art blog since 2009
Published on Culture 24 Fabric of War, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton, until August 16 2009 Ex-serviceman Mike Blake has ripped up several US flags, shredded a handful of dollar bills and even gone so far as to cut up and pulp his military uniform. The reconstituted garments now form the canvas for his anti-war picture Vortex. …
July 30, 2009
Published on Culture 24 The Scottish Colourists – Paintings from the Fleming Collection, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, until November 1 2009 Between 1909 and 1912, Edinburgh was closer to Paris than London. The French capital was awash with new artistic ideas and two Scottish painters were already making a name for themselves as Fauvists. Samuel …
July 30, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Mens Suits by Charles LeDray, The Fire Station, London, until September 20 2009 First, note the missing apostrophe from the title of this show, in which attention to detail is everything. It’s an intentional flaw which reads like a warning to expect something from the lower end of fashion. The typo …
July 24, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Cold Corners by Eva Rothschild, Duveens’ Commission, Tate Britain, London, until November 29 2009 Sometimes less space can be more. Tate Britain’s Duveens Galleries aren’t quite as large as the Turbine Hall just down the river at Tate Modern, but the neo-classical surroundings offer quite different possibilities. When commissioned to fill …
July 24, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Endless Forms: Darwin – Natural Science and the Visual Arts, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, until October 4 2009 An 1838 print from The Penny Magazine shows us Jenny, sitting on a chair, wearing children’s clothes, holding a ball. It’s remarkable, because this little lady was a captive Orangutan. Jenny was one …
July 24, 2009
Published on Culture 24 John Grade – The Elephant Bed, Fabrica, Brighton, until August 31 2009 Brighton and Hove rests on a layer of powdered elephant, but do not be alarmed. The pachyderms in question lived in prehistoric times, sharing the region with buffalo and deer. Their remains are collected in a strip of shale …
July 24, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Deviants, Hove Museum and Art Gallery, Hove, until September 13 2009 Whereas artists are encouraged to break rules, craftspeople generally aren’t. From potters, metalworkers and textile experts, the public usually demands something useful or at the very least decorative. Deviants is a touring exhibition which makes an example of some 16 …
July 13, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Currents of Time: New work by Zineb Sedira, Iniva at Rivington Place, until 25 July 2009 From the window of Rivington Place, three photos offer a mirthless reproach to a comedy café opposite. Boats sink into a menacing sea. Time and the elements blacken what remains. The camera freezes each vessel …
July 4, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Small Wonders: A Museum of Imagination by Zara Wood, Boxbird Gallery, Hove, until July 12 2009 Despite recent illustration work for Top Shop and Stussy, a new solo show by Zara Wood travels a long way from the catwalk, taking you instead to a dusty world of antique display cases, animals …
July 4, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Fabiola, Francis Alÿs, National Portrait Gallery, London, until September 20 2009 Amid the many famous faces at the National Portrait Gallery are two rooms packed with 300 images of a fourth century Christian saint. It’s doubtful they capture her likeness, but they bear a striking resemblance to one another. On all …
July 4, 2009