Visual Arts Features
Christo (1935-2020) - 'Beauty, science and art will always triumph'Wednesday, 03 June 2020
The death of Christo, aged 84, was announced on Sunday, marking the end of a visionary and flamboyant artistic career. Read more... |
Visual Arts Lockdown Special 2: read, search, listen, createTuesday, 05 May 2020
Arguably one of the most poignant effects of the lockdown has been to simultaneously draw attention to the connections between the arts and the distinct ways they have evolved into their own forms. Read more... |
Visual Arts Lockdown Special 1: DIY art, Russell Tovey's chat show, and guided tours onlineTuesday, 21 April 2020
As the art world adjusts to our new reality, social media has allowed galleries and museums to remain open in spirit at least. Read more... |
Foragers of the Foreshore - London's mudlarks on showSunday, 01 September 2019
Over the weekend, exhibitions and installations have started to bubble-up on the riverside walkway in London. Still-life photography of mudlark finds and a "scented history" of Barking Creek outside the National Theatre. Artwork from a dozen national and international river cities at the Royal Docks. An installation of 550 jerry cans at the Oxo Tower. Read more... |
theartsdesk in Treviso - cultural patronage, Italian styleFriday, 05 July 2019
Fortunate those Italian towns and cities whose Renaissance rulers looked to the arts to enrich their domain. Now neglect of cultural heritage can be laid at the doors of successive governments, but regional enlightenment can make a difference even in the era of Salvini. Read more... |
First Person: Robert Hollingworth on I Fagiolini's 'Leonardo - Shaping the Invisible'Friday, 26 April 2019
Leonardo da Vinci died 500 years ago on 2 May this year. We all know he was a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, pioneer of flight and anatomist – yet according to Vasari, Leonardo’s first job outside Florence was as a result of his musical talents. Read more... |
h 100 Awards: Art, Design and Craft - making art publicWednesday, 29 August 2018
This year’s nominees represent the wealth of innovative activity that makes British art, craft and design fresh and exciting. Artists and makers dominate the shortlist, and rightly so, but curators, an educator, and a journalist reflect the importance of public engagement with the visual arts, and the many ways in which this is achieved. Read more... |
theartsdesk in Riga - 43,290 Latvians sing and dance for their countryTuesday, 24 July 2018
"They incessantly break down, destroy and fragment the mistrust that exists among people," wrote a Latvian journalist of a folklore group during the start of the Baltic countries' "singing revolution" against Soviet rule in 1988. Read more... |
'That brick red frock with flowers everywhere': painting Katherine MansfieldFriday, 15 June 2018
The well-known portrait of New Zealand’s greatest writer, Katherine Mansfield, is exactly 100 years old on 17 June 2018 (main picture). It was painted by the American artist Anne Estelle Rice. Read more... |
Helaine Blumenfeld: Britain’s most successful sculptor you’ve never heard ofTuesday, 17 April 2018
Sexy is an overused word in the arts but it’s an adjective you can’t help applying to some of Helaine Blumenfeld’s voluptuous marble sculptures as you run your fingers over their surfaces. These abstract bodily forms, often in the purest icing-white crystalline stone, are so tempting that you almost want to lick them. Read more... |
Pages
latest in today
theartsdesk on Vinyl 58: Joy Division, Alma, Prince, African...
Lockdown’s easing and the record shops are opening here and there. So, to help...
Finding The Way Back review - alcoholism on the rebound
Gavin O’Connor has made a career out of sturdy films that make grown men cry. His best was Warrior - a hulking, tear-jerking...
The Golden Age of Modern Spanish Art, Colnaghi review - the...
When Picasso left Barcelona for Paris in 1900, he took what by...
The Deep Blue Sea, National Theatre at Home review - hauntin...
Helen McCrory is an actor who can inject a world of feeling into one syllable that many actors would struggle to muster in an entire script....
Litigante review - an unflashy film which rings true
Colombian director Franco Lolli’s debut feature...
@TheDriveIn, Blackheath review - comedy and caraoke
Drive-ins are now firmly establishing themselves as the only method by which culture fans can see live arts in person for the future. Hot on the...
Album: The Streets - None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life...
Given the collaborator list on this album, it should be a bit of a mess. Brit punks IDLES,...
Theatre Lockdown Special 13: Early Lloyd Webber, vintage Rat...
Stop the presses! For the first time in nearly four months, The Arts Desk can point to the first of several live theatre events amongst the...
Steven Isserlis, Fidelio Orchestra Café review – distilled r...
What music would you choose to hear for your first live event after nearly four months of lockdown? For me, it would be...
