'Portraits'

...is the current Lucian Freud exhibition that opened at the National Portrait Gallery last month. This is an excellent examination of the late masters whole career, focusing on portrait painting for which he was most famous.
This thorough show explores Freud's portraits roughly chronologically from his stylised early work right through to his last painting, Portrait of the Hound, that Freud was working on just before he sadly died last year.

This very early work below, Peter Watson (1941), was painted when the artist was just 19 and is unique in this exhibition in terms of its style. It has an almost cartoon-like quality, on both the figure in the foreground and on the artwork in the background. Also there are small (human and animal) figures that Freud has scratched into the oil at the base of the work that could be a kind of graffitti on the chair(?) that the subject stands behind, although this is hard to see in my photo below.

Peter Watson (1941) (Oil on canvas)

Another work that was painted in a flat 2-Dimensional way that also gives it a cartoon-like quality is Woman with a Daffodil (below).

Woman with a Daffodil (1945) (Oil on board on canvas)

Along with the previous two works, I like the style of these next three paintings that depict Freud's first wife Kitty Garman (the daughter of sculptor Jacob Epstein). I find it interesting that Freud paints the kitten looking at the viewer with Garman looking away in Girl with a Kitten.

Girl with a Kitten (1947) (Oil on canvas)

 

Girl in a Dark Jacket (1947) (detail) (Oil on panel)

Girl in a Dark Jacket (1947) (detail) (Oil on panel)

The sheer brilliance of Freud's ability to capture detail using more simple medium is evident in these next two works:

Christian Berard (1948) (Black and white Conte on Ingres paper)

The Painters Father (1970) (Pencil on paper)

The eyes of Freud's subjects are often prominent in his portraits, as is the case in these next three 'soft' paintings that all have just the right amount of colour and detail in them:

Girl with Beret (1951-52) (Oil on canvas)

Head of a Child (1954) (Oil on canvas)

Girl in bed (1952) (Oil on canvas)

The two works immediately above and below are of Freud's second wife Caroline Blackwood. I wonder if the obvious 'distance' between Freud and Blackwood in Hotel Bedroom was a reflection of the trouble they were to have with their marriage?

Hotel Bedroom (1954) (Oil on canvas)

Aside from sometimes painting self-portraits with other people in the artwork, Freud also used interesting compositions to depict himself (such as in these next three works):

 

Interior with Hand-Mirror (Self-Portrait) (1967) (detail) (Oil on canvas)

Interior with Plant, Reflection Listening (Self-Portrait) (1967-8) (Oil on canvas)

Reflection with Two Children (Self Portrait) (1965) (Oil on canvas)

This work above also includes two of Freud's children (Ali and Rose Boyt).

Reflection (Self-Portrait) (1985) (detail) (Oil on canvas)

Again reflections are used in these two self-portraits (above and below).

Self Portrait, Reflection (2002) (Oil on canvas)

(Although it is hard to see in my photo above) Freud applied many thick layers of paint to make this work extremely textured, especially in the painting(?) in its background.

These next three works return to portraits of others:

 

The Painter's Mother Resting (1976) (Oil on canvas)

Large Interior, W11 (After Watteau) (1981-3) (Oil on canvas)

I prefer other large paintings by Freud, such Large Interior, W11 (After Watteau) (above) and Two Irishmen in W11 (below), to his later works depicting big naked people.

Two Irishmen in W11 (1984-85) (Oil on canvas)

I would highly recommend this exhibition, even for those who dont generally prefer portrait paintings. Along with the 'Picasso and Modern British Art' show currently at Tate Britain, these two are my must-see exhibitions of this year so far.

http://www.npg.org.uk/freudsite/index.htm

Migrate to Tate...

...with this journey which explores the impact that migration into this country has had on British art for hundreds of years. This exhibition that opened earlier this week at Tate Britain is mostly made up of artworks from the Tate's own impressive collection and features work from a diverse list of artists from Anthony Van Dyck to Kurt Schwitters. It even produced a few surprises (at least to me), such as the two advertisement posters designed in 1937 by Laszlo Moholy Nagy, a former teacher at the Bauhaus.

The show coherently works its way from the 16th through to the 20th Century with each room having a clear theme and context relating to race, nationality and influence. However, towards the end of the exhibition there are The Moving Image rooms of video installations that I feel are a little disjointed from what came previously. These arguably dont sit as comfortably together as, for example, works from the historic collection that are sandwiched between early and late 20th Century art in the Tate Britain's permanent collection. Nevertheless, there are many artworks that the Tate show in a different light. These are my personal highlights...


Just outside the entrance to the exhibition I was blown away by this Willem Wissing painting, especially the beautifully painted girls face's and fabric of their dresses:

 Portrait of Henrietta and Mary Hyde (1683-5)

Willem Wissing

The incredible (almost photographic) detail in Canaletto's paintings can sometimes have the same effect on me!



London: The Old Horse Guards from St. James' Park (1749)

Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)

The face (in profile) of the lady on the left in Portsmouth Dockyard by James Tissot initially stood out (although its hard to see it here):

Portsmouth Dockyard (1877)

James Tissot

The way that John Singer Sargent leaves Study of Mme Gautreau (below) looking unfinished reminds me of some of Francis Bacon's work, where he paints the subject matter in the centre of the painting and uses the natural colour of the canvas to work around it (almost like a page in a sketchbook).



 Study of Mme Gautreau (1884)

John Singer Sargent

This beautiful stone sculpture (below) carved in a 'Primitivist' style contrasts with some of Epstein's other art, such as the Futurist work The Rock Drill (1913-14).

Female Figure in Flemite (1913)

Sir Jacob Epstein

I like the randon element of the (disproportionately small) (toy?) sheep standing on this table in this Marie Louise von Motesiczky still life:

Still life with sheep (1938)

 Marie Louise von Motesiczky

In The Mutilated by Jankel Adler (below) the contrast between the natural-looking, rough earthy figures and the smooth, colourfully painted background stands out:

The Mutilated (1942-3)

Jankel Adler

Marianne Maquis (1942)

Oskar Kokoscha

The contrasts between styles and the backgrounds of the featured artists were often apparent as I walked round this exhibition. This is reflected, for example, in the soft, light, almost impressionist style painting by the Austrian Oskar Kokoscha (above) and the dark foreboding Crucifixion (below) by the Indian artist F N Souza.

Crucifixion (1959)

F N Souza

Chessmen One (1961)

Anwar Jalal Shemza

I'm probably trying to compare apples with oranges again, but I like the difference in styles of these works by two more artists from the subcontinent that are hung next to each other in the show. The order, precision and limited palette in Chessmen One (above) by Anwar Jalal Shemza and the swirls, chaos and free use of colour in Avinash Chandra's Hills of Gold (below).

Hills of Gold (1964)

Avinash Chandra

http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/migrations/default.shtm

No Lone Zone

This interesting exhibition in the Tate Modern's Level 2 Gallery features artists from Latin America. The gallery guide states that the title No Lone Zone is a military term for an area where no one should go into alone and is applied metaphorically to the places that these artists are depicting. One of the first things that struck me about this show was the contrast in my reactions to two of the artworks displayed. In Bandera ll (2009) (the middle flag below) by Teresa Margolles I initially noticed the colour and texture on the surface of the flag, but when I read that its covered in blood collected from execution sites in Mexico the artwork become quite macabre and gruesome however poignant the artists conveyed message may be. Whereas in David Zink Yi's Untitled (Architeuthis) (2010) (2nd and 3rd photos below) what appears to be a dead squid in a pool of its own 'blood' initially made me feel unsettled. Though it turns out to be an impressively realistic looking clay model in a pool of corn syrup, so its now more a feeling of acceptance and awe of the makers skill.

Bandera (Flag) ll (2009)

Teresa Margolles

(Fabric impregnated with blood collected from execution sites in Mexico).

(The middle flag above at the Exhibition view at the Mexican Pavilion, The Venice Biennale 2009).

Untitled (Architeuthis) (2010)

(Below, and Above with corn syrup as it is this exhibition)

David Zink Yi

(Burnted and glazed clay, corn syrup).

The video Leitmotiv (2011) (film stills below) sounds like soothing waves, but is actually a group of people (out of shot) keeping a pool of water swept with brooms in one spot. As the gallery guide states the artist Cinthia Marcelle wanted 'to prevent the tide from disappearing.'

Leitmotiv (2011)

Cinthia Marcelle

(stills from Video Projection)

The last room of the exhibition returns to work by Teresa Margolles. Ajuste de cuentas (2008) (larger picture below) is a small pile of shattered glass from shot car windscreens collected at the scene of revenge killings by drug dealers in the Sinaloa region of Mexico. Margolles then commissions for the gems in jewellery typically worn by the perpetrators to be replaced by fragments of this glass (bottom two pictures).

Ajuste de cuentas (Score Settling) (2008)

(10 carat gold including an inlay of pieces of broken glass)

A Bigger Picture

This David Hockney (RA) exhibition that recently opened at the Royal Academy focuses on the artists landscape work, primarily paintings of the countryside in his native Yorkshire. I like Hockney's use of strong colour to depict and sometimes exaggerate the difference between surfaces and changing seasons within the settings in his work. This exaggeration by this famous Royal Academician reminds me of some of the Fauvist paintings.

An example of this use of contrasting colours is in Winter Timber (2009). The bottom picture here shows Hockney working on the painting. As it includes him at work it is not surprising that this photo is used on the cover of the Gallery Guide for the exhibition.

Despite this I find his photocollages, such as Pearblossom Highway, 11-18 April 1986, No.1 (1st picture below), more interesting. This and two other artworks in Room 3 are made up of many individual photographs of slightly different sections of the landscape taken from the same standpoint and put together to recreate the scene.

Pearblossom Highway, 11-18 April 1986, No.1

(Photocollage. 119.4 x 163.8cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.)

As is the case with Winter Timber, A Closer Winter Tunnel, February - March, 2006 (below) is spread over several canvases, six in this case. Just like with the photocollages, I like it when these parts can both make a whole or perhaps could also work as individual artworks in their own right (if the canvases were hung seperately)? As is the case with these three works, Hockney's paintings in this show often have paths or roads in them that lead off into the distance and disappear on the horizon or off the edge of the painting. I like this use of perspective in the composition and it sometimes makes me wonder where they are leading.

A Closer Winter Tunnel, February - March, 2006

(Oil on 6 canvases, each 91.4 x 121.9cm. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.)

Winter Timber (2009)

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/

My Secret 7 inch entry

Please vote for my entry in this design competition for a Florence + the Machine record sleeve cover:

http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/af3624aeeb7a8e36ba5fa9d228877c97/383

Gesamtkunstwerk: New Art from Germany

The current offering from the ever expanding collection of contemporary art collected by Charles Saatchi is the Gesamtkunstwerk: New Art from Germany exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery (until 30th April). As was arguably the case with the two previous shows that showcased Western art (American and British), the standard was again not as high as the three earlier exhibitions at the Saatchi's current Kings Road location that showed work from the East (Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian). As Charles Saatchi has previously helped to launch the careers of the YBA generation and put on some great exhibitions in the process I dare not to suggest that he's lost his ability to unearth new talent and his gallery continues to be hugely popular, although I would look much further back in time for the last great exhibition by him. The County Hall (on the South Bank) was the gallery's home from 2003 to 2005 and hosted shows that were in my opinion far more thought-provoking, interesting and original than they are now. This only serves as another reminder of the shame it was when over 100 (British) artworks from this earlier collection were destroyed in the 2004 East London warehouse fire in Leyton.

Returning to the Gesamtkunstwerk exhibition, there were however some artworks (within the 14 rooms) that stood out for me:

Traum Der Sarazenin (The dream Saracen) (2007) Markus Selg

(Sublimation print on fabric)

I feel that these two prints by Markus Selg had more of an impact than his sculptures in this first room. The figure in the foreground in the Gauguin-esque Searching For Ruwenzori (below) looks like its in 3-D and almost coming out of the work.

Searching For Ruwenzori (2010) Markus Selg

(Sublimation print on fabric)



MLR (1992) Isa Genzken

(Lacquer on canvas)

The textural effect that Isa Genzken has created in these two paintings is arguably far more refined than her sculptures on display. Referring to the latter works the text in the Saatchi exhibition guide states: 'she takes an anything-goes approach to the materials she uses.'



MRL (1992) Isa Genzken

(Lacquer on MDF)

Untitled (2009) Gert & Uwe Tobias

(Woodcut on paper on canvas)

I like the (almost Miro-like) creatures in these two canvas' (above/below) by the twin brothers Gert & Uwe Tobias.

Untitled (2007) Gert & Uwe Tobias

(Coloured woodcut on papers mounted on canvas)

When initially glanced at from a distance only what looks like two eyes, a mouth and perhaps a pair of glasses were visible, but Jutta Koether's Mede (below) strikes me as one of those 'the more look - the more you find' paintings. The details, such as figures, emerge from the canvas as its stared at more closely.

Mede (1992) Jutta Koether

(Oil on canvas)

These three portraits (below), with the haunting eyes staring back at us, are part of Thomas Zipp's Schwarze Ballons (black balloons) installation.



part of Schwarze Ballons (2005) Thomas Zipp

Installed using scaffolding to hold it propped against a wall, the huge Sunset by Andro Wekua (below) consists of 170 glazed ceramic panels.



Sunset (2008) Andro Wekua

(Glazed ceramic panels, metal framework, steel scaffolding)

Pretentious Crap (2010-11) Zhivago Duncan

(Wood, glass & mixed media)

The wonderfully named Pretentious Crap (above and detail's in next two photos below) by Zhivago Duncan is enchanting, although it was a shame the 'train/vehicle' on the main track was not working on my visit.



Volker Hueller's Drei Halunken Und Ein Halleluja (Three scoundrels And A Hallelujah) (below) has a Cubist feel to the painting.

Drei Halunken Und Ein Halleluja (2009) Volker Hueller

(Mixed media on canvas)

Josephine Meckseper's cabinets filled with 'curiosities', such as The Complete History of Postcontemporary Art (below) reminds me of some the work of the artist Joseph Cornell. He collected and juxtaposed found objects in small, glass-fronted boxes. Both Meckseper's and Cornell's choice of objects are symbolic and probably surreal.

The Complete History of Postcontemporary Art (detail) (2005) Josephine Meckseper

I admire the way Dirk Bell utilises mixed media in these next three artworks:

The feeling of movement in Wolf Hamlet Madonna Elmex; Abgrund uses contrasting materials to great effect and I like the delicate finish in Rabbit's Moon.



Wolf Hamlet Madonna Elmex (2006) Dirk Bell

(Mixed media on canvas)

Abgrund (Abyss) (2008) Dirk Bell

(Mixed media)

Rabbit's Moon (2007) Dirk Bell

(Mixed media on canvas)

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/germany_art/

One artwork that did survive the move to Kings Road is the only permanent installation at the Saatchi Gallery. Richard Wilson's 20:50 (below) is a room thats flooded with recycled engine oil that creates great visual effects. Although worth seeing at least once it is a shame that visitors seem no longer able to walk down the gangway into the work, as that added a disorientating effect to the artwork and room.

20:50 (1987) Richard Wilson

(Used sump oil and steel)



A walk for a walk's sake

"Drawing is an active line on a walk, moving freely, without goal. A walk for a walk's sake." This is how the artist Paul Klee was said to have once described the art of drawing, which is the theme for a small (one room) exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery. More specifically drawings by Spanish artists from the 16th to the 20th Century. The Spanish Line: Drawings from Ribera to Picasso uses work from the Courtauld's own impressive collection. My favourite works in the show are the two with possibly the greatest contrast between them:

Cantar y Bailar (Singing and Dancing)  (1819-20)  Francisco de Goya y Lucientes

Pigs (1906) Pablo Picasso

Although this exhibition is so small and its a shame there is not more of the same, its still worth looking around the Courtauld's great permanent collection whilst there anyway.


http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/exhibitions/2011/spanish-line/index.shtml