Visual arts
Bridget Riley: Paintings and Related Work, National GalleryWednesday, 24 November 2010
Well, we all make mistakes. Or, in my case, we (I mean “I”) sometimes just fail to look. This new, small but perfectly formed exhibition of Bridget Riley’s work in the National Gallery’s Sunley Rooms follows the pattern that the gallery has... Read more... |
The Chaser Years, Maverik Gallery, LondonThursday, 18 November 2010
“Hot sweaty tight jammed in can’t breathe heart pumping centre of the universe Monday night action in town. Racing down to Bar Rumba at midnight through the blaring siren wailing darkness of south London to the tinsel town wet streeted fakeness of... Read more... |
Imagine: Ai Weiwei - Without Fear or Favour, BBC OneTuesday, 16 November 2010
If you found yourself thinking that you were watching Mission: Impossible rather than Imagine, you could have been forgiven. Alan Yentob had clearly been banned from meeting Ai Weiwei in China, and so one of their interviews was conducted over a... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Artist Peter BlakeSaturday, 13 November 2010
Peter Blake (b 1932) seems to have gone seamlessly from a groovy Sixties mover and shaker – he would probably dispute that but, after all, he did hang out with The Beatles – to National Treasure. His new one-man exhibition, Homage 10 x 5 – Blake’s... Read more... |
High Society, Wellcome CollectionFriday, 12 November 2010
It’s amazing what you might have found in your average bathroom cabinet 100 years ago. For those niggling aches and pains, what could be more effective than a bottle of Bayer’s Heroin Hydrochloride? Or how about a soothing spoonful of Sydenham’s... Read more... |
Photo Gallery: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010Thursday, 11 November 2010
The winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Prize was announced yesterday, and as with most prizes you know there must be an element of compromise when it comes to selecting the shortlist. David Chancellor’s winning portrait of a 14... Read more... |
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010, National Portrait GalleryThursday, 11 November 2010
The National Portrait Gallery was early in picking up on the momentum gathering around photography in 2003, and committed itself then to an annual prize for portraiture. Today it’s one of the most anticipated competition exhibitions in the UK, and... Read more... |
Hereford Photography FestivalWednesday, 10 November 2010
Cider, bulls and a beautifully restored cathedral which hosts the annual Three Choirs Festival are probably the key elements used to brand Hereford. But for 20 years, the city has also been home to the UK’s first photography festival. This month,... Read more... |
British Art Show 7, Nottingham GalleriesSunday, 07 November 2010
Nottingham always had an eye for beauty. When I was growing up near there, the boast was that its women were the most beautiful in England. Today, it could and should be boasting about Caruso St John’s magnificent concrete landmark adorned with... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Photographer Mick RockSaturday, 06 November 2010
Mick Rock (b 1948) captured some of rock's most provocative and memorable images: David Bowie at the height of his Ziggy Stardust androgyny; Debbie Harry looking every inch the Marilyn Monroe of punk; Lou Reed sweating beneath his Kabuki make-up -... Read more... |
Ego: The Strange and Wonderful World of Self-Portraits, BBC FourFriday, 05 November 2010
Albrecht Dürer painted himself as Jesus (pictured below). Luckily, he was blessed with the looks, the hair and the initials – echoing the geometry of his golden locks the A straddles the D in his inscribed paintings. And when this German messiah of... Read more... |
Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, British MuseumThursday, 04 November 2010
Those ancient Egyptians, they loved life! So much so that they even conceived of an afterlife that differed hardly at all from the one on Earth, only better: they didn’t get sick and they carried on just as before, to eternity – which might sound... Read more... |
