23 March 2019
London - It's jam-packed with culture. Bursting at the seems, this City has a never ending supply of opportunities to learn, explore and discover. We love it!
Time for another culture-catch-up... We head up to London early Saturday pm to make the most of our time... First up: Tate Modern - 3 wonderful shows to enjoy...
Dorothea Tanning - We discover the artist who pushed the boundaries of surrealism! This is the first large-scale exhibition of Dorothea Tanning’s work for 25 years. It brings together 100 works from her seven-decade career – from enigmatic paintings to uncanny soft sculptures. Tanning wanted to depict ‘unknown but knowable states’: to suggest there was more to life than meets the eye. She first encountered surrealism in New York in the 1930s. In the 1940s, her powerful self-portrait Birthday 1942 attracted the attention of fellow artist Max Ernst – they married in 1946. Her work from this time combines the familiar with the strange, exploring desire and sexuality.From the 1950s, now working in Paris, Tanning’s paintings became more abstract, and in the 1960s she started making pioneering sculptures out of fabric.
Dorothea Tanning - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1943
Dorothea Tanning - Étreinte (Embrace) 1969
Pierre Bonnard - This is the first major exhibition of Pierre Bonnard’s work in the UK since the much-loved show at Tate 20 years ago. Born 1867, Bonnard was, with Henri Matisse, one of the greatest colourists of the early 20th century. He preferred to work from memory, imaginatively capturing the spirit of a moment and expressing it through his unique handling of colour and innovative sense of composition.
Pierre Bonnard - Stairs in the Artist's Garden 1942-4
The exhibition concentrated on Bonnard’s work from 1912, when colour became a dominant concern, until his death in 1947. Landscapes and intimate domestic scenes were brought together to show moments in time, it was a very colourful peek into a very beautiful world!
Franz West - (1947–2012) brought a punk aesthetic into the pristine spaces of art galleries. His abstract sculptures, furniture, collages and large-scale works are direct, crude and unpretentious.
Franz West - Untitled 2007 and Epiphanie 2011
Franz West - Alpha, Omega, Dorit and Kugel 2002-8
Franz West - Schlieren 2010
What a fun show, we were even allowed to handle replicas of his Passstücke (Adaptives) – papier-mâché pieces made to be picked up and moved. These were a turning point in the relationship between art and its audience. West also created playful sculptures incorporating objects from everyday life such as a hat, a broom, or even a whisky bottle. In his final years he produced large, brightly coloured and absurd sculptures both for galleries and public spaces.
Born and based in Vienna, he collaborated with numerous artists, musicians, writers and photographers. He has been a vast influence on younger artists – his friend and collaborator Sarah Lucas has contributed to the design of the exhibition. Fun, Fun and more FUN... Simply loved this show! Big, bold and very-very clever!
10 out of 10
