Frieze Masters is back
Enough of the crowding and superficiality of Frieze London’s opening day, this year I opted for the more measured pace… Read More
Paul’s Art Stuff
Most days Art Critic Paul Carey-Kent spends hours on the train, traveling between his home in Southampton and his day job in London. Could he, we asked, jot down whatever came into his head?
Sculpture Outside the Gallery
There’s plenty of sculpture lying around outside in London now: not just the permanent stuff dotted about or combined into… Read More
On the Up in St Leonards
I grew up in St Leonards-on-Sea, the 19th century addition to Hastings. The two towns suffered a 50 year decline… Read More
Liv Fontaine: The Performance of Drawing
Performance art had an increasingly high pre-pandemic profile, but the curtailment of live events affected that – and even in… Read More
Four Reasons to Visit Van Gogh’s House in Stockwell
2021 marks 50 years since it was discovered that he had a room in the three-storey Georgian house near The Oval
The Art on the T-shirt
There’s a logic to putting art on a T-shirt: comparatively cheap, no need to find wall or floor space, avoids the business of installation (unless you count getting dressed) and allows you to show your collection out and about… I have a few examples which are fun to wear. Here are some which quite often get asked about: sometimes, I’m stopped in the street…
The Storm behind the Calm: John Nash at Eastbourne
John Nash (1893-1977) tends to be remembered as the less radical younger brother of Paul, a first rank illustrator as well as a longstanding Royal Academician adept at the subtle transfiguration of landscapes, particularly in watercolour.
Art Decentred – Bournemouth and Sheffield
Lockdown reduced the tendency to travel to London, and it looks as if some of that decentralising shift may be… Read More
Alexander James Hamilton: Art into Action into Art
Many artists are deeply engaged with environmental themes, Alexander James Hamilton however is exceptional in the depth of his commitment.
Art Meets Poetry
Poetry was good in lockdown, being better suited to the screen than most literature or art. That makes it timely that two ambitious London shows currently combine art with poetry
Banksy versus the classics
Walking round an auction house the realities of market prices never cease to amaze me. At Christies recently, for example,… Read More
Virtually Venice
Bad news: things may change fairly soon, but it’s not a simple matter to get to Venice at the moment…. Read More
Outposts of Art
I visited three places not so typically associated with art last weekend: Beckenham, Penge and Reading. But all had their points:
Spot the Difference
Bridget Riley: ‘Measure for Measure 45’, 2020 Repetition provokes us into considering what’s changed – or what hasn’t – and… Read More
Art, Life and Everything
In ‘Art, Life and Everything’, Julie Umerle chronicles her life as an artist from 1978-2010. She hasn’t had an easy ride – for example, she’s never been represented by a mainstream gallery – but…
Beyond the Uncanny
Plenty of shows bring together paintings of figures and objects in unusual contexts or brought into unexpected conjunctions: the words ‘uncanny’ and ‘enigmatic’, ‘disturbing’ and ‘surreal’ are likely to be invoked. But, even if the paintings are good, you need more to turn such a display into a compelling whole. Two current exhibitions demonstrate how:
LONDON GALLERY WEEKEND
The first London Gallery Weekend (4-6 June) felt a very positive initiative, conveniently revealing the scale of London’s commercial art… Read More
From the Margins
last Saturday I toured six galleries at the comparative margins – Leytonstone, Woolwich, north Bermondsey (as opposed to trendy Bermondsey Street), Camberwell and Kennington – and the standard was excellent. Nor did it prove hard to get around by bus and tube…
Dandelions
I wait years for a really good dandelion painting to come along, then – on the same day – see… Read More
Seriously Funny
It’s perfectly possible for artists to be funny, yet tackle serious issues. And who doesn’t enjoy humour? Just now, there are plenty of shows up to illustrate just that.
Where Are They Now?
I had thought some of London’s galleries might close for good at the end of lockdown, but there’s no sign of any such trend. Rather, several have made good use of the last year’s hiatuses to relocate, typically to superior spaces.
SEMI-LOCKED-DOWN VIEWING
There’s a surfeit of new things to see just now, as pretty much every commercial gallery in London – and… Read More
Spring Growth
No doubt some galleries will close, but to counter that there are some new developments. Sticking with the Mayfair zone:
Three Triples
Curiously, my first two visits without appointment on my first trip to London this year featured three part vertically-stacked abstractions –