Gilbert and George’s latest show is a collection of their work spanning the past 25 years. The London skies may be concrete grey but the Hayward Gallery is brimming over with vividly hued, kaleidoscopic, digitalised works. Newspaper media abounds – headlines detailing bombings, murders, miscarriages of justice and elsewhere there are male sex ads, ‘religious’…
Tag: Hayward Gallery
Liner notes: Tavares Strachan, ‘There is Light Somewhere’, Hayward Gallery, London
This stunning exhibition educates as it enthrals. Strachan’s themes are serious and consistent: he focuses our attention on black people and their achievements that have been sidelined or obscured by our overwhelmingly white understanding – and re-telling – of history. He navigates this over-arching topic through a wide range of disciplines and media: sculpture, paint,…
Photo synthesis: Hiroshi Sugimoto, Hayward Gallery, London
I came to this exhibition very late, so this is something of an ‘emergency’ post to encourage any of you with some time over the holiday season to catch it in its final fortnight. Sugimoto’s photography is always different; always the same. The subjects change but they are all viewed, literally, through the same lens….
Lightbulb moments: Mike Nelson, ‘Extinction Beckons’, Hayward Gallery
Has dystopian unease ever been so much fun? Mike Nelson’s exhibition is as serious and sinister as it needs to be. But I felt strong notes of dark humour, and the interactive elements display unchecked, unabashed brio. * ‘Extinction Beckons’ is a suitably foreboding name for an exhibition that – as the accompanying text makes…
Louise Bourgeois Continues to Astonish and Fascinate with Woven Child at Hayward Gallery
Most people will have heard of and seen Louise Bourgeois’s giant spider, Maman .You couldn’t miss it in 2000, where it soared above visitors’ heads in the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern. Supported on slender legs of steel of over thirty feet in height, Maman, far from being a monster, was a symbol of maternity, protection, strength, and creation. Maman…
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…
Bridget Riley retrospective mesmerises and excites at Hayward Gallery
I still remember the first time I saw Bridget Riley’s vivid, abstract paintings. It was at a provincial gallery, Wolverhampton or somewhere similar, in the mid-1970s. Coloured stripes and shapes shimmered and bounced, their contrasting yet consonant colours jostling and vibrating on the large canvasses. I was fascinated by the rhythm and energy of these…
Diane Arbus: In the Beginning
Diane Arbus in Washington Square Park, New York City, 1967. Photograph: John Gossage Diane Arbus remains a giant in the photography world. Her suicide at the age of 48 has contributed to her legendary status. Hailed as a tormented genius, much has been written about her psychological fragility and her obsession…
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