Tate Modern’s exhibition Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and The Blue Rider is a great opportunity to see a significant part of the Lenbachhaus collection on loan from Munich. But as an exhibition it only really gets going towards the end. Let’s Start at the Beginning: Expressionism Unless you’re new here you know the Salterton Arts Review […]
An exhibition at London’s Serpentine Gallery allows a showcase of Shonibare’s distinctive style, if not any new artistic approaches. Yinka Shonibare CBE at the Serpentine Gallery It has really been a long time since I was at the Serpentine Gallery. So long, in fact, that it was part of my Covid Diaries series. And actually, […]
There is an interesting idea at the heart of Tate Britain‘s Sargent and Fashion, but it’s easy to lose sight of in this over-expansive and somewhat diluted exhibition. John Singer Sargent I’ve seen one-star reviews of this exhibition, and I’ve seen five star reviews. I land somewhere in the middle. I have a few complaints, […]
An artist-curated show, Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas isn’t your usual retrospective. Content warning: mildly NSFW Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas Tate Britain’s current exhibition programming is a veritable cornucopia of modern and contemporary female artists. There’s Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990. There are free exhibitions of work by Zeinab Saleh and […]
A well-curated and somewhat delayed exhibition at Tate Modern, Philip Guston is a journey into abstraction and back again. Content warning: contains discussion of racism and violence. Philip Guston I love an exhibition on an artist I know little about. I also love a bit of drama. And so I was happy to finally have […]
A broad undertaking, A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography brings together artists from across the African continent to explore points of commonality and difference. A World In Common: Contemporary African Photography Now here is a Tate exhibition I can get on board with. Although I really liked Isaac Julien: What Freedom is to Me […]
A compare and contrast exercise, Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life encourages reflection on the organic origins of abstract art. Hilma Af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms Of Life It seems a strange pairing, to begin with. Two early 20th Century European painters, sure, but a more different set of two artists […]
An exhibition at Tate Britain, The Rossettis: Radical Romantics, shows the family’s romantic side for sure. Are they radical? Maybe in some ways. Is this exhibition as much of a fresh take as it appears to be? The jury is still out. The Rossettis: Radical Romantics Let’s start off with a small word on names. […]
Don’t come if you’re in a hurry, but for those with some time up their sleeves, Isaac Julien: What Freedom is to Me is a stylish and thought-provoking, immersive experience. Isaac Julien I’m coming around a little to film-based art. When I was younger and less patient, I resented the demand on my time. Because, […]
Continuing my exploration of Tate exhibitions of female sculptors, Maria Bartuszová’s works in plaster combine the solid and the ephemeral in pleasingly natural forms. Maria Bartuszová I wrote recently when I went to see Magdalena Abakanowicz: Every Tangle of Thread and Rope about the Tate’s efforts to exhibit the work of female sculptors. Why sculptors […]
