art blog since 2009
Like many a good artist’s studio, that of Lucian Freud required a mirror. And when David Dawson was in the studio it would have become a rich metaphor. Freud‘s longterm assistant was also a painter. The master would also paint Dawson. And Dawson in turn made portraits of his employer – photographic, like the one …
March 21, 2012
The Art Newspaper reports on a ‘major systemic shift’ as sales go to the world’s many art fairs, rather than through traditional galleries. No less than 56 rhino horns have been stolen from museums since 2011. Der Spiegel reports on this worldwide crime trend. The Smithsonian website looks back at the trailbrazing career of guitarist …
March 19, 2012
Pictured above is a view from upstairs at the brand new Jerwood Gallery in Hastings. If those fishing boats weren’t already picturesque enough, now they are framed. At the foot of the shot is a yellow poster. And as you might know, there are several of these nearby, all voicing opposition to the new £4m …
March 17, 2012
Stories you may or may not have seen from the last seven days: Succumbing to the fact we may need rolling new coverage of Damien Hirst in 2012, here’s a fine analysis of his spots from The Point + here’s a revealing interview in the Guardian (via @artnet) Gilbert and George now also have a …
March 12, 2012
You may not think much of this picture and I should point out quickly it is not by the artist Jeremy Deller. It is by an anonymous young person and fan of therein mentioned band. But the onetime inclusion of this work and many like it, in a show given over in its entirety to …
March 9, 2012
Some links from the week that was: China Miéville offers a dystopian portrait of London which most will recognise. Can he do some more cities, please? (via @AnnaMinton) Martin Creed, artist behind a redesign of part of Sketch restaurant, tells The Independent he prefers to eat at home. On art-Corpus, there’s an in depth review …
March 4, 2012
When Asheq Akhtar answered a small ad calling for non-professionals to take part in a film, he could not have predicted the results. After three week’s training in method acting he was out on the streets before a full feature film crew. And no one who saw the movie Self Made will forget his barely …
February 29, 2012
My weekly round up of links is back. Sorry if you missed it last week. Ai Weiwei risks everything to give an interview to the FT. Prepare for some vicarious paranoia. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal visits Tracey Emin. A nice portrait, but you cannot help comparing artist-governmental relations with Ai (via Art Observed). David …
February 27, 2012
In all the guidebooks available to Berlin, you are unlikely to find one which recommends making audio recordings of your journeys on the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn. But that is the method used by Fedora Romita to orientate herself in a new city. And this results in one CD for each of the five lines …
February 22, 2012
If you can taste these words or see them in colour, you already know about the condition known as synaesthesia which affects 1 in 20 people worldwide. If you can’t, chances are you might like the sound of that, especially if you are an artist. “There are a lot of wannabe synaesthetes, including myself, out …
February 19, 2012