Sculptural Weight in the City
12 July 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
The seventh version of the annual ‘Sculpture in the City’ places 18 artists’ work in the stimulating context of the square mile.
Tag: Paul’s Art Stuff on a Train
56 x Bloomsbury at ‘Masterpiece’
30 June 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
From Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant ‘The Famous Women Dinner Service’, 1932-1934 The 8th edition of Masterpiece fair (29 June… Read More
The Art of Knitting Pictures
28 June 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Typical! You wait years for a solo show of knitted paintings to come along, then 2 open in the same week.
How to Look at the Royal Academy Summer Show
21 June 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Ah, the RA Summer show! People insist on assessing it as if it were an exhibition, when it is essentially an Art Fair: one without gallerists, but with the usual features of variable quality, too much to take in, and visual incoherence. As such, there will of course be plenty to annoy you, but you will also have, every now and again, one of the best fair experiences – you see a work, wonder who made it, are surprised to find it was x. But then you think yes, that makes sense as an extension of their practice.
Bricked in with Monique Frydman at Parasol unit
14 June 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Parasol unit’s USP is to give foreign artists not just their first UK show, but a very substantial one.
We see women with tattoos ‘reading’ a book of tattoo designs.
6 June 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
In another paradoxically non-verbal spin on the theme, we see women with tattoos ‘reading’ a book of tattoo designs.
‘Surprised by Paintings’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #217
31 May 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Several current shows of paintings have taken me by surprise.
‘Crystal’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN 216
24 May 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
I like it when contemporary art crops in less expected places. Just so, the window display of the Lalique store on Conduit Street, Mayfair currently showcase new crystal work by Terry Rodgers.
‘ The One with LeWitt ’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN 214
17 May 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
This striking lifesized image seems to show a woman, naked except for a mask, taking the piss out of a typical Sol LeWitt.
‘Turn of the Old?’ : The Turner prize gets – officially and unofficially – more flexible
10 May 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Perhaps, at 59, I should declare an interest – but I think the Turner Prize has moved in a sensible direction by removing the ‘under 50’ rule, and positioning itself more clearly as a prize for artists whose practice advances significantly in the 12 months of judging, in this case the year to 24 April 2017.
Inspired, perhaps, by the surge of the selfie, there was a glut of self-portrait shows last year, and the trend continues.
3 May 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Inspired, perhaps, by the surge of the selfie, there was a glut of self-portrait shows last year, and the trend continues.
‘Advantageous Positions’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN 210
19 April 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Sculpture parks are a most agreeable way to combine the countryside’s freshening merits with the potential for positioning art advantageously. My Easter visit to the New Art Centre at Roche Court, illustrated that
‘How to Go’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN 209
12 April 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
The well-respected Ibid, Limoncello and Vilma Gold galleries have closed their London spaces, in what may be a watershed moment for the art business.
‘Sex with Someone You Love’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN 208
5 April 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Onanism isn’t the easiest art subject. ‘The Great Masturbator’, 1929, is some way from Dali’s best, even though the practice was close to his heart: it is said that he was an addict who, afflicted by various fears and hang-ups, practiced no other sexual activity.
‘Something for Nothing’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #207
29 March 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
An artwork for nothing? That’s a good trade, plain as the Concorde on your face. But wait…
‘Secondary First’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #206
22 March 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Many of Mayfair’s commercial galleries present secondarily sourced work, and there are several outstanding shows up now.
Drawing Biennial 2017 Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #206
15 March 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
250 works in A4 size! Purchasable in an online auction starting at £250! Drawing Biennial 2017 is Drawing Room’s best yet.
‘Not his Best Period?’ Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #205
8 March 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Looking around auctions recently, two works at Bonhams emphasised how prices vary across artists’ careers.
‘Reasons to Sallivate – or Not’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #202
15 February 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
It’s all about David Salle
‘Still on Fire’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #201
8 February 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
I’ve just seen the Royal Academy’s show Abstract Expressionism on its transfer to Bilbao. The highlight remains the craggy abstractions of Clyfford Still
‘Coherence’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #200
2 February 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Art and poetry don’t always cohere, but two events this week have shown how to bring them together.
‘Homage to the Homages’ : Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #199
25 January 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
It’s easy to be blasé about Albers’ Homage to a Square series, which occupied him pretty much exclusively from 1950-76.
‘The Case for Swindon’: Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #198
18 January 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Whenever my wife and I drive to the west country, Swindon provides a convenient halfway break for coffee – except that it’s a standing joke between us that she always wants to stop somewhere else.
Cricket in Art : Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #197
4 January 2017 • Paul Carey-Kent
Were there an Olympics for sports and games in art, I could imagine table tennis, chess and football as medallists. Cricket is a rarer presence, partly I suppose due to its limited geographical scope, so the yet narrower history of cricket pads in art, rather than mere genre paintings or celebratory statues of cricketers wearing them, is less than extensive.