In the selection of art reviews on The Arts Desk this week, several big names feature highly, although this doesn't necessarily mean that satisfaction is guaranteed.
For something a little different from Thomas Gainsborough, we start away from the London galleries in Bath. The painter had a passion for painting imagined landscapes, but he was famed as the 18th centuries leading portraitist. A marvellously rich overview of the artist's work can be seen in the exhibition 'Gainsborough's Landscapes: Themes and Variations' at the Holburne Museum.
Sarah Kent was disappointed in her art review of 'Barry Flanagan: Early Works 1965-1982' at Tate Britain, as although his career began thrillingly enough, it gradually went off the boil. Flanagan began working as a true exploratory sensualist and made fun, inventive works using different materials and processes. He soon began to rely on mass-produced works, which have none of the probing and investigative energy that once made him so radical and interesting.
Back in the London galleries now and Pipilotti Rist's exhibition 'Eyeball Massage' at the Hayward Gallery had a feel-good factor about it. Viewers are offered a chandelier made of white knickers and various video projections including graphic close-ups of the female body and a woman behaving like an animal. In this permissive setting, without the presence of any particular strict constraints to kick against though, it lacked the desired impact.
The acclaimed works of Abstract Expressionism was showcased in the exhibition 'Frank Stella: Connections' at Haunch of Venison, however it left Josh Spero feeling unmoved. The right questions about what art can do and what it can represent are asked by the artist in his ground-breaking experiments with planes, depth, colour fields, angles and three-dimensional painting. The human element was entirely missing however, as it focuses on the gradual development and creation of just two major works, and the questions that were asked were purely academic.
For something a little different from Thomas Gainsborough, we start away from the London galleries in Bath. The painter had a passion for painting imagined landscapes, but he was famed as the 18th centuries leading portraitist. A marvellously rich overview of the artist's work can be seen in the exhibition 'Gainsborough's Landscapes: Themes and Variations' at the Holburne Museum.
Sarah Kent was disappointed in her art review of 'Barry Flanagan: Early Works 1965-1982' at Tate Britain, as although his career began thrillingly enough, it gradually went off the boil. Flanagan began working as a true exploratory sensualist and made fun, inventive works using different materials and processes. He soon began to rely on mass-produced works, which have none of the probing and investigative energy that once made him so radical and interesting.
Back in the London galleries now and Pipilotti Rist's exhibition 'Eyeball Massage' at the Hayward Gallery had a feel-good factor about it. Viewers are offered a chandelier made of white knickers and various video projections including graphic close-ups of the female body and a woman behaving like an animal. In this permissive setting, without the presence of any particular strict constraints to kick against though, it lacked the desired impact.
The acclaimed works of Abstract Expressionism was showcased in the exhibition 'Frank Stella: Connections' at Haunch of Venison, however it left Josh Spero feeling unmoved. The right questions about what art can do and what it can represent are asked by the artist in his ground-breaking experiments with planes, depth, colour fields, angles and three-dimensional painting. The human element was entirely missing however, as it focuses on the gradual development and creation of just two major works, and the questions that were asked were purely academic.
About the Author:
Steve Alexander writes about the latest offerings from the top London galleries. For the latest art review from exhibitions across the capital, visit theartsdesk.com.
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