Tate Britain is home to the majority of J.M.Turner’s total output due to his bequest to the institution in 1851 . Three hundred oil paintings and many thousands of watercolours and sketches, have, over the years, either travelled to other galleries, been archived, or have featured in the Clore Gallery’s ever-changing displays. Turner’s Modern World is Tate Britain’s…
Mystery lays: Stef Conner, ‘Riddle Songs’
This startling, life-affirming record somehow manages a feat that has otherwise eluded science so far: time travel. Stef Conner has composed a suite of songs that demonstrate how, through the arts, the past is all there, all at once, running parallel to our present. What are its secrets? A bit of background (although Conner’s liner…
“a wonderful view of a revised history of British art”
The guide, reflecting the displays in the Tate Britain, gives us a wonderful view of a revised history of British art which includes the contribution of artists of the diaspora and women artists and presents plural perspectives of Britain and its diverse cultures.
Yes, surprises: Rick Simpson, ‘Everything All of the Time: Kid A Revisited’
This album is an extraordinary achievement – certainly no ordinary ‘covers project’. Rick Simpson and his ensemble wilfully tackle head-on perhaps the original writers’ most elusive set of tracks and, fittingly, bring the same sense of adventure to the material as Radiohead might recognise from recording much of their music first time around. It’s impossible…
ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI at the National Gallery
Mark my words, it’s going to make us all so much fussier about the shows we turn out to see, this new normal. You really have to be motivated to see a show, to don a mask, to brave the tube, to socially distance your way along the pavement, and then to do the same…
May cause drowsiness…..
….each work on this bewitching disc is lovingly played, Chamayou finding much beauty and elegance in simple lyrical melodies and gossamer figurations. His tempos are sensitive and supple, with an insouciant rubato which never feels contrived
Bruce Nauman Lights up Tate Modern
Bruce Nauman is a name in the art world but to date my knowledge of his work was scanty. Having seen his beautiful neon creations I was keen to know more. Before my Tate visit I sought out videos of him on the internet. One of him addressing a crowd in a Swiss gallery caught…
Blackford’s Love Song to Nature
In October 2019 I interviewed composer Richard Blackford in London. I was about to attend a performance of his rich and moving choral work Pièta which premiered at the Cadogan Hall in London to great acclaim. See my review here https://bit.ly/36E60s7 During our meeting I questioned Blackford on his optimum environment for composing. He…
The MOST Specialest Relationship – Grayson Perry turns his acute eye on America
Ever alert to shifting social mores, trends and contemporary obsessions, Grayson Perry – a benign modern-day Hogarth – turns his attention across The Pond in his latest exhibition at Victoria Miro Gallery. Here are various ceramics, a big tapestry and large-scale print all inspired by his road trip in the USA in the summer of…
Concrete jungle: ‘Among the Trees’, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre
At a time when the outside world desperately needs to recognise the importance of the arts, it’s fitting to see an entire exhibition of art on a mission to engage directly with the outside world. ‘Among the Trees’ includes pieces from 37 artists (based worldwide), working in a range of media: as we wander through…
