, but it was once a remnant piece of a habit-forming chew. And now it is the size of a torso. Visitors may be struck at the muscularity, which marble will always suggest. There is a body trapped in here, perhaps a …
October 2, 2013
Some great links this week, a few of which I hope you’re tempted to click on: William Powhida and Jade Townsend have devised a scarily detailed map of the art world as a number of warring tribes, including an encampment for Critical Refugees. Lego has released an architects’ studio. Hundreds of white or clear bricks …
August 19, 2013