RA Summer Exhibition - Paintings etc

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We had our annual expedition to the RA Summer exhibition on Friday (working round there being no buses due to industrial action) . Over the past few days I've been mulling over what has stuck in my mind and doing some research online on artists - mostly new.
There was a lot to enjoy especially among the large selection of smaller pieces on display in Room III  and the prints in Rooms I and II ( subject of another post). I liked a lot of the work in the 'landscape' room V chosen  by Barbara Rae  and her work, along with a couple of Sean Scully pieces in Room V.
Picking out my favourites, I suppose it is inevitable that  I'm drawn to those intepretations of subjects that I'm attempting to depict in my own work.
Trees are a current obsession - I'm not normally a huge fan of Tony Bevan(1)  but I love 'Untitled (tree No5 )', it's so full of character and vigorous marks.  Each year a painting by Anthony Whishaw (2) always seems to  figure in my top choices - this 'Light interior' has a lot of the qualities of crumbly textures I try to capture and with its subtle colour  is so atmospheric.
'The Wave'  by Fred Cuming (3), with its cloud shapes mirroring the wave  warrants further analysis for my seascapes. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who sees purple in everything! 

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These 3 are all by Royal Academicians but my  choice out of the whole exhibition was this small painting (4) of boats ( another obsession!) by Peter Beeson for its interesting composition and the unusual  rich green with touches of red and white. Also in Room V ,other painters of note new to me were Mary Canty and Neal Greig

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After a few comments on CQ Yahoo Group about the lack of textiles in the Summer Exhibition, I kept a separate note of those works that included thread, fabric, wool etc and there seemed to be far more than  in previous year -18 in total  ( not that I've counted them before! ) .The selection of so many more small artworks probably helped although there were large pieces ,prominently hung: an embroidered drawing by Denise de Cordova  and the "Wearable Paintings"  of Lisa Milroy RA .Besides a piece by Miranda Argyle 'From where I'm  Looking' ( admired her work in previous years)  I wasn't  that struck by most of the textile pieces with  exception of  the painted embroidery 'Exterior'(5) of Nick Sargent ( more interesting work on his website) and the use of tiny stitched letters as marks in 'Holding myself together....' (6)by Effie Jessop

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Ian's favourite was  a small piece ' Peg Tapestry'  by Annie Morris - I preferred  her large construction 'Peg Painting' (7)of pegs individually painted with figures.  Quirky but satisfying in its textures, and overall effect with splashes of colour and wonderful details.

RA Summer Exhibition 2011

Inspired by the Culture Show special on the RA Summer Exhibition , we made our annual pilgrimage a bit earlier than usual. Entry was through the Central Hall and they'd  changed the rooms around from previous years ( more room for prints and drawings in I and II than the Large Weston Room) so didn't follow a logical order as in the past! A lot of people are rather sniffy about the Summer Exhibition (refering to it as a car boot sale among other derogatory terms) but I love it for its diversity. I  usually 'discover' new artists (at least to me ) and reaquaint myself with old favourites and this year was no exception

So let's do a tour!
First stop was the lecture room of Royal Academicians  curated by Michael Craig- Martin. I loved the Antony Gormly piece -it looks organic , like a swarm of bees for a distance but made of geometric forms and  Cornelia Parker's 'Endless Sugar' instalation of 30 squashed silver sugar bowls was subtle and mesmerising. You were so aware of the volume that had been sucked out of each piece and the subtle variation.

Next room 'IX' , has an embroidered piece 'Heartbeat' by Miranda Argyle - pleased to say much more prominent than her piece hidden away in the Small Weston Room in in 2009. It was 'Dagenham ' by Jock McFadyen that drew my eye- it looked at first glance  quite ordinary but with a dramatic sky and then you saw the detail of a thin line of house and buildings

In room VII, being on the lookout for boat paintings  'the deadliest catch' by Jonathan Wolfenden caught my eye as did the subtle drawings( almost like  a linocut) of 'River Lune' by Milan Ivanic.

I'm not sure  I agree with the curator of room V that  it is ‘only for people who are sensitive, intelligent and thoughtful. No one else will enjoy it: the works are delicate, subtle and rich.’ but it  was without doubt my favourite. From the sarcophagus of bones by Olu Shobowale to the gouaches of Ian McKeever, there was much to enjoy. The  sculpture by Cathy de Monchaux while uncomfortable was fantastic (in all its definitions) with its depiction of strange figures on unicorns like a renaissance painting in 3D. In the category of 'I wish I'd made that' was the painting 'Cartwheeler ' by Melanie Comber in oil and pigment  and 2 works by Philippa Stjernswald:  quiet , textured pieces in oil ,wax and mixed media.

By this time I was starting to flag (well there are over 1000 pieces in the exhibibition ), resisting the Pimm's,I  managed to have a quick skim of Room III , agreeing with the critics for once that the hanging did most of the work no favours. No time to absorb the prints , drawings and artists's books apart from the intricate folded paper cathedral window patchwork of antique books by  Francisco Prieto .
Just have to go back for a second visit