22 December 2019
We take a day trip to London and explore the major art shows at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Before heading home, we chill in a couple of our fave old City haunts... Cheers!
First up: Tate Britain... Anne Hardy wins the prize for best winter decorations with her post-apocalyptic commission. She has transformed the front of the London Gallery with ice, mud, tangled lights and torn banners. The result is truly unique and even includes a 21-minute quadraphonic soundscape... Then, we enjoy...
William Blake - A painter, print maker and poet who created some of the most iconic images in British art. With over 300 original works, including watercolours, paintings and prints, this is the largest show of Blake’s work for almost 20 years. It rediscovers him as a visual artist for the 21st century. Radical and rebellious, he is an inspiration to visual artists, musicians, poets and performers worldwide. A beautifully staged show, very enjoyable!
Nebuchadnezzar William Blake 1795
A destroying Deity William Blake 1820
Mark Leckey: O' Magic power of Bleaknesss - An ambitious new large-scale exhibition by the Turner Prize winning artist. Leckey transforms Tate Britain’s galleries with a life-size replica of a motorway bridge on the M53 on the Wirral, Merseyside, where he grew up. The bridge – a recurring motif in his work – is the setting for a new audio play. Focusing on a group of teenagers, the play is inspired by folklore and stories of changelings and ‘fairy raids’ and by the artist’s own pre-adolescent experiences. Composed of new and existing work, this exhibition is an atmospheric, theatrical experience of spectral visions, sound and video. BRILLIANT...
Installation view Mark Leckey 2019
Dave and 'The Depth of Darkness, the Return of the Light' Anne Hardy 2019
After a spot of lunch, we hit Tate Modern. It's hard to believe that this Gallery has been central to London's art landscape for 20 years... it surely has to be one of the best Contemporary Art Galleries in the world!
Kara Walker: Hyundai Commission - Fons Americanus is a 13-metre tall working fountain inspired by the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London. Rather than a celebration of the British Empire, this fountain explores the interconnected histories of Africa, America and Europe. Kara uses water as a key theme, referring to the transatlantic slave trade and the ambitions, fates and tragedies of people from these three continents. Fantasy, fact and fiction meet at an epic scale. Based in New York, Kara Walker is acclaimed for her candid explorations of race, sexuality and violence.
Dora Maar - This exhibition explores the breadth of Maar's long career in the context of work by her contemporaries and is the most comprehensive retrospective ever held. During the 1930s, the artists provocative photomontages became celebrated icons of surrealism. Her eye for the unusual also translated to her commercial photography, including fashion and advertising, as well as to her social documentary projects. Her relationship with Pablo Picasso had a profound effect on both their careers. She documented the creation of his most political work, Guernica 1937. He painted her many times, including Weeping Woman 1937. Together they made a series of portraits combining experimental photographic and printmaking techniques. In middle and later life Maar withdrew from photography. She concentrated on painting and found stimulation and solace in poetry, religion, and philosophy, returning to her darkroom only in her seventies. Fab show, great to discover the work of this incredible Lady!
Nam June Paik - This major exhibition is a mesmerising riot of sights and sounds. It brings together over 200 works from throughout Paik's five-decade career – from robots made from old TV screens, to his innovative video works and all-encompassing room-sized installations such as the dazzling Sistine Chapel 1993. Experimental, innovative and always playful, this artist's work has had a profound influence on today’s art and culture. He pioneered the use of TV and video in art and coined the phrase ‘electronic superhighway’ to predict the future of communication in the internet age. Amazing show, great fun and very memorable - top marks!
Kara Walker: Hyundai Commission - Fons Americanus is a 13-metre tall working fountain inspired by the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London. Rather than a celebration of the British Empire, this fountain explores the interconnected histories of Africa, America and Europe. Kara uses water as a key theme, referring to the transatlantic slave trade and the ambitions, fates and tragedies of people from these three continents. Fantasy, fact and fiction meet at an epic scale. Based in New York, Kara Walker is acclaimed for her candid explorations of race, sexuality and violence.
Alex and 'Fons Americanus' Kara Walker 2019
Hand-shell Dora Maar 1934
Untitled Dora Maar 1933
Uncle and Aunt Nam June Paik 1986
Sistine Chapel Nam June Paik 1993
Dave enjoys the installation
10 out of 10
