architecture
Leon Kossoff, New Works, Annely Juda Fine ArtMonday, 01 November 2010![]() It is one of the enduring mysteries of Leon Kossoff’s art. How does someone who uses such thick, impastoed paint and such muddy, earth-toned colours make his work so light, so delicate, so filled with grace? The more you look, the more mysterious... Read more... |
Living ArchitectureMonday, 13 September 2010![]() Judging from the success of interior design magazines and property shows, you might think that this country was now as comfortable with good contemporary architecture as it is with non-native food or music. But scratch beneath the metropolitan,... Read more... |
New pavilion gets you hot under the collarTuesday, 13 July 2010![]() The unveiling of the Serpentine Pavilion (now in its 10th year) has become as much of a summer fixture as Henley. And yet it is not without controversy. Why, for instance, does the Serpentine Gallery in London insist on commissioning global stars... Read more... |
Like a Fishbone, Bush TheatreMonday, 14 June 2010![]() One of the many absent friends in contemporary British drama is the play that tackles questions of religious belief. At a time when more and more people take their faith more and more seriously, this lacuna at the heart — or should that be soul? —... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Istanbul: Salzburg, Here We ComeMonday, 31 May 2010![]() At a sprawling car plant in the suburbs of north-eastern Istanbul mechanics are busy repairing camshafts and dynamos, applying blow torches to the undercarriages of a range of luxury cars and retouching paintwork. Visitors to the building are met by... Read more... |
Chroma/ Tryst/ Symphony in C, Royal BalletMonday, 31 May 2010![]() A Balanchine on a mixed bill is a reminder of what a choreographer should desire to offer his audience: a specific new experience of art each time, not a repeated thumbprint in every ballet. Balanchine grew up in a borderless theatre country... Read more... |
Reopening of historic church art spaceThursday, 27 May 2010![]() Artist Richard Wilson says it's the best space in which he’s ever exhibited. And having ensured its long term future with a £870,000 renovation, Dilston Grove will undoubtedly prove a rewarding site for other contemporary artists to realise their... Read more... |
The Genius of Design: Designs for Living, BBC TwoSunday, 16 May 2010![]() Does form always have to follow function? Is ornamentation really such a heinous crime? Or is Modernism itself the enemy of the people? The second part of this excellent five-part series – fab archive footage, great interviews with designers young... 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... |
theartsdesk in Glasgow: Glasgow International Festival of Visual ArtSunday, 18 April 2010![]() During my two-day whistlestop tour of various galleries and arts venues across Glasgow, I’m afraid I didn’t spot one white bike. There are, apparently, 50 of them that punters are free to use for the two-week duration of the city’s second biennial... Read more... |
Anthony Caro: Upright Sculptures, Annely JudaMonday, 12 April 2010![]() Anthony Caro makes works with the human figure in mind. The venerated sculptor, who, at 86, remains seemingly unstoppable, came to prominence in the early Sixties with his brightly coloured abstract steel sculptures. These, such as his seminal 1962... Read more... |
The Art Nouveau Dacha, Russia's wooden weekend housesSaturday, 27 March 2010![]() "Russia has a remarkable and ancient tradition of wooden buildings that dates back to the tenth century, with the remains of Medieval fortresses demonstrating the sophistication of the Nordic wooden construction methods employed across Russia and... Read more... |
