A room of one’s own – it’s all true. If you want to be an artist you must have space and the studio becomes an extension of the artist’s inner world. There’s a wonderful show at the Whitechapel Gallery called A Century of the Artist’s Studio1920-2020 and it charts the use of the studio by a variety of artists and their practice.
So much to see and so much to admire. The 2022 edition of Collect, organised by the Crafts Council at Somerset House, presents a dazzling array of top quality crafts made by many of the world’s best practitioners. It’s a treat and such a relief that it’s back. Collect is on until 27th February 2022.
The remarkable beauty of a muse. Clearly the young artists’ model, Joanna Hiffernan, provided a remarkable inspiration for James Whistler – and his contemporaries, such as Courbet and her astonishing looks and glorious copper red hair has been immortalised in one of his most famous paintings, The White Girl. The Royal Academy has created a wonderful celebration of this exceptional model and the men who loved her.
Surrealism Beyond Borders. We stumble into a world of the uncanny, the unconscious and weird dreams with this rather intriguing show at Tate Modern.
Amazing Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum brings the far distant past to life with a real sense of the people who lived 4-5,000 years ago on this island and identifies personal stories through the intriguing artefacts which have been uncovered over time.
Beatrix Potter, author, artist and creator of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Jeremy Fisher and many more characters, beloved by generations of children, has been given a charming exhibition , Drawn to Nature, at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Body Vessel Clay – an engaging exhibition of pottery and ceramic art and the creative work of Black women over the last 70 years. From the traditional weighty water jug made in Nigeria to expressive painted ceramics by contemporary artists living outside Africa, the inheritance of clay and its many uses is explored and celebrated at Two Temple Place.
Francis Bacon, Man and Beast, a fulsome exhibition of his visceral work opens at the Royal Academy, London.
Paper Places 