It's funny how looking back on the year, I realised how many exhibitions took place and concurrently, how many I should have visited.
Here are some of the ones I saw but forgot to post the blog about.
And I still intend to write up on that one excellent Picasso exhibition at MAH.
(I don't know why but I can't seem to post the pictures. Will have to add them in at another point).
ART EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS:
BEFORE & DURING THE SUMMER OF 2013
QIN
EXHIBITION: BERNE
The Qin exhibition in Berne was surprising for many good and bad
reasons. For one thing, I expected that there would be more examples of the
warriors on display. Only a handful and by that I mean you could count them on
your fingers.
We went on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. The exhibition is best understood
either through a guided tour or using one of those audio guides.
At its origin, the warriors were painted in bright, bold colours from lilacs
to deep reds.
We saw one or two models of such paintwork. Without a doubt, I preferred
them without the paintwork simply because it in no way discusses
What is so incredible is the amount of attention to detail. The horses
are well-wroth, these tall, powerful creatures with fearless gazes.
Just as incredible is the manner in which the pieces were made and
assembled. It was a chain production where the head was added as the last
piece. Each warrior is individual, with facial features distinct from the next.
Military rank was important and this was incorporated into the sculptures - whether it
was the kind of body armour the solider wore or the official ornaments which was seen as signs of authority.
ROYAL
ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION: LONDON
The Royal Academy’s annual show had ended by the time I made it to
London. Yes, very disappointing, indeed.
Still visible and hanging outside in the Annenberg Courtyards was the El Anatsui installation. The massive
sculptural installation "Tsiatsia - searching for connection", drapes the front of the building like a majestic robe.
The metal glimmers as it quivers slightly in the afternoon breeze. These are
old cap lids from beer and soda bottles which have been flattened out into
rectangular diskettes and painstakingly sewn together to form this patchwork of
swaths of gold interlinked with red, blues and yellows. It is almost like a distorted, perhaps
abstract painting of the continent.
Also outside is the installation “Homeshell” by architectural firm,
Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners. It deals with the thorny issue of housing. It
was originally part of the Oxley Woods housing development in Milton Keynes but
it is now turning a laser-like glare on the city of London. This is a city whose
population is forever expanding but which, according to them, does not have
sufficient construction projects to meet the demand.
This is a project that looks at the future, to the ever growing demand
for a place to call “home” and the troublingly high statistics of those who
remain homeless in the country (even though there is allegedly 32,400 hectares
of vacant brownfield land in England). The need to provide housing is also
about being able to do so at a reduced cost, where the investment matches the
needs and means of those who most need it in a way that is both cost effective
and easy to build. While the proposal to offer these quick fix (it only takes
48 hours to construct on site), matchbox kind of housing (the 2012 Olympic
Velodrome was constructed using this method) may not be to everyone’s taste but
in the firm’s opinion, it does offer a valid solution to a growing problem.
These are some of the advantages including the fact that Homeshell is
adaptable to any location. Insulshell comes with 25-year warranty and a six
decade design life (whatever that means). They also boast that they can build a
six-story building in under a month and their system is also adaptable to
constructing schools, factories and health centres. It all almost sounds too
good to be true.
NATIONAL
POTRAIT GALLERY: LONDON
It was good to see the art selected for the annual competition hanging
on the walls of the NPG.
While superlatives like amazing, most intelligent and incredibly
ambitious definitely apply, the art on display is also thought-provoking.
This was where Katherine Windsor’s painting hangs. After the controversy
surrounding it and the pictures flying over the internet, I thought the
painting would be awful but it is so much better to see in real life. There is
a great deal of artistry in the work and while I still feel it could have been
more flattering (in the painting she does indeed look older than she actually is), it is in fact a
very good painting.
The BP Portrait Award this year showcased the paintings of 55 artists
from around the world whose works were considered to be the “most outstanding
and innovative”. Though there is big prize money to be won, there is something
very prestigious about showing your work alongside other artists of
varying ages and styles at this acclaimed venue. In a world where the bizarre,
outrageous and downright talentless is being praised, it is nice to see that
traditional artistry, the harkening back to the original definitions of skill
and talent are still being celebrated and valued.
Yes, this is definitely a case of substance over style.
Hoorah for the BP Portrait Awards.
I enjoyed Lionel Smit’s “Kholiswa”,
the tattooed man “Takami Horikoshi” by Colin Davidson and
the multiplicity of faces in “Conversations” by David Caldwell. Some other
works may not have been to my personal taste but that is the truth about
democratic selection, it allows everyone their subjective favourites. Little
matter.
I salute all the artists selected.
TATE MODERN:
LONDON
Museums have always been accused of being a prison for the oeuvres of
mostly dead artists. While they are indeed the purveyors the art that is
supposed to matter in the future and the strict guardians of artwork made by
artists who for the most part, are long dead and gone, they do offer a focal
point for contemplation.
Without them, it would be almost impossible to see the work of artists
scattered around the world assembled in one location. Instead, these works
would likely have been squirrelled away into private collections or stashed in
warehouses until an appointed time when they will once again see daylight when
they are traded at Christie’s or Sotherby’s or perhaps loaned out for an
international exhibition.
The many floors of the Tate have a weaving, almost hypnotic feel to
them. Climbing up the innumerable stairs is a slog and not for the unfit. I am
glad when I eventually spot the escalators and I jump on it as though I have
just finished a marathon.
It is a pleasant surprise to discover the permanent exhibition is free.
My intention had been to see at least one of the temporary or travelling shows
but in the end, there just wasn’t enough time to see everything.
It is Sunday morning and the high-ceilinged rooms are filled with
people, their necks craning as they stare at paintings on the wall, hoping to
find relevance in the art by artists like Picasso, Miro and Kadinsky.
Works by Meschac Garba and the Sudanese modernist painter, Ibrahim El
Salahi (different floors) were part of the temporary exhibits - which I did not
see. One of Garba’s pieces was on display at Unlimited in Art Basel (the
colourful and ginormous flag ball which I took a picture of – see below). El
Salahi’s exhibition at the Tate is a major retrospective of a career spanning
five decades and incorporating over a hundred artworks.
The significance of art is never more evident than when the visitor is
moved by works they can study up close rather than on the pages of some glossy
art book.
In the end, I enjoyed seeing works by the old masters, from the
Impressionists to the Cubists, to the Expressionists. And I would gladly go
there again.
Then I went off and bought a rectangular art pad, walked a few metres
and stood in front of the water looking out from the banks of London on a cool
but pleasant morning.
What better way is there to spend a Sunday in a cultural city?
Other London sights:
Well, I can't help but mention the sculptures by Sean Henry which I stumbled upon in a swank hotel in London. His tall, life-like men in painted bronze are intriguing and strangely, essential - yes, odd as that sounds. The scupture, "Man with potential selves" - is as mysterious as it is hypnotic.
This discovery was a very happy accident.
ART AT THE
UNITED NATIONS: GENEVA
Unfinished business – Belinda Mason
On exhibition on the ground floor of the Palais de Nations (Porte 40)
was the photographic works by Australian artist, Belinda Mason, who took photographs
of the indigenous populations suffering from various maladies including mental
health issues. These photographs were presented using a 3D lenticular format.
Very cool.
The exhibition proved insightful as these close-up portraits of
Aboriginal men and women was intended to give voice to people who the artist
felt were either ignored or poorly assisted by the medical community in their
regions. There is something compelling about looking at the face of a person
and seeing their struggles and suffering in such an open, raw way.
As you walk by, the images follow you – or more precisely, the picture
modifies itself, and the eyes seemingly shift to follow movement. They are in a
sense, Mona Lisa like, personal and personable.
It is perhaps no coincidence that the works should be on display during the 24th
session of the Human Rights Council where raising awareness and discussing
daily human hardships of people around the world. After all, the plight of
others is a pre-requisite aspect of their deliberations.
Also on the same floor:
The Andy Warhol Exhibition
I could easily use a whole page just to wax lyrical about an exhibition
that incorporates diamonds, screenprint and that involves an iconic artist. But
I won’t.
There is much to be said about Warhol – which has already been over said
(if truth be told) so I think I will highlight the stuff I didn’t know about
the artist.
Born in a country that no longer exists, Warhol is the fourth child of
his parents and threw himself into art from a young age. He went off to New York and started off his career as a commercial artist. He was rejected by many galeries and his early works did not sell well. It took several years before he finally made it as a "real" artist.
Just before, he reached out to artists like Jasper Johns and Rauschenberg, hoping for their support - as they were the only other artists who were going against the Pollock style of abstract art with their "pop art" - but he was firmly rebuffed.
Indeed, it was the Campbell soup paintings that made the art world sit up and take notice (though at the time of the exhibition, he was mocked or alternatively, ignored). Still, he perserved and became an overnight success!
What is most interesting about the exhibition (aside from the generous
application of diamond dust) is the versatility of the artist.
He surprised me and that, any artist can tell you, is always a good
thing.
