Glorious, gorgeous, exquisite and priceless. The Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution exhibition at the V&A is stunning. It feels surreal to stare through glass at jewels which are so perfect in design and craftsmanship but also bear witness to a turbulent and tragic time in 20th century history.
Peru: A Journey in Time at the British Museum. This new exhibition offers a rare opportunity to view objects and artefacts – some made two thousand years ago. The portraits are stunning, the fabrics are beautifully preserved and some of the stories which these objects tell shed light on a long-lost civilisation.
There’s always something new to discover in John Constable’s paintings. An exhibition at the Royal Academy – Late Constable – provides a great opportunity to view works made in the last two decades of his life after he’d become an Academician and his career was established. But it’s clear to see that he still kept pushing his art.
Can we ‘end the waste age’? The Design Museum presents some satisfying, and encouraging solutions to the appalling and polluting impact of plastic and our wasteful approach to living which has endangered the planet.
If HELL turns out to be anything like artist Pablo Bronstein’s vision it might be rather a fun place to hang out. Bronstein has produced a series of large watercolour paintings – Hell in its Heyday – now on show at Sir John Soane’s Museum. The show is filled with visions of a cityscape mingling contemporary technology and invention with the design aesthetics of the Baroque and decorative past. The results are beguiling and fun.
Theaster Gates: A Clay Sermon at the Whitechapel Gallery is a fascinating and thought-provoking exhibition which investigates clay in all its forms. Gates, from Chicago, has collected clay and ceramic objects of all ages, cultures and styles. The pieces on show are challenging, beautiful, uncomfortable and beguiling but always interesting.
Where’d ya get that hat! At The Unboxing Show by Peter Marigold at Kiosk N1C Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross. One of the London Design Festival commissions which demonstrates how cardboard can be recycled and turned into new objects. The hat design is by Sebastian Bergne. Brilliant!
The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy in London – what a great show, full of colour, cleverness and wit. A creative tonic for our time.
Paper Places 