Oceania at the RA

 Several weeks now since I went  to  see 'Oceania' at the Royal Academy. As I'm no longer a member , I paid full wack and thus spent as long as possible to get value for money! I normally don't bother  with the audio guide  but I'm glad I persisted as there was disappointingly little interpretation.  or description of items apart from that. As the exhibition was principally about how the items were used or  the cultural  and spiritual significance, the stories told   on the guide added another dimension.

What I also found of great value when looking round were the teachers resources I'd printed out  and read beforehand  (KS1&2 ; KS3,4,5  ; art detectives ). Apart from featuring what were some of my  favourite pieces, they provided a different  way of looking at things. For instance ,  for the Marshall Islands navigation charts ( below)  students were asked to think about the materials used; the senses other than sight; how do you get somewhere you don't know ; examples of different kinds of maps.  Linked art activities  included creating symbols for visual features  and for younger pupils,   asking them to think about their journey to school - could they draw it on paper  with their eyes closed  or explain to their friends   and using matchsticks and Blue-Tack to create their own navigational  chart.

The rooms were dark ( I presume to preserve the materials used )  so the lighting produced very interesting  shadows while proving a bit frustrating for taking photos, certainly too dark to draw.  When the piano was being played in room 2  it was also very loud. Nice idea but  you didn't feel you could linger and look at the items on display.

Some of the artifacts on display ( above ) were similar to  some  I'd seen and in some cases drawn at the British Museum  , for instance  the headdress , masks and barkcloth  below were part  of the fantastic barkcloth exhibition 

 The stories behind  some of these objects  such as the Polynesian deity A"a  are   on the RA website and their powerful presence reminded me of  drawing this  figure from Papua New Guinea,  again at the British Museum  

 The piece that most  moved and inspired me, based on format of barkcloth  was  ' To all New Arrivals ' by John Pule  ( interview here ) . Taking on the themes of war, global warming  and nuclear testing,  he says  " I don't want to show our gods  safe in nice , clean  dark storage rooms , I wanted to show these prized objects out in the open world." The  monumental  size  of it , with  variation in  media and scale from large paint daubs of  enamel to tiny intricate drawings and the multiple layers of meaning and story telling was  breathtaking.  I spent a long time  looking and discovering. The art activities in the teachers guides for this work included  discussing environmental issues and proposing designs for a floating island to carry environmental scientists, activists, journalists and artists  to different parts of the world that need their help. What a wonderful idea.  

Matisse in the Studio at the RA

 Matisse 'Rocaille Chair' 1936  

Making  the most of my   day in London after 'Drawing Tuesday' in Regent's Park, I'd booked 2.45 slot for 'Matisse in the Studio' at the Royal Academy . It had parallels  with the  glorious ' Matisse, his art and Textiles' exhibition held in the  same gallery in 2005 ( more than 10 years ago, it doesn't feel like that). I've spent this morning going through the book again, when I should I have been doing something else, reminding myself of the ' Haiti's' that are a feature of this exhibition too.

 The juxtaposition  of some of his favourite objects  with the paintings and sculptures  they inspired or   featured in  was fascinating ( I covet his green glass vase)  

I bought a copy of the ' Introduction to the exhibition for Teachers and Students'  which  explored  key pieces in  depth , asking  questions  that make you think such as ' What is the difference between a mask and a portrait? Using this  as  a guide and  using   exercises  from ' Advanced Painting '  and 'Ways into Abstract Painting' gallery visits, I  took notes and made quick sketches   which have given  me  food for thought , particularly in composition and paint application ( I'm thinking of returning to oils for 'Contemporary Painting Studio' course   at City lit ). Also reminded me how much I like drawing pewter!  

Matisse 'Large Red Interior' 1948

 It was good too to  be reminded of his  paintings of interiors.  I first  visited the   Centre  Pompidou in Paris in the late 1980's  on a work trip   stopping off between Rilland and Amiens. I was blown away by the artwork  particularly  'Florentine Villas'   by Paul Klee  and 'Large Red Interior ' by Matisse and bought large posters of both.   These  posters combined with  kelims bought on trips to Turkey and  Morroco  were what made various small  rooms in shared houses and   my first purchased   flats  ' home' . In my tiny studio  flat, the Matisse print gave the illusion of additional  rooms and enlarged the space. Alas  the poster  got water damaged   when in storage between moves  but  the kelims are still in use.  

A Day Out in Bermondsey

 On Friday  I met up with my friend Sue  ( who I haven't seen for months)  in Bermondsey. It's not an area I've visited for a very long time, the focus for the visit was the exhibition at the White Cube of Anselm Kiefer, but there's  lots of interest in the area including  this  delightful community sculpture 'The Shared'  that Sue spotted down an alley!

 'Walhalla' was the theme and the title of much of the work in this Anselm Kiefer  exhibition and  so much lead was used that you had to read a health and safety notice  about it's toxicity  before you entered!  I'd thought the work in the exhibition at the RA in 2014 was monumental but  this was of an even larger magnitude.  
Although thought-provoking I didn't particularly like the lead beds (and walls!) and other installations  but loved the paintings: the scale, the colours, most of all the incredible textures and surfaces achieved with variety of unusual media used.

 The huge 'books' of photographs with  clay  were wonderful .

 The close up (below) of this painting  give an idea of  how layers are curled back from the surface.

 Interesting unusual composition with the darkest areas at the top.

 The use of luminous colours  (especially the blue) and the sheen of shellac   gave a lift to these paintings ( which are huge!)

 Sue and I had a discussion about how on earth he made  such huge pieces and how  large his studio could be - the answer is apparently 200 acres!

  After a delicious long lunch at the Fashion and Textile Museum, we    visited the London Glassblowing   gallery. This spectacular, sculptural piece ( with its' shadows)  by Jochen Ott  was my favourite  but   difficult  to choose  amongst so much gorgeous work!

 Finished up at the Eames gallery  where I'd noticed on my way past  there was  an exhibition on 'Discovering Samuel Palmer' whose work I've long admired ( the exhibition at the British Museum  was exceptional)   It turned out to be even more interesting  as  his prints formed the basis of  varied interpretations by  a range of contemporary printmakers, rather a contrast in scale to the Anselm Kiefer up the road!

Drawing Tuesday: Coral and RA Abstract Expressionism

  Drawing Tuesday this week   was at the Natural History  Museum , an afternoon session to try and avoid the hordes of school groups. It was still pretty busy though  and 3 of us found a quieter spot at the end of a corridor   and drew an enormous coral . It was very easy to get lost in the folds  but it was very rewarding to see it gradually take shape on the paper.  I used just a 4B pencil but wished I'd left  more areas undetailed like the drawing of the vase at the British  Museum.  I did  a quick sketch  ( below)  of some of the texture- so  much inspiration for stitch!

In the morning I went to the Abstract Expressionism  exhibition at the RA. Absolutely fantastic and worth the steep entrance fee  to see work on such a grand scale -  photos just don't do them justice . I didn't pick up an audio guide as I wanted to discover them for myself and walked quickly through the whole exhibition before zoning in on what grabbed my attention and why.  I made lots of notes and have ordered  the catalogue .  Meanwhile , do look at the teachers resources ( primary and secondary ) for the exhibition , so many good ideas. There were quite a few school groups  there - it was interesting to contrast their behaviour in different galleries - they were  lively  observing the Jackson Pollock and   calm and meditative   in the Rothko room, (  I could have spend all day there)  

Among the artists whose work I already knew there were several new to me, the one that intrigued me most  in terms of techniques to try was the collage work of Conrad Marca-Relli.

I wonder what the term is for artistic indigestion?! I've seen so much wonderful art and exhibitions over the last few weeks , I'm having difficultly concentrating, my head is so full of ideas I don't know where to start

Summer Exhibition at RA : Paintings

113 Terry Setch  RA

  An  expedition up to town  yesterday  to drop  off my quilt entries for  the Festival of Quilts to Upper Street Events offices then to the Royal Academy for the Summer Exhibition.  I've recently got  a new Windows phone and   besides taking my usual notes in my sketchbook of what I like and marking the numbers off in the List of Works, I became one of those sad people taking photos with my phone. Only as an aide memoire -  this year the RA have a wonderful app with  a searchable  list (Summer Exhibition Explorer ) of all the works on  display ( a by- product of online entries)  and  the train journey home sped by in an instance ( as did my phone battery....)   These are some of the paintings that caught my eye, starting with Academicians. I've given the  catalogue numbers so you can search for yourselves.
Looking at what I've chosen, it's clear  what influence my recent City Lit course has had - they are  mostly very much about the paint itself ; multiple layered, sometimes with glimpses of  unexpected base colours showing through; a  sense of space. Sometimes it's difficult to work out what's going on , many of them are simplified coastal scenes/landscapes. Most of all,  work  to aspire to , how I'd like to  paint. Enjoy!!   

849 Sonia Lawson RA

 50 Mick Moon  RA

70 Frank Bowling RA

71 Sean Scully RA

89 Jennifer Durrant RA

95 Anthony Whishaw RA

 107 Anthony Whishaw RA

863 Karl Bielik

77 Jannette Kerr

165 Peter Arscott

166 Karolina Gacke

187 Nicholas Blanning

194 Sophie Beddingham Smith

195 Joan Doerr

207 Mark Rochester

215 Dick Hewitson

238 Sandra Beccarrelli

 ( Sandra was  imaginative evening class tutor in Brentford , so pleased to see her work chosen. )

411 Mhairi McGregor

414 Vanessa Gardner

416 Jane Cordery

434 Nicholas Bush

450 Julian Sutherland-Beatson

463 Frances Hatch

482 Georgia Mason

492 Paul Fowler

( Faversham painter of local  area ,  work seen in Beaney in Canterbury)