ART DAILY ARCHIVES
Added 12.5.2008Turner Gain
Thanet Council has granted planning permission for the long-mooted Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate to go ahead - a project it is hoped will act as a catalyst for regeneration. Work should begin in the Autumn on the site of the lodging house overlooking the bay where J.M.W. stayed whilst visiting the Kent resort. Designed by David Chipperfield Architects it will be a two storey edifice clad in white glass and include six connecting spaces with exhibition galleries, education area, cafe and shop. Completion is expected in 2010 - we trust they've already booked Margate luminary Tracey Emin for the opening . . .
And the Winner is . . .
Congratulations to Adele Curry, this year's winner of the Galleries Student Award at 'Originals 08, the Contemporary Printmaking Show' at the Mall Galleries (until Feb 23), with her unique multi-plate etching That's how I feel today. And though ineligible (she is after all President of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers), Hilary Paynter made us all smile with her exquisitely engraved Fallen angel – of the Gormleian, not the celestial variety . . .
Norman Takes a Back Seat
Sir Norman Rosenthal, colourful Exhibitions Secretary at The Royal Academy, is to relinquish his post. The 63-year old has spent half his life in the job, but is not going to disappear from Burlington House completely. As he told the London Evening Standard: "The Royal Academy is being very accommodating. I'm going to be special adviser on exhibitions and, hopefully, curate some without going to the endlessly boring meetings." Rosenthal's current blockbuster, 'From Russia', very nearly left a nasty hole in the schedules when it became caught up in the diplomatic spat between London and Moscow and its trip to the UK was in jeopardy.
KBO
Despite the threat of imminent closure (see earlier postings and Galleries' January issue Antennae section), Sherborne House Arts keep battling on with a show of Elisabeth Frink's sculpture, prints and drawings from her archive, opening in February. There is yet a glimmer of hope as their following statement reveals:
"The Sherborne House Trust is currently pursuing options that may still see a restored House with a major art gallery and a Frink Archive Centre on site. The overwhelming show of public support has confirmed the validity of the Trust's vision and ambitions for Sherborne House. It provides powerful evidence of the real need for a high profile gallery, a demand that is also acknowledged by Dorset County Council Cultural Services and Arts Council England."
Fingers crossed . . .
Added 27.2.2008More Than Fair
Despite the doom-ladened headlines we read almost every day warning that the economy is heading for choppy waters, it all seemed to be plain sailing at the London Art Fair, which closed yesterday (20th Jan) reporting a healthy surge in visitor figures - more than 10% up from last year and topping 23,000 in total. Encouraging also was the news that sales were strong at both the top price bracket - with Gavin Turk's paintings selling well on Paul Stolper's stand - and the more affordable end too, with something of a feeding frenzy surrounding Vanessa Donoso Lopez's surreal clockwork sculptures, which were being sold by Canvas Gallery from Dublin with prices starting at £150.
Oh Grow Up
Maggi Hambling's 'Scallop' sculpture on Aldeburgh beach honouring local composer Benjamin Britten has been vandalised for what is reckoned to be the eleventh time since its construction in 2003. Once again a paint brush wielding nitwit has daubed "Move this tin can", "Rubbish" and other less witty slogans on the work, which if you stand immediately in front of it on the seaward side, does admittedly block the view of the municipal car park. Unless you're a Volvo Spotter unprepared to move a few feet either side, it's always struck the present writer (who lives nearby) as entirely appropriate to the location. Inspecting the latest damage in a howling gale recently, it was noticeable how many wind-blown passers-by of all descriptions paused to tut-tut at the latest moronic assault . . .
Plinth Fillip
Models of the next batch of contenders for the vacant Trafalgar Square plinth have gone on display at the National Gallery. Perhaps the dottiest is Antony Gormley's which - not for once involving a cast of himself - necessitates over 8,000 individuals standing up there alone for an hour at a time. Presumably a strict vetting process will weed out the jumpers, nudists and nutters from the mere self-publicists. Jeremy Deller is planning to ship a burnt-out car from Iraq - he could easily get one from over here which would be more planet-friendly. But the most fun proposal could be Yinka Shonibare's for a model of HMS Victory in a bottle. It looks pretty authentic, with the exception of the sails, which will be in snazzy African fabrics. Given his penchant for showiness, one suspects Nelson might rather approve . . .
See the official website for the full range of candidates.
Face Lift
The National Galleries of Scotland, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government have announced £10m of funding towards the £17m+ programme to revamp the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The 1889 building in Edinburgh's Queen Street was the first purpose-built portrait gallery in the world and the 'Portrait of a Nation' scheme will refurbish all three floors, install modern facilities and restore some original features. The aim is to increase exhibition space, refocus the display of the collection and present the story of Scotland to the widest audience. Work should begin in 2009 with completion by 2011: the gallery will be closed to the public for two years.
Bettering Ramm
Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum will disappear (temporarily) from the pages of Galleries Magazine whilst the Victorian building in Queen Street closes for a £15m redevelopment programme, due for completion in 2010. The scheme promises a bigger proportion of the collection on display, a greater diversity of temporary shows and a general upgrade of services to suit the 21st century. Most of the finance is already in place, with £5.5m from the City Council and £9m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
"Beyond the throb
of the engines is the throbbing heart of all"
The unveiling on 12th November of a 7 foot bronze statue depicting Sir
John Betjeman in characteristic pose, hand on hat staring up at a piece
of architecture (in this case the magnificent glass and iron roof of St
Pancras station) was accompanied by a brass band and short speeches by
his daughter Candida and the poet laureate Andrew Motion. The sculpture
and the carved quotations from Betjeman's poems are the work of Martin
Jennings, who seemed slightly overwhelmed by the huge turnout, a tribute
both to a much-loved man and a London landmark that, but for his campaigning,
would have disappeared under the bulldozer.
Norbert Lynton
It was
with great sadness that we heard of the death of Norbert Lynton, teacher,
critic and writer, and one of the most respected figures in the British
art world. He will be remembered for some of the clearest and most cogently-argued
criticism in a field too often plagued by pretentiousness and obfuscation.
Courteous and amusing, he wore his learning lightly. He will be sorely
missed.
From Russia With . . . ?
The current diplomatic froideur between the UK and Russia continues to threaten the 'From Russia' show due to open at the Royal Academy in London at the end of January. The exhibition is currently on display in Germany and consists of over 100 master works from collections in Moscow and St Petersburg, spanning the period 1870-1925 and including items by Gauguin, Picasso, Matisse, Bakst and Malevich. Russian officials have reconsidered their original decision to allow the pictures to travel to Britain as they fear that UK law offers insufficient protection from them being seized by claimants that works were illegally appropriated during the Bolshevik Revolution. In an attempt to defuse the row, the Culture Secretary has offered to bring forward impending legislation that will provide cultural items on loan with immunity from seizure. If this doesn't do the trick, the RA could end up with a nasty hole in its 2008 exhibition schedule . . .
Sherborne House under Threat
The Grade I listed Sherborne House in Dorset, a notable art centre, home to the Elisabeth Frink archive and currently showing work by the late Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, is under imminent threat of closure - possibly as soon as next Spring. A recent decision by the County Council not to grant a 99 year lease to Sherborne House Trust could mean the end of the arts programme with sale of the House to a private buyer or developer unwilling to support it.
From Gilbert to Gilbert and George
It looks as though the Gilbert Collection will be moved from its current magnificent setting beside the river in Somerset House to a corridor in the V&A. One of the greatest unvisited treats of London and host to many temporary exhibitions, the Collection suffered from almost complete lack of promotion, proof if proof is needed that PR companies are all very well but they don't always manage to get the visitors across the threshold. Investing in listings in newspapers and magazines really does help spread the message. As it is, the Hermitage Rooms are also closing and the space will be used for, guess what, more contemporary art shows. Just what the city needs.
Warmish off the Press
Good to see that the November issue of The Art Newspaper carries a positive review of John Elderfield's excellent 'Manet and the Execution of Maximilian' (Museum of Modern Art). Our review also liked it (see 'Book Reviews' here for this and much more) - which we published 9 months ago in February. Not that even we were exactly quick off the blocks: the book came out in August 2006. It is, we're pleased to report, still available. Ah well, as Tennyson almost wrote, 'all the wheels of Reviewing are slow' . . .
Art from Sainsbury
Simon Sainsbury, the driving force behind the National Gallery's eponymous Wing, who died last year, has bequeathed 18 works from his collection to the nation. Amongst the five works destined for the National are a snow scene at Argenteuil and 'Water Lilies, Setting Sun' by Monet and a late female nude by Degas, 'After the Bath'. Amongst those heading for the Tate are three Lucian Freuds, a Bacon portrait study, two Bonnards and an early Gainsborough, 'Mr and Mrs Carter'. "This is one of the most important gifts in the history of the Tate" commented Nicholas Serota. "The sheer variety . . . will enhance many different areas of the Tate Collection".
Stanley Spencer Revived
The gallery dedicated to the great British 20th century artist in his home village of Cookham, Berks, has re-opened after an extensive re-vamp with the help of more than £800,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Started just three years after his death in 1959 and entirely volunteer-run, the gallery enjoys a collection of over 120 works, 47 of which are on display in the re-launch show 'That Sacred Piece of Ground'. For details see:
Changing Places
Several
established London galleries are in the throes of either changing spaces
or addresses. James Hyman has left Mason's Yard in St James's for a rather
larger gallery, north of Piccadilly in Savile Row, kicking off with a
show by Lewis Chamberlain and a mixed exhibition, 'Flower of Life'. Is
Savile Row now finally going to turn into the new Cork Street it has long
promised but never become?
www.jameshymangallery.com
At the same time IAP Fine Art has gone to a big 3 space gallery in Roman Road, Bethnal Green (formerly occupied by Andrew Lamont) where, as well as showing Chris Gollon, for whom they have acted as agents for some time, they are now showing Maggi Hambling paintings and prints (they've been her silk-screen publishers for a while).
Cadogan Contemporary are just opening their new space in the Old Brompton Road with the work of Bridget Leaman.
Meanwhile a major refurbishment has been completed at the Mall Galleries,
part
of a 3-year financial sponsorship package by Threadneedle, a leading City-based
asset management firm. The company is also backing a major new figurative
art competition, to be launched in September 2008, with a first prize
of £25,000.
Finally,
the Alan Cristea Gallery is expanding its Cork Street space into the gallery
next door, no.34, most recently occupied by Houldsworth, and is celebrating
this relaunch with a series of exhibitions featuring Richard Hamilton,
Julian Opie,
Dexter Dalwood, Michael Craig-Martin and Langlands and Bell, among many
others.
www.alancristea.com
Sculpture Appeal Launched
Those of us who live near the sea are particularly aware of the vital contribution to life saving of the crews of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Since its foundation in 1824 thousands of people have been rescued at sea and along the coast and 438 of the volunteer crew members have died 'in action'. Now the RNLI have announced a national tribute to them, a memorial sculpture within a garden setting, funded through contributions to the RNLI Heritage Trust and to be situated opposite the Lifeboat College in Poole. Design submissions are being advertised and completion of the scheme is scheduled for 2009.
Schutte's Up
The next sculpture to adorn the fourth Trafalgar Square plinth, Thomas Schutte's coloured glass 'Model for a Hotel 2007' will be unveiled on November 7th. When the plans for the various works to be sited near Nelson's Column were revealed, many commented on the considerable scope for pigeon-roosting (and the consequent guano problem) that this one in particular seemed to offer . . . Meanwhile Schutte's early work is the subject of an exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds until the New Year.
Added 4.10.2007Cash Flow
London's Mall Galleries have announced a major sponsorship programme. A City-based asset management firm (to be revealed next month) has funded a significant refurbishment scheme and put £25,000 towards a new figurative art prize to be launched in 2008. "At a time when other public sources of arts funding are being diverted towards the 2012 Olympics, we've been incredibly fortunate to attract a major financial sponsor committed to developing contemporary figurative art in this country," commented Mall Director Lewis McNaught.
Andras Kalman
Yet another loss to record - Andras Kalman of the Crane Kalman Gallery in Knightsbridge died at the end of July aged 88. Of Jewish Hungarian background, Kalman was able to attend Leeds University in 1939 and so escape the fate of members of his family during the Holocaust. In 1957 he established the still thriving gallery in the Brompton Road which specialises in quality 20th century art. He also had an enduring interest in naive and folk art, his extensive collection now at Compton Verney. As Roger Berthoud wote in The Independent: "A persistence, a keen eye and a great deal of twinkling charm were among the attributes that made Andras Kalman a cherished institution in the London art world."
Forty Towers?
Milton Keynes Gallery has had to postpone the opening of the MK Forty Tower, a temporary artwork commissioned from de Rijke Marsh Morgan Architects, until Saturday August 4th. This is to allow the 19 metre high flat-packed timber edifice, which celebrates Milton Keynes' 40th anniversary, to be constructed as a free-standing structure and not braced against the gallery as originally designed. After climbing the 101 steps to view the panorama of Milton Keynes and beyond from the platform on top, visitors will be able to get their breath back in the artist-decorated 'MK40 Coffee Bar' situated in a lime green metal shipping container close by. Wonder if there's a waiter named Manuel . . .
Godfrey Pilkington
More sad news of the death of another octogenarian luminary of the art world (see item three below). Godfrey Pilkington, founder of the Piccadilly Gallery in 1953 and doyen of Cork Street dealers, has died at 88 - just a month after his retirement and the closure of the gallery. As Nicholas Usherwood wrote in Galleries' April issue in an appreciation of the business: "The Piccadilly was one of the core institutions of 'The Street', and always one of the warmest and friendliest to visit. The work was always worth looking at too, reflecting Godfrey's idiosyncratic passions for both the outer reaches of French and Belgian Symbolism and the work of younger painters interested in exploring the poetic and surrealistic strands of contemporary art."
Ave
atque Vale
The death of John Ward at the age of 89 is sad news indeed. Known mainly
for his portraits, he was a master of capturing the atmosphere of place
with a few deceptively simple strokes of watercolour, the sketchbooks
he filled on his travels being joyous, effervescent combinations of words
and images. A gentleman of the old school, his boyish charm and enthusiastic
interest in everything around him will be sorely missed.
Newby
Hall again - £10k
reward
Following the robbery last Friday (see below), Newby Hall suffered another
attack this Tuesday morning. The house alarms went off twice and there
was evidence of attempts to break through the windows on the ground floor.
The question of continued public access is under review: just another
example of how a few people's actions can affect the enjoyment of everyone
else. A reward of £10,000 has been offered for the safe return of
the table (the contact number for anyone with information is 01423 539334).
Not sculpture this time
A gang targeting stately homes in Yorkshire is thought to be behind the
recent theft of a Chippendale table (click here to see a picture)from Newby Hall, Ripon. The burglary,
the sixth of its kind in the region since February, has deeply upset the
owner, Richard Compton and his wife Lucinda, a furniture restorer, who
were asleep upstairs when the thieves removed shutters and cut through
sash windows to snatch the table. By taking single items, the gang make
their escape before security guards or police can respond. Mr Compton
said: "The table was among the finest pieces of Chippendale in the
collection. I just love it. It could not ever be sold, it is too well
known. I don't care who stole it. I just want it back as soon as possible."
The twin-leaf Pembroke rosewood and marquetry table was commissioned by
Mr Compton's ancestor William Weddell in 1775. The first theft was from
Sir Tatton Sykes' home, Sledmere House, near Driffield; others properties
broken into include Cusworth Hall, near Doncaster, and Burton Agnes Hall.
With some 15 million visitors each year, how are historic house owners
to distinguish between "spotters" and innocent enthusiasts?
The Lord High Executioner
The Harcourt miniature of Oliver Cromwell, one of Samuel Cooper's finest portraits, has sold at Sotheby's for £535,200, five times its estimate. The catalogue description, "with receding light brown hair and a small moustache, wearing a white lawn collar and full armour, dark background, on vellum, oval, gold frame chased with dog tooth and laurel leaf bands", is slightly more flowery than Cromwell's famous instruction to the artist to "remark all these ruffness, pimples warts & every thing as you see me", but does emphasize the Lord Protector's wishes to be shown as the soldier and reformer that he was. The miniature has been on loan to the Museum of London for the past half century; now it will be on view at the Compton Verney gallery in Warwickshire, on whose behalf it was bought by the dealers Browse and Darby.
House Rules
Pallant House has won this year's £100,000 Gulbenkian Prize for museums and galleries. The Chichester gallery pipped other shortlisted venues such as Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, Weston Park Museum, Sheffield and Kew Palace in London. The judges were impressed by the incorporation of the new extension into the original 18th century building. Broadcaster Francine Stock, their chairwoman, commented that "The brilliance of [PHG] lies not only in its thoughtful and intelligent curation, but in the warmth and welcome of the building". Currently the gallery is showing 'Poets in the Landscape' - exploring creative links between poetry and art, including Blake, Palmer, Sutherland, Dylan Thomas and the like until June 10, with 'Eye-Music: Kandinsky, Klee and all that Jazz' following on June 30th - all in addition to their fine permanent collection of Modern British art.
This Massed Multitude of Silent Witnesses
90 years after its inception
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is celebrating its extraordinary
achievements by means of a book and touring photographic exhibition, ‘Remembered',
launched at Canada House in London by World War One veteran Henry Allingham
(who at 110 is not only the oldest survivor from WWI, but the oldest man
in the kingdom). The book, a collaboration between photographer Brian
Harris and writer Julie Summers, charts the development of the cemeteries
and memorials built in 150 countries, and emphasizes the fact that after
all these years, the sacrifices of so many ordinary men and women have
not been forgotten. As Henry Allingham so succinctly puts it, "If
you're alive today, enjoy it".
‘Remembered' is on until 16 July and entry to the public is free.
The book is published by Merrell and costs £29.99.
Must Get Out More
Arts Council England have been doing some supplementary number-crunching on the results of the recent DCMS 'Taking Part' survey which demonstrated that three quarters of the population (based on a sample of 28,000 adults) 'takes part in the arts'. ACE have analysed why the remaining quarter doesn't, concluding that lack of interest is the main reason amongst the 'lower socio-economic groups' and lack of time with the higher. Apparently just 6% cited cost as the barrier to attendance. Over the last year, women are more likely to have participated than men - 58% as opposed to 48%; those defining their ethnicity as white rather than Black or Minority Ethnic; those in rural areas more than those in urban - 73% against 65%; performing arts events are the most popular type. 31% declared themselves 'not really interested', 29% 'difficult to find time' and 15% pleaded poor health. Sadly, 2% said they had nobody to go with, but only 1% claimed insufficient information on what was on - which is at least reassuring for those of us in the information business . . .
Mind the Wrap
To celebrate the centenary of the Piccadilly Line, London Underground has unveiled "the first Tube train to be entirely covered in a public artwork". The commission went to Jim Isermann under the 'Platform for Art' programme, which has seen work of different sorts appear around the Underground system. All six carriages of the train - over 100 metres - have been 'wrapped' and it will work the Piccadilly route for the next six months. When we first heard of this, we had visions of something in loose fabric along the lines of what those doyens of Wrap Art, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, did to the Berlin Reichstag building or the Pont Neuf in Paris. But on reflection we can appreciate that that might have presented operational difficulties beyond even LU's power. Nice clean tunnels, though . . . For the reality, CLICK HERE
Turner Up North
This year, for the first time at the age of 23, the Turner Prize will leave home in London and head north to Tate Liverpool, heralding the city's designation as European Capital of Culture 2008. The nominees for the 2007 event, announced on May 8th, are Zarina Bhimj, Nathan Coley, Mike Nelson and Mark Wallinger. The latter seems to be the favourite - he's certainly the most high-profile - and pundits have pointed to the fact that Rachel Whiteread and Damien Hirst both won the second time they were on the shortlist (though Mike Nelson is also a second-timer). Wallinger's nomination is for 'State Britain', his installation at TB recreating the protest camp in Parliament Square, whose presence in front of the gates of the 'Mother of Parliaments' continues to bemuse tourists from less tolerant societies . . .
Added 4.6.2007'A Romantic who has arrived'
An exhibition that's just opened at Browse and Darby in Cork Street provides an excellent opportunity to see a selection of Euan Uglow's work which is normally out of public sight. Most of the paintings on display are in private hands (though there are some drawings and an etching for sale) and have been lent in honour of the imminent publication of the Uglow catalogue raisonné, compiled by Catherine Lampert and Richard Kendall. Uglow's standing as one of the most influential British painters of the late 20th century grows with each showing of his work (Abbot Hall in 2003, Holburne Museum in 2006) and it is good to see Browse and Darby, who have consistently championed him, staging this celebration.
Added 1.6.2007The Further Off From England
A recent press release announced that the original illustrated manuscript of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures Under Ground is to be unveiled for the first time ever on continental soil to mark the opening of a major exhibition showcasing two centuries of British artistic achievement. From October to January 2008 the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent will play host to more than 300 works of art from both public and private collections selected "to explore the unique qualities of British art by focusing on two defining characteristics, observation and imagination". This seems an admirable enterprise for what is billed as "the UK's international cultural relations agency", aka the British Council. Perhaps it's particularly appropriate, given the Council's increasingly political role (see this month's ‘Nuts and Bolts' feature by Judith Bumpus) that the flagship of the exhibition is more usually known as Alice in Wonderland.
Name Drop
Sharp eyed readers of the printed May issue of Galleries will find that our article on the Cardiff gallery scene is unattributed. This is not due to reticence on the part of Wales correspondent Caroline Juler, who wrote it; her name just seems to have dropped off in the page make-up process and we didn't pick it up. As the Defence Minister phrased it in Parliament last month, now we "have expressed a degree of regret that can be equated with an apology" . . .
Wall Artist
English Heritage are unveiling a Blue Plaque on the wall of 130 Elgin Avenue, London W9, home from 1920 to 1972 of much-loved artist and illustrator Edward Ardizzone (1900-79). Many of his distinctive drawings depicted characters seen from the first floor front windows of the Maida Vale house. Perhaps best known for his children's book illustrations such as the 'Little Tim' series, his graphic skills were no less evident in his output as an official war artist in the Second World War, where he served in the Desert, Italian and North-West Europe campaigns.
Added 23.5.2007Chiltern
Conserve
The threat to the countryside caused by growing population and urbanisation
is highlighted in Buckinghamshire County Museum's thought-provoking exhibition
‘Clear Skies and Storm Clouds' - works by 'local' artists such as
the Nashes, Gill and Clare Leighton - which highlights the fact that exactly
the same pressures were at work some seventy or eighty years ago. The
language may be different (we now speak of Landscape Characterisations
and Historic Landscape Character Maps) but the dilemmas remain the same.
Assessments have already been carried out for Milton Keynes and Aylesbury,
but work on mapping the Chilterns AONB is happening now and needs volunteers.
For further information see www.buckscc.gov.uk/archaeology.
London Late
Special late night openings and events in London have been announced for May, Museums and Galleries Month, which involves 50 venues across the country. Amongst the participants are The Hayward, with Antony Gormley's 'Event Horizon' open until 10pm on May 18/19; The National Gallery's 'Renoir Landscapes' until 11pm on May 19; The V&A 'Surrealist Ball' until 10pm on May 25; and Andy Warhol's film 'Sleep' to be screened throughout the night of May 27 in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. For further details of events, many of which include live entertainment see:
Hockney on Turner
More than 150 watercolours by JMW Turner from the Turner Bequest will be shown at Tate Britain from June 11 until February, in an exhibition co-curated by David Hockney. Highlights of the broadly chronological show will include The Blue Rigi - recently saved from export abroad - The St Gotthard Road and the Thames sketchbooks. Tate Britain Director Stephen Deuchar hails this as "a rare opportunity for us to mount an exhibition of Turner's greatest watercolours which, due to conservation reasons, can only occasionally be exhibited." New paintings by Hockney will open concurrently at TB - 'The East Yorkshire Landscape' - to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Artist Resale Rights
We are being bombarded with self-congratulatory press releases from the collecting societies on the anniversary of the introduction of droit de suite in this country. They claim it has been an immense success, hugely beneficial to artists. The streets, however, seem to be awash with sentiments of quite an opposite tenor. Complaints range from having to pay it to yourself (minus the collecting society's slice) when you buy something back at auction, to complete lack of follow-through by the societies despite artists being registered. If you've had any direct experience of the effects of droit de suite, either as artist, dealer or collector, let us know at ed@galleries.co.uk
Added 3.5.2007
Abolition of the Slave Trade Bi-centenary
See the printed edition of the
April 2007 issue of Galleries for Pryle Behrman's feature on exhibitions
marking the 200th anniversary of the UK's abolition of the transatlantic
slave trade. Below are details of many of the shows around the UK.
British Museum, 'Trade & Identity' season, 22 February 10 January 2008
including La Bouche du Roi by Romuald Hazoumé in Room 35, 22 March 13 May,
www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/tradeandidentity
Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Graham Fagen, 'Downpresserer', 15 March – 28
May, www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/showExhibition.cfm?venueid=3&itemid=158
International Slavery Museum, Liverpool, opens 23 August 2007,
www.internationalslaverymuseum.org.uk
Museum in Docklands, London, Sugar & Slavery gallery opening October 2007,
www.museumindocklands.org.uk
National Maritime Museum, various commemorative events,
www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.21415
National Portrait Gallery, 17 March - 22 July, 'Portraits, People And The
Abolition Of The Slave Trade', www.npg.org.uk/live/abo_index.asp
October Gallery, 'From Courage to Freedom', 22 February – 28 April,
www.octobergallery.co.uk
Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, 'Chasing Freedom: The Royal Navy and the
Suppression of the Transatlantic Slave Trade', 3 February - end December,
www.royalnavalmuseum.org
Tate Britain, '1807: Blake, Slavery and the Radical Mind', 30 April – 21
October 2007, www.tate.org.uk/1807/events.htm
Various Greater Manchester museums and galleries, 'Revealing Histories:
Remembering Slavery', throughout 2007, www.revealinghistories.org.uk
V&A, 'Uncomfortable Truths', 20 February – 17 June,
www.vam.ac.uk/uncomfortabletruths
For more information about the continuing struggle against slavery, see
Anti-Slavery International, www.antislavery.org Fair
done Record
sales and attendance figures were claimed by the organisers of the Glasgow
Art Fair, which ended on April 22nd. The top individual sale was 'Houses
in Laiguela', a painting by Anne Redpath (a shame they got her name wrong
on the press release) which went for £85,000 on Duncan Miller's
stand. Visitor numbers over the four days were put in excess of 18,500
- 14% up on last year's event. 43 galleries from the UK and Europe participated,
showing work by more than 1,000 artists. "Every morning, the fair
had more than 100 potential art buyers queuing right around the sides
of the white tented pavilion in George Square, waiting for the doors to
open" said a spokesperson for the fair. Room
at the Top As anticipated,
press releases arrived on Wednesday confirming what the BBC had announced
the day before: Charles Saumarez Smith was relinquishing the post of Director
of the National Gallery to take up a new job, that of Secretary and Chief
Executive, at the Royal Academy. The 'tussle' between Saumarez Smith and
the NG's Chairman, Peter Scott QC, has been acrimonious. In a recent lecture
on the state of the arts under Labour, Saumarez Smith sounded a warning
about lack of funding and investment, calling for more creative thought
if museums and galleries in this country are not to be impoverished. He
accused the government of being "populist and demotic and passionately
interested in sport, less committed to institutions of high culture, and
not interested in connecting to history". It looks as though
such free speaking does not make friends in high places. It'll be interesting
to see how he fares at the RA, a place with its own history of personality
clashes and quick exits. Meanwhile at the NG, warder strikes mean 'significant
room closures' on Friday and Saturday evenings and the cancellation of
some Wednesday evening events. Chameleons and Lobsters
. . . Deception and illusion, the
making of objects to seem that they are not: two exhibitions recently
opened in London look at this theme from very different viewpoints but
with surprising crossovers. 'Camouflage' at the Imperial War Museum follows
the history of the camoufleur (etymology uncertain, poss. 'puff of smoke')
from World War One to the present day, ending with current fashions. 'Surreal
Things' at the V&A looks at the influence of Surrealism on the world
of design, culminating, again, with the world of fashion, Schiaparelli
in particular. Which you prefer rests on whether Dali makes you reach
for your revolver, or guns, however intriguingly painted, make you reach
for your culture. A photograph of Lee Miller naked beneath a camouflage
net, used by the Surrealist and camouflage expert Roland Penrose to liven
up his lectures to the Home Guard could have appeared in either exhibition
without seeming out of place. Twoccers
. . . Sculptor
Conrad Shawcross has had the last surviving version of his early work
'IBLS Soulcatcher' pinched from outside his studio, either on the orders
of the dastardly castle-owning, master-criminal collector or, more likely,
by one of London's numerous car thieves. For the said work is, as you
will see if you click HERE, a drivable Ford
Capri with sculptural extras . . . Conrad used to use one of these as
his personal transport and attracted considerable attention from traffic
police. In this case, though, they remain baffled. "Of the original
12 this was the only Soulcatcher known to have survived" says Shawcross.
"It is of huge cultural and historical importance that this car is
found and reunited with the archive. If anyone sees or hears anything
please get in touch."
The British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, 'Breaking the Chains'
opens 23 April, www.empiremuseum.co.uk/exhibitions/st2007.htm
Unlimited Admission
Many exhibitions warrant repeat visits to enable a full appreciation of what's on offer. The Royal Collections have recognised this by allowing unlimited 12 months readmission to their sites to those who register during their first visit. This laudable idea makes sense with such excellent but dense shows as 'Italian Paintings and Drawings' which has just opened at the Queen's Gallery in London. 90 Renaissance and Baroque paintings together with 85 drawings are just too much to take in at one time, especially if one is also interested in the history of the collection. Somewhat surprisingly, severed heads don't seem to have been a sensitive issue: one wall of paintings features David and Goliath, Judith and Holofernes, and Salome and St John the Baptist.
Added 2.4.2007Going, Going . . .
After more than 20 years in London's West End the Gordon Reece Galleries, specialists in Tribal and Ethnic Art, Primitive and Oriental Antiques is closing on March 31st. The third part of their Final Sale runs from March 9th and "contains our extensive holdings of Chinese Antique Furniture, Sculpture, Scrolls, Paintings, Scholars Rocks, Stalactites and a dazzling collection of Antique and Semi-Antique Gabbehs." Sad to see one of the more distinctive galleries in this just-off-Cork Street location disappear, but hurry along and you may pick up a bargain - all stock will be for sale at up to 50% off and it's open daily except Sundays.
Beach Bums Reprieved
Antony Gormley's 100 nude statues of himself, entitled 'Another Place', will be allowed to remain on their Merseyside beach at Crosby. Councillors have overturned the decision to refuse extended planning permission, despite vociferous objections that the figures presented a threat to people and wildlife. The Coastguard feared that the extra walkers attracted by the display would get stuck in dangerous soft sand and conservation groups deplored the disruption to feeding birds; other objectors just found Gormley's casts 'offensive'. New plans have re-sited 16 figures and reduced the area from 232 to 195 hectares and the sculptor has declared himself "delighted" with the decision and grateful to all those who had supported it. Let's hope the spray paint idiots don't target them in the way they have that other controversial beach sculpture, Maggi Hambling's 'Scallop' at Aldeburgh . . .
All
your own work
The Imperial War Museum holds one of the finest collections of 20th century
British Art in the country; like most public art collections and icebergs
the more significant part is out of view most of the time. An exhibition,
'Making A New World', easily accessible at Christie's, 8 King St, SW1Y
6QT, 'illustrating the forces of modernity and war shaping and destroying
the world' has some 30 from the IWM's collection of 1,870 on show until
Friday 9th March. A short show and a snappy one, fostered and promoted
by the Public Catalogue Foundation who have just published the eleventh
and latest in their 'sponsor' funded series, which aims to illustrate
and note by county every oil, acrylic and tempera painting in public ownership
in the UK. Exhibition hours 9am - 4.30pm. Catalogues and information:-
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Lib Dem Arts and Culture spokesman Paul Holmes MP has urged Met Police Commissioner Ian Blair to reconsider plans to cut the budget of the Arts and Antiquities squad and make it 50% self-funding. "The proposed commercial sponsorship of the Unit by relevant industries has an obvious potential for conflicts of interest. Surely the policing of the Art trade shouldn't be paid for by the major auction houses whose activities the Unit was established to investigate." In a letter to the Commissioner Mr Holmes points out that the sole specialist unit amongst the 43 UK Police forces consists of only four officers and three support staff, whereas in Italy the Carabinieri's squad is 250 strong. He welcomes the scheme to recruit 14 art world insiders as specials but stresses his concern that they don't come from the sale rooms . . .
Parliamentary Office 020 7219 8158
Guggenheim's Off
'Citizens and Kings - Portraits in the Age of Revolution, 1760-1830', at present showing at the Royal Academy, will not be going on to the Guggenheim in New York in May because of building work. Another venue might still be found for this excellent exhibition which does the visitor the courtesy of assuming a basic knowledge of the period and the people depicted. From the engrossed expressions of the people there last week, the risk was well worth taking.
Tel 020 7300 8000
Blue, Dark and Red
The Tate has announced that JMW Turner's 'Blue Rigi' has been saved for the nation (see our 'Antennae' column in the January issue). In just a few weeks the public appeal has raised over £550,000 through 11,000 individual donations and the National Heritage Memorial Fund has underwritten the purchase to a limit of £1.95m. 'The Blue Rigi' and its 'Dark' and 'Red' siblings can be seen together at Tate Britain until March 20. Tel 020 7887 8888 www.tate.org.uk/britain
Slaving Away
Good to see that the significant role of the Royal Navy has not been forgotten in the flurry of events commemorating the 200th anniversary of the UK's abolition of the slave trade. The West Africa Squadron liberated 150,000 African slaves from 1,600 ships captured between 1808 and 1860 - and at no little cost in seamen's lives in this humanitarian mission on a dangerous, fever-ridden coast. See the special 'Chasing Freedom' exhibition which opened on February 3rd at the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
WHAT
THE PAPERS SAID - GILBERT & GEORGE . . . Get
Fell In . . . All
your own work
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Lib
Dem Arts and Culture spokesman Paul Holmes MP has urged Met Police Commissioner
Ian Blair to reconsider plans to cut the budget of the Arts and Antiquities
squad and make it 50% self-funding. "The proposed commercial sponsorship
of the Unit by relevant industries has an obvious potential for conflicts
of interest. Surely the policing of the Art trade shouldn't be paid for
by the major auction houses whose activities the Unit was established
to investigate." In a letter to the Commissioner Mr Holmes points
out that the sole specialist unit amongst the 43 UK Police forces consists
of only four officers and three support staff, whereas in Italy the Carabinieri's
squad is 250 strong. He welcomes the scheme to recruit 14 art world insiders
as specials but stresses his concern that they don't come from the sale
rooms . . . Parliamentary
Office 020 7219 8158 Carry on Costumes Film
buffs with cash to spare should head for Bonhams Knightsbridge
on March
6th when film costumes from Angels the Costumiers will be
auctioned in what is billed as the largest sale of this kind in the UK.
They can take their pick from Obi-Wan Kenobi's monkish habit worn by Alec
Guinness in Star Wars (est. £50,000-60,000), an outfit worn by Andie
McDowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral (est. £150-200) and much
more besides. Certain items can even by tried on by interested customers.
This correspondent's favourite, however, has to be the Roman armour worn
by Richard Burton in Cleopatra (est. £500-600), not least because
it was also worn by the same-sized Sid James in Carry on Cleo. Blimus!
Keeping with the Italian theme, the Courtauld's exhibition focusing on
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591-1666), nicknamed Guercino or "squinter"
opened on 22 February. With the current revival of interest in drawing
this should prove a highly popular show, featuring around 26 drawings
bequeathed to the institute in 1952, many still in the original mounts
from Guercino's studio. On until 13 May at Somerset House. While Stock Lasts . . . The
Millinery Works in London N1 report "a great opening" on Feb
27th for their Philip Pank memorial exhibition. (See 'Thumbnail' preview
in the March issue of Galleries.) Over 60% of works by the architect
and painter went on that first night - so hurry along there before its's
too late . . . Tel
020 7359 2019
Tate Modern
devotes a whole floor to their Gilbert & George retrospective. In the Telegraph
(Feb 13) Richard Dorment noted that “each picture in the show is a
commentary – often uncannily prescient – on what ordinary people
in this country are thinking and feeling about subjects like politics, sex,
race and religion at any given time.” Although he had reservations
(200 works too many for the space and also about some of their recent output),
he hailed them as “the most important artists to emerge in Britain
since the war."
”But are they merely trading on shock?” asked Rachel Campbell-Johnston
in The Times (Feb 12th). “It’s impossible to tell. And
that is precisely the fascination . . . Ideas are constantly shifting and
making new patterns, like the fragments of falling glass in a kaleidoscope.
And that is what makes the work of these artists feel constantly fresh.”
. . . & WILLIAM
The Hogarth exhibition now at Tate Britain may have gone
down a storm in Paris, but there have been one or two dissenting voices
over here. Brian Sewell in the London Evening Standard (Feb 4) went in with
all guns blazing. "As for Hogarth "the painter's painter", in his finished
paintings you will look in vain for light and shade that is dramatically
significant or truthful. The least expected discovery in this exhibition
is Hogarth's tonal flatness, his lack of contrast, the drabness of his paint
- it may sparkle in detail but not overall." He dislikes Hogarth the propagandist
but singles out a few works for praise - the Shrimp Girl, the portrait of
his servants and that of Thomas Herring, Archibishop of Canterbury "Hogarth's
only masterpiece". Adrian Searle in the Guardian (Feb 6) doesn't care that
he may not be a great painter: "One of the pleasures of this show is to
demonstrate not just a case of versatility or variety, but of breadth. Hogarth's
mind, as much as the city he paints, teems with a lifetime's scrupulously
collected detail. And, we mustn't forget, he is a lot of fun, which is more
than one expects from most moralists."
The Imperial War Museum holds one of the finest collections of 20th century
British Art in the country; like most public art collections and icebergs
the more significant part is out of view most of the time. An exhibition,
'Making A New World', easily accessible at Christie's, 8 King St, SW1Y
6QT, 'illustrating the forces of modernity and war shaping and destroying
the world' has some 30 from the IWM's collection of 1,870 on show until
Friday 9th March. A short show and a snappy one, fostered and promoted
by the Public Catalogue Foundation who have just published the eleventh
and latest in their 'sponsor' funded series, which aims to illustrate
and note by county every oil, acrylic and tempera painting in public ownership
in the UK. Exhibition hours 9am - 4.30pm. Catalogues and information:-
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