Visual arts
Stuart Semple, Morton MetropolisSunday, 09 May 2010
Sincerity is not a quality the contemporary art world seems to value: the masking of emotions under layers of irony is where we stand. But while Damien Hirst paints from a cynical palette, British Pop Artist Stuart Semple's Nineties-inflected... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Chicago: Radical Invention in the Windy/Second CitySunday, 09 May 2010
On my previous trip to the Second City in 2009, the much-awaited Art Institute of Chicago extension wasn’t quite ready for visitors, but is now about to celebrate its first birthday, and it’s a treat. The Modern Wing adds 35 per cent more space to... Read more... |
Marc Quinn, White CubeFriday, 07 May 2010
Marc Quinn is used to making a spectacle of himself. In Self (1991 and ongoing), a life-sized cast of his head was filled with his own blood. It was a stark and sobering reflection on what we all share, the universality of the most basic of human... Read more... |
Paintings, crushed canvases, sound art and sci-fi - an eclectic year for Turner Prize shortlistTuesday, 04 May 2010
Last year critics were pleasantly surprised that the Turner Prize shortlist included works that could actually be admired for traditional notions of beauty. This year they might be surprised at its sheer variety. The four nominees not only include a... Read more... |
Modern Masters: Warhol, BBC OneMonday, 03 May 2010
I wondered how long it would be before Andy Warhol’s "15 minute" quote came up. From the whizzy, flash-bang opening credits I knew it wouldn’t be long. I was right: but less than seven minutes? Less than five? I didn’t time it, since I was still... Read more... |
Bill Fontana: River Sounding, Somerset HouseMonday, 03 May 2010
The fountains have been switched on at Somerset House, and I watched a group of tourists giggling as they picked their way through the water jets. They obviously hadn’t noticed the cheerful sound of running water coming from the edge of the... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Artist Maggi HamblingSaturday, 01 May 2010
Next week sees the opening of an exhibition at Marlborough Fine Art of new work by Maggi Hambling, one of the most innovative and prolific - not to mention flamboyant - artists working in Britain today, which neatly coincides with a show of sea... Read more... |
Art Gallery: Maggi Hambling - Sea Sculptures and PaintingsSaturday, 01 May 2010
To accompany theartsdesk Q&A with artist Maggi Hambling by Hilary Whitney, this is a selection of pieces from two new exhibitions of her latest work opening in London and Cambridge. Maggi Hambling: New Sea Sculptures at Marlborough Fine Art... Read more... |
Photographic Gallery: Grace Jones Portraits by Chris LevineFriday, 30 April 2010
One can hardly imagine the spiky dervish Grace Jones sitting still for a second, let alone remaining motionless long enough to have photographs (and plenty of them) taken for her portrait. Nevertheless, Chris Levine has managed to pin her down - in... Read more... |
Jannis Kounellis, Ambika P3Thursday, 29 April 2010
Last year, visitors to Tate Modern’s Artists’ Rooms could see a room dedicated to Jannis Kounellis. It was filled with some of his most resonant work: a door filled up with drystone walling; burlap sacks of grain, rice, pulses; metal bells. For a... Read more... |
The Concise Dictionary of Dress, Artangel at Blythe HouseTuesday, 27 April 2010
Judith Clark is a fashion curator, Adam Phillips a psychoanalyst and writer. In collaboration with Artangel, that font of innovative artistic commissions (including Rachel Whiteread’s House, Michael Landy’s Break Down), they have produced what is... Read more... |
Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance Drawings, British MuseumSaturday, 24 April 2010
This superb exhibition of Italian Renaissance drawings, featuring 100 works and chosen from the outstanding graphic collections of the Uffizi and the British Museum, explores the evolution of the preparatory sketch in the 15th century. We learn how... Read more... |
