lisbon! gulbenkian + centro de arte moderna + berardo + expo 98 + aquarium
02/08/2012
18/06/2012
#44
royal academy + barbican
went to visit the blockbuster summer exhibition at the royal academy last week. now in its 244th year, the summer show exhibits work by both emerging and established artists. it is said to be the worlds largest open submission contemporary art show. as usual, the works ranged in all media such as: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, architecture and film. the culture show's alastair sooke has covered the exhibition and it can be viewed on iplayer (link below)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jynfx
it was lovely to see that an artist i had commissioned an art work from (who exhibited in the previous years summer exhibition) had her work shown once again at the current summer show.
went to visit the blockbuster summer exhibition at the royal academy last week. now in its 244th year, the summer show exhibits work by both emerging and established artists. it is said to be the worlds largest open submission contemporary art show. as usual, the works ranged in all media such as: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, architecture and film. the culture show's alastair sooke has covered the exhibition and it can be viewed on iplayer (link below)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jynfx
it was lovely to see that an artist i had commissioned an art work from (who exhibited in the previous years summer exhibition) had her work shown once again at the current summer show.
also went to the barbican to see the 'bauhaus: art as life' exhibition. the exhibition explored the world's most famous modern art and design school through over 400 works produced by its students during its 14 year history from 1919 to 1933. some of my favourite pieces were by the hungarian artist laszlo moholy nagy. he was a painter, photographer and professor at the bauhaus. his collages were extremely minimalistic yet effective.
23/05/2012
#43
pieces of eight, project space leeds
here are a few photos from the opening night. i am currently volunteering/working front desk for this show. such a lovely team of people to work with and a great experience for me! the show was co curated by psl and roger palmer (uni of leeds) and shows the work of 8 artists from finland, uk and sweden- all whom have recently graduated or are currently engaged in phd study. the exhibition showcases all types of different work, from film, photography, installation, performance, book form, sculpture and drawing, all driven by their research-led practices. the show 'examines the specific value or quality of research-led practice at a time when the relevance of a phd in fine art has been challenged'. my two favourite pieces are by aritst Maija Närhinen. she creates sculptural installations, whereby paper is transformed through drawing, painting, folding, creasing and crumpling. she explores what we think we see and the reality that is created in the viewer's mind. (see rock installation below). this is psl's last show at their current, riverside space until they move to the tetley brewery! come check it out.
here are a few photos from the opening night. i am currently volunteering/working front desk for this show. such a lovely team of people to work with and a great experience for me! the show was co curated by psl and roger palmer (uni of leeds) and shows the work of 8 artists from finland, uk and sweden- all whom have recently graduated or are currently engaged in phd study. the exhibition showcases all types of different work, from film, photography, installation, performance, book form, sculpture and drawing, all driven by their research-led practices. the show 'examines the specific value or quality of research-led practice at a time when the relevance of a phd in fine art has been challenged'. my two favourite pieces are by aritst Maija Närhinen. she creates sculptural installations, whereby paper is transformed through drawing, painting, folding, creasing and crumpling. she explores what we think we see and the reality that is created in the viewer's mind. (see rock installation below). this is psl's last show at their current, riverside space until they move to the tetley brewery! come check it out.
#42
stanley kubrick (brussels)
a clockwork orange, the shining, 2001: a space odyssey, eyes wide shut... just a snippet of stanley kubrick's most celebrated films. whilst he is generally regarded as one of america's greatest filmmakers, few have paid tribute to his photography. the royal museum of fine arts (brussels)current exhibition presents stanley kubricks early photographic works. after graduating in 1945, he began working as a photographer for the magazine 'look' (new york). he stayed there for 5 years working as a staff photographer. his photojournalism places his work on an entirely other level- and it is easy to see where the original ideas for his films came from. in a recent essay for my museum studies module, which questioned how much information should be included in an exhibition, i mentioned that this exhibition at the beaux arts gets it just right. information is not only provided in french, but also flemish and english. this is most obviously seen on entry, when the visitor is presented with a corridor, illustrating a simple, colour coded, oversized timeline in three languages. the timeline highlighted the main events in the artist's private life and in his film and photographic career. it was factual and humorous at the same time (... it mentioned his numerous marriages and failures within a space of a few years!). this minimal, yet effective timeline suited all ages, and most specifically the interests of an international audience. the information was stripped down, so that it could be easily digested and could be read at walking pace. really nicely done! the show is on til july.
a clockwork orange, the shining, 2001: a space odyssey, eyes wide shut... just a snippet of stanley kubrick's most celebrated films. whilst he is generally regarded as one of america's greatest filmmakers, few have paid tribute to his photography. the royal museum of fine arts (brussels)current exhibition presents stanley kubricks early photographic works. after graduating in 1945, he began working as a photographer for the magazine 'look' (new york). he stayed there for 5 years working as a staff photographer. his photojournalism places his work on an entirely other level- and it is easy to see where the original ideas for his films came from. in a recent essay for my museum studies module, which questioned how much information should be included in an exhibition, i mentioned that this exhibition at the beaux arts gets it just right. information is not only provided in french, but also flemish and english. this is most obviously seen on entry, when the visitor is presented with a corridor, illustrating a simple, colour coded, oversized timeline in three languages. the timeline highlighted the main events in the artist's private life and in his film and photographic career. it was factual and humorous at the same time (... it mentioned his numerous marriages and failures within a space of a few years!). this minimal, yet effective timeline suited all ages, and most specifically the interests of an international audience. the information was stripped down, so that it could be easily digested and could be read at walking pace. really nicely done! the show is on til july.
24/04/2012
#41
bozar x 2, wiels, muhka
easter break in belgium meant once again -> museum time! bozar was our first stop, where we saw an exhibition of cy twomblys photography. the show presented more than 100 dry print developed from polaroid photographs. they were all selected by the artist prior to his death last summer. personally, i know him best as a painter, and this is the case with most art historians as his pictures have been a fairly recent discovery to the world (even though he had been taking photos since being a student, they only appeared in the 90's). a lovely, intimate show that was accompanied by a film by tacita dean.
another smaller scale show being shown at the bozar was entitled Brussels 2040 'three visions for a metropolis'. it explored what brussels would be like in 2040 if its demographic growth continues. international experts made up of architects, town planners, and landscape architects participated in the project. my favourite bit about the show was the way in which they displayed the catalogue. each page of the catalogue was printed in bulk and each bulk was attached to the wall in chronological order. the idea was that the visitor could rip off as many pages as they wanted, in order to walk away with a free catalogue.
wiels- rosemarie trockel (1952, german artist). her show 'flagrant delight', is comprised of work from the early 1980s onwards to works which have been created purely for the show. one room was just full of 40 massive, recent collages. quite impressive but a bit too much at the same time. it was easy to just walk past them and not give them much thought. her 'knitting pictures' were the most impressive part of the entire show. produced in 1985, the pieces consists of lengths of machine knitted, woolen material which has been stretched on to frames.
muhka in antwerp showed the work of the film-maker and feminist icon, chantal akerman. 'too far, too close' was one of the most interesting shows i've seen in a while. brilliantly curated. i was really blown away by the show! every single room was black which surprisingly wasn't offputting. the viewer could feel comfortable in this darkness. it was the first time her work had been shown in belgium since her exhibition at bozar in 1995. the flyer for the show was great too (made up of postcards of scenes from her films)
easter break in belgium meant once again -> museum time! bozar was our first stop, where we saw an exhibition of cy twomblys photography. the show presented more than 100 dry print developed from polaroid photographs. they were all selected by the artist prior to his death last summer. personally, i know him best as a painter, and this is the case with most art historians as his pictures have been a fairly recent discovery to the world (even though he had been taking photos since being a student, they only appeared in the 90's). a lovely, intimate show that was accompanied by a film by tacita dean.
another smaller scale show being shown at the bozar was entitled Brussels 2040 'three visions for a metropolis'. it explored what brussels would be like in 2040 if its demographic growth continues. international experts made up of architects, town planners, and landscape architects participated in the project. my favourite bit about the show was the way in which they displayed the catalogue. each page of the catalogue was printed in bulk and each bulk was attached to the wall in chronological order. the idea was that the visitor could rip off as many pages as they wanted, in order to walk away with a free catalogue.
wiels- rosemarie trockel (1952, german artist). her show 'flagrant delight', is comprised of work from the early 1980s onwards to works which have been created purely for the show. one room was just full of 40 massive, recent collages. quite impressive but a bit too much at the same time. it was easy to just walk past them and not give them much thought. her 'knitting pictures' were the most impressive part of the entire show. produced in 1985, the pieces consists of lengths of machine knitted, woolen material which has been stretched on to frames.
muhka in antwerp showed the work of the film-maker and feminist icon, chantal akerman. 'too far, too close' was one of the most interesting shows i've seen in a while. brilliantly curated. i was really blown away by the show! every single room was black which surprisingly wasn't offputting. the viewer could feel comfortable in this darkness. it was the first time her work had been shown in belgium since her exhibition at bozar in 1995. the flyer for the show was great too (made up of postcards of scenes from her films)
#40
pumped up kicks
pictures from my first ever exhibition i helped to curate with young curators! 'pumped up kicks' was held at concourse gallery, leeds metropolit
pictures from my first ever exhibition i helped to curate with young curators! 'pumped up kicks' was held at concourse gallery, leeds metropolit
03/02/2012
#39
timothy taylor gallery, ben brown fine arts, white cube x 2, gagosian x 2, tate modern, british museum
5 days in ldn = 10 galleries and 1 film!
a recent trip to london made me realise how much i truly missed it. i wouldnt change it for where i live now though, however i wish the london museums had legs and could move up north from time to time. i felt forced to go on my very own wild goose/gallery chase to see as many shows (that i wanted to) in the short time that i had.
1) i had never been to the timothy taylor gallery but had always been quite impressed by press photos of its 'white cube'esque space. they were showing the work of sean scully, who works primarily acrylic, ink, graphite and masking tape. i was impressed with them until i went around the corner and found a 60 full page study of drawings which took up the length of a whole work. it was a bit overboard. some looked like this :
and i left shortly after!
2) ben brown fine arts were showing contemporary chinese photography. jiang pengyi, cheng ran, chen wei and ye linghan were the artists represented through photography and video art. some works were choreographed, some were blurry- playing with a sense of déjà vu, some were entirely imagined, and some were infused in with tones of romanticism. quite enjoyed this show! think they are welcoming gavin turk into their gallery next.
3) the white cubes in mason yard+hoxton square were showing the work of gary hume. i got to see the show at mason's yard entitled 'the indifferent owl'. the ground floor showed 8 of his most famous sleek and shiny artworks (horizon, rimbaud, candy, the indifferent owl, shoulder, swaddled, leaves in grey, morning) where the colours are simplified and the images have been abstracted to their fullest. luvly jubly. interested to see how leeds art gallery display his work when he opens in leeds!
4/5) i guess one could say that i tried to take part in the gagosian's 'the complete spot challenge' but failed miserably. there was no way in hell i could ever afford to visit all of its 11 international galleries (california, new york, rome, paris, athens, geneva, hong kong), so had to make do with the 2 in london! 2 men have already won and claimed that their trips cost them $108572 and $11000 respectively. mad men! literally. hirst is slowly beginning to take over the world it seems, with an upcoming show at the tate modern opening in april. my experience at the davies st gallery was not as pleasant as at the brittania street gallery- had 2 bouncer like door men following my every move in the shoe cupboard of a gallery that it is.. in comparison to being encouraged to take photos in the brittania street gallery, as long as the paintings were not its focal point (in fear of the works being copied.. image below).
6) tacita dean's 11 minute silent 35 mm film in the turbine hall at the tate modern was visually appealing but lacked meaning... it was projected onto a 13 metre high monolith standing at the end of the hall, but whilst reading her artists statement at the entrance to the hall, the only thing i got from it- and that she hounded down on intensively was that she did it by hand. it is what it says it is. it is a beautiful medium but i was just hoping for something more..
7) grayson perry at the british museum! in the "the tomb of the unknown craftsman", curated by himself, is an amazing little treasure trove where one can find pieces from both his own new works, and pieces from the british museums collection. it follows the themes of craftsmanship and sacred journeys (from shamans and holy relics to motorbikes!) . really fascinating. one down side about it was that it was extremely busy, and it was not easy to see the works as a whole, as the pieces were crowded by too many people. due to its popularity, it has now been extended until feb 26 so go and have a look if there are still tickets! whilst i was having lunch there, 2 middle aged twins were sitting behind me. they were sporting the same outfit, hair cut, facial hair, and eating the same lunch. oh the british museum.. you never cease to disappoint!
8) continuing on the theme of voyages, i took a little one myself... to bermondsey! the new white cube had recently opened and were showing the works of anselm kiefer and nikolas gambaroff in its 11,000 square foot gallery space! personally i think i was more impressed with the space itself than the artwork..
9) the haunch of venison. it was presenting "the mystery of appearance", an exhibition comprising of 10 of britains most important post war painters, revealing the story behind their art. artists included were michael andrews, frank auerbach, francis bacon, patrick caulfield, william coldstream, lucian freud, richard hamilton, david hockney, leon kossoff and euan uglow. it started off with looking at the artists personal relationships between them- beginning in the late 40s at the slade where coldstream, freud, and hamilton all taught and were andrews and uglow studied. and also at the rca where auerbach, caulfield, hockney and kossoff were students. i think that is what fascinated me the most about this exhibition.
5 days in ldn = 10 galleries and 1 film!
a recent trip to london made me realise how much i truly missed it. i wouldnt change it for where i live now though, however i wish the london museums had legs and could move up north from time to time. i felt forced to go on my very own wild goose/gallery chase to see as many shows (that i wanted to) in the short time that i had.
1) i had never been to the timothy taylor gallery but had always been quite impressed by press photos of its 'white cube'esque space. they were showing the work of sean scully, who works primarily acrylic, ink, graphite and masking tape. i was impressed with them until i went around the corner and found a 60 full page study of drawings which took up the length of a whole work. it was a bit overboard. some looked like this :
and i left shortly after!
2) ben brown fine arts were showing contemporary chinese photography. jiang pengyi, cheng ran, chen wei and ye linghan were the artists represented through photography and video art. some works were choreographed, some were blurry- playing with a sense of déjà vu, some were entirely imagined, and some were infused in with tones of romanticism. quite enjoyed this show! think they are welcoming gavin turk into their gallery next.
3) the white cubes in mason yard+hoxton square were showing the work of gary hume. i got to see the show at mason's yard entitled 'the indifferent owl'. the ground floor showed 8 of his most famous sleek and shiny artworks (horizon, rimbaud, candy, the indifferent owl, shoulder, swaddled, leaves in grey, morning) where the colours are simplified and the images have been abstracted to their fullest. luvly jubly. interested to see how leeds art gallery display his work when he opens in leeds!
4/5) i guess one could say that i tried to take part in the gagosian's 'the complete spot challenge' but failed miserably. there was no way in hell i could ever afford to visit all of its 11 international galleries (california, new york, rome, paris, athens, geneva, hong kong), so had to make do with the 2 in london! 2 men have already won and claimed that their trips cost them $108572 and $11000 respectively. mad men! literally. hirst is slowly beginning to take over the world it seems, with an upcoming show at the tate modern opening in april. my experience at the davies st gallery was not as pleasant as at the brittania street gallery- had 2 bouncer like door men following my every move in the shoe cupboard of a gallery that it is.. in comparison to being encouraged to take photos in the brittania street gallery, as long as the paintings were not its focal point (in fear of the works being copied.. image below).
6) tacita dean's 11 minute silent 35 mm film in the turbine hall at the tate modern was visually appealing but lacked meaning... it was projected onto a 13 metre high monolith standing at the end of the hall, but whilst reading her artists statement at the entrance to the hall, the only thing i got from it- and that she hounded down on intensively was that she did it by hand. it is what it says it is. it is a beautiful medium but i was just hoping for something more..
7) grayson perry at the british museum! in the "the tomb of the unknown craftsman", curated by himself, is an amazing little treasure trove where one can find pieces from both his own new works, and pieces from the british museums collection. it follows the themes of craftsmanship and sacred journeys (from shamans and holy relics to motorbikes!) . really fascinating. one down side about it was that it was extremely busy, and it was not easy to see the works as a whole, as the pieces were crowded by too many people. due to its popularity, it has now been extended until feb 26 so go and have a look if there are still tickets! whilst i was having lunch there, 2 middle aged twins were sitting behind me. they were sporting the same outfit, hair cut, facial hair, and eating the same lunch. oh the british museum.. you never cease to disappoint!
8) continuing on the theme of voyages, i took a little one myself... to bermondsey! the new white cube had recently opened and were showing the works of anselm kiefer and nikolas gambaroff in its 11,000 square foot gallery space! personally i think i was more impressed with the space itself than the artwork..
9) the haunch of venison. it was presenting "the mystery of appearance", an exhibition comprising of 10 of britains most important post war painters, revealing the story behind their art. artists included were michael andrews, frank auerbach, francis bacon, patrick caulfield, william coldstream, lucian freud, richard hamilton, david hockney, leon kossoff and euan uglow. it started off with looking at the artists personal relationships between them- beginning in the late 40s at the slade where coldstream, freud, and hamilton all taught and were andrews and uglow studied. and also at the rca where auerbach, caulfield, hockney and kossoff were students. i think that is what fascinated me the most about this exhibition.
31/12/2011
#38
wiels, botanique, bozar
got into brussels today to do some galleries... first stop was wiels where they were showing the work of the polish, alina szapocznikow and the morrocan, yto barrada. much preferred yto barrada's work, even gave me inspiration to paint my blank bedroom walls! her work consisted of mainly large c print photographs, a few installations, and a video. yto barrada is currently deutsche banks artist of the year (2011). this award is not based on financial aid but gives the artist the opportunity of a solo show at the guggenheim in berlin, then wiels, a publication and acquisitions for the deutsche bank collection.
got into brussels today to do some galleries... first stop was wiels where they were showing the work of the polish, alina szapocznikow and the morrocan, yto barrada. much preferred yto barrada's work, even gave me inspiration to paint my blank bedroom walls! her work consisted of mainly large c print photographs, a few installations, and a video. yto barrada is currently deutsche banks artist of the year (2011). this award is not based on financial aid but gives the artist the opportunity of a solo show at the guggenheim in berlin, then wiels, a publication and acquisitions for the deutsche bank collection.
second stop was at botanique. there, i saw wunderkammer which was curated by antonio nardone, who i worked for as an intern over the summer. it was great! it was a modern take on 16th century curiosity cabinets, and featured the work of jan fabre, wim delvoye, ulrike bolenz etc.. it had everything from crabs with legs to a knight in shining armor! must see if youre into the weird and wonderful.
and the third and final stop was at bozar. we saw 'art in brazil (1950-2011)', "brazil.brasil", and "extremes" which were all under the umbrella of europalia brasil. they had a particularly cute little tv spot for it. europalia is a major international arts festival which is held every two years. it first began in 969, and its aim it to celebrate an invited countrys cultural heritage. not only does its programme organise exhibitions, but also music, cinema, theatre, and dance. i would have to say that the "brazil.brasil" exhibition was my favourite- and mainly because of the way it was curated and displayed. the bozars impressively high walls were covered in plunging curtains, with a different colour representing each different room. they were made specially for the show. the works protruded through the curtains on metal rods and gave the illusion that the works were floating. it was magical!! (watch 2nd video, 11sec-30sec)
30/12/2011
#37
pompidou
took a day trip to paris today to see some family members .. tried to go and see the keith haring exhibition at the musée en herbe (musée pour enfants à paris!) but could not find it anywhere! even with the street address people could not tell me where it was.. so as we were in the area of (centre) pompidou we decided to go there. im not sure whether it was because it was a late night opening that night, but there was a queue to get inside the pompidou, and then a 45 minute queue to get into the edvard munch exhibition- let alone the time it took to queue up for tickets to the other exhibitions... pressed for time i just went to the basement floor to see the free exhibition, "vidéodanse". the exhibition was spread over 6 weeks and presented a history of 20th and 21st century dance through 250 films showcasing the talents of 150 choreographers. there were specific slot times where performers would dance, but these were all at 11.30 in the morning, and as i was there at 5pm it was looking a little bare... one piece that stood out to me was the interactive installation called if/then. it invited the spectator to imitate the movements filmed on a screen. your movements were then captured and analysed in real time and then is recorded into the data base for everyone to see!
took a day trip to paris today to see some family members .. tried to go and see the keith haring exhibition at the musée en herbe (musée pour enfants à paris!) but could not find it anywhere! even with the street address people could not tell me where it was.. so as we were in the area of (centre) pompidou we decided to go there. im not sure whether it was because it was a late night opening that night, but there was a queue to get inside the pompidou, and then a 45 minute queue to get into the edvard munch exhibition- let alone the time it took to queue up for tickets to the other exhibitions... pressed for time i just went to the basement floor to see the free exhibition, "vidéodanse". the exhibition was spread over 6 weeks and presented a history of 20th and 21st century dance through 250 films showcasing the talents of 150 choreographers. there were specific slot times where performers would dance, but these were all at 11.30 in the morning, and as i was there at 5pm it was looking a little bare... one piece that stood out to me was the interactive installation called if/then. it invited the spectator to imitate the movements filmed on a screen. your movements were then captured and analysed in real time and then is recorded into the data base for everyone to see!
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