Rachel Whiteread |
I've been in hibernation over Xmas and New Year. Apart from going out for dinner on Xmas day and the visit of some friends on 28th , we've been taking advantage of being well stocked with provisions and not had to venture out in the horrible weather. Just as well as I've been fighting off the lurgy, going to bed early, getting up late and watching daytime TV ( loved Paddington!)
I've been stitching on the piece ' wind me in the sea ' I started last January (it is now a very large loop) and thinking about what I intend to do as a daily(ish) project, gathering collage materials together, reviewing what I got out of the art courses last year.
While excavating my studio, I realised I hadn't got round to reporting on some of the exhibitions I'd visited. On 12th December, on the way to Upper Street to collect my quilt after it had been returned from its travels with Knit and Stitch shows , I finally made it to Tate Britain to see the Rachel Whiteread exhibition, a fascinating exploration of negative space given form and substance. I particularly liked the works on paper, seeing how she develops her ideas and the 'bookshelves' with the details of the page edges recorded during the casting process.
While I was in the Tate , I had a quick whizz through the 'Impressionists in London' . While it was interesting from a historical point of view, most of the art wasn't to my taste although it was great to be reacqainted with some of the paintings from the 'Turner ,Whistler, Monet' exhibition . 13 years on and pre-blog it remains one of those memorable exhibitions that changed how I look at thing.
The surprise was at the end - a selection of vibrant paintings by Andre Derain paying homage to Monet choosing the same motifs . I'll definately go back to have a closer look , I remember being blown away by his paintings at the Courtauld in 2006
Andre Derain 'Barges on the Thames'
Thames barges mean so much more to me now having lived in Brentford and seeing them on the Thames and now with 'Iron Wharf' for inspiration. I made quick notes in my sketchbook, I particularly liked the use of primary colours and how the mast/ sail changes from red against blue to blue against red .
On 5 December, I combined a ' Drawing Tuesday' visit to Tate Modern with seeing ' A Sense of Place by View Seven at the Menier Gallery
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I particularly likes the work by Susie Koren ( above) and Claire Benn - I'd loved her work at FoQ in 2016 and it looked even better in this venue .
Back at Tate Modern, I had quick look round Ilya and Emilia Kabakov -' Not Everyone will be taken into the future'. Not an exhibition I would have paid to go into but being a member of the Tate means I try out things outside my comfort zone
The installations were interesting and thought provoking ( 'Labyrinth(my mothers album') was quite haunting , with the collaged family photos and songs ) What I found most inspiring were the large scale paintings based on collage - gave me ideas about scaling up of marks etc
This Friday, I'm making a return visit to the Scythians at the British Museum ( another exhibition I went to when I should have been drawing at Kings Place...)
The size and intricate workmanship of the gold belt buckles are indeed jaw dropping but it is the fragile objects including textiles found in remarkable state of preservation in the permafrost that I'm looking forward to seeing again .
Wow! Love the boot!
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