Cezanne: the EY Exhibition at Tate Modern is a huge treat. Described as a ‘once-in-a-generation’ chance to see a great collection of the French painter’s work this show has been five years in the planning. There are some ‘old friends’ familiar from London galleries but also many paintings which have never been seen in the UK before. Together they give the visitor a really ‘in the round’ impression of Cezanne’s artistic career and the landmark works which changed not only his personal style but that of his artistic confederates and those who followed in his wake.
William Kentridge fills the Royal Academy galleries with such strong, graphic images that you feel he has only just put down his stick of charcoal and moved onto something else. This astonishing show give us a chronological view of this important South African artist’s development.
The National Gallery offers a fascinating introduction to American artist Winslow Homer with a terrific exhibition of his paintings from the time of the American Civil War to observations of a fishing village in Northumberland in the 1880s. A self-taught artist, Homer is technically brilliant in oils and watercolours and presents an enigmatic portrayal of people at times of transition, trouble and contemplation and is masterful at capturing the power of nature.
Art goes figurative at City & Guilds of London Art School. At the show of work by MA students it was heartening to see so many artists being inspired by the need to make figurative and narrative images the abundance of seriously impressive work.
Delighted to be introduced to Milton Avery at the Royal Academy’s new show celebrating the ‘American Colourist’ and to see just how influential the artist was. He was a key player in the shift from a post-impressionist thrall into the new, whizzy world of Abstract Expressionism and found an inspiring new way to use colour to capture the ‘feel’ of a subject.
African Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum offers a really impressive view of the vibrant contemporary design creativity emanating from Africa and African designers. It also charts the history of textiles, weaves, fashion statements and decorative wear and shows how African style has been adapted and adopted by western designers and fashionistas.
I’m on the telly next week as an artist in the 4th week of Drawers Off on Channel 4 at 5.30pm. And I’m delighted to see this full page spread in the Ham&High about my appearance. It talks about being in the studio and ignoring the fact that a camera would be peering over your shoulder while you’re trying to capture the life model on the plinth. I use paper to make my art but the table of art materials was too much of a temptation and I loved trying out different inks, paints and pastels during my week. You’ll have to watch the show from Monday 20th to Friday 24th to see how I got on. I loved getting to know my brilliant fellow artists and Jenny Eclair was a joy as our presenter. She kept the energy going and was sympathetic to the artistic agonies of making sense of the human body. Here’s the piece in print.
The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy opens next week. I was lucky enough to be at a press preview today and felt delighted that this great show is happening (after Covid hiatus) The show if filled with the usual pick and mix of art from humble artists mingled with the work of Royal Academicians and invited artists. The theme, the environment, is clear to see and there are lots of references to global warming, to the bad behaviour of humans and the way the weather dominates so much of our life. There are also a lot of very witty and clever images. Of course I was on the look out for works on paper, or with collage, but I do love a good painterly painting and there were lots on offer. I’m simply going to add a gallery of the pictures which caught my eye. I particularly enjoyed the galleries curated by Grayson Perry; all the work is arranged over bright lemon yellow walls. You can’t help but smile.
Paper Places 