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There are times I whinge about being an artist ( few and far between, but midwinter me is a little sulky , sometimes). It may be lonely and isolating in the studio , the exposure to  criticism is constant and finding gallery spaces to exhibit in is tough , but the professional development options are fabulous!! Travelling to far-flung Institutions of Art, exposure to galleries of a wide variety, exhibitions, publications, residencies, workshops.....its not a hideous way to improve oneself and view the world from a longer lens!

 

I have , since 2017 and his nomination for the Turner Prize, been in awe of the British painter, Hurvin Anderson.  He is a painters painter. The closest I have come to seeing his works are in the books I purchased and the odd YouTube Video I have watched. He is Private with a capital P and not much is known about him that he doesn't want you to know. That only serves to makes me more interested.  I have read much about his WHY, but the HOW is another matter. The only way to figure out his paintings is to stand in front of them and LOOK. And heres the other issue. Most of his work is in private collections, so us plebs never get to see them. When I heard that Tate Britain had arranged a retrospective , I booked my tickets without a thought to anything else. 

 

The exhibition did not dissapoint , and it got me so excited I went to see it three times in the week I spent in London. Now , Of course I went to other exhibitions , and I shall list them below. TIP. If you are going to go to London for just one week to view art, grab a good arty friend to join you , a power bank ( your phone will die after the hundreth photo) and make sure you wear good shoes.

 

List of Shows Visited:

Cecily brown and David Hockeney at the Serpentine Galleries,

Tracy Emin and the general collection at the Tate,

Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain(1st visit)

L Cornellison Art Store

Gargosian to see the Christo Exhibition

Whistler  and Hurvin Andersson(2nd visit) and the British collection at Tate Britain

Lottie COle at Long&Ryle Gallery

Schapiarelli at the V&A and then some of the collections, including furniture, the contemporary Glass collection and a superb exhibition of Constable and the Mezzotints of David Lucas

Rising Voices : Contemporary arts from Asia and the Pacific....saw our own Kushana  Bush , Michael Parakowhai and Leyton Pole and some fantastic Pakistani paintings.

National Gallery to see the impressionists

Back to Hurvin Anderson( like a junkie)

The New English Art Club annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries

The Wallace Collection

A variety of small , commercial galleries 

 

And then I went to Ireland! That was a mix of work and play. I visited a cousin but ended up teaching her quite a bit about colour mixing theory and audited my material and clothing in advance of my residency in BAllinglen next year. I want to check out whether some of my inteded subject matter would be available ...and it will be! 

 

Want to see some photos?

 

 

 Cecily Brown Close up

 

Cecily Brown

David HOckneys Ipad Drawings of Normandy.

 

 

 

 

 

Tracy Emins Trauma Informed paintings

 

 

Refreshments are mandatory!

 

 

The V& A

 

 

Hurvin Anderson being admired

 

 

L Cornellison. A great Harry Potterish art store 

 

 

Whistlers mother . 

 

 

Self Portrait with my artist friend and keeper of the map, Michelle Ives. Turns out this mirrored wall was in fact a bar! The punters must laugh!!!

 

 

 

The Craftmanship and sheer ingenuity of Schappierelli at the V&A.

 

 

 

 

The Maquette of the Christo exhibition at Gargosian

 

 

A side-quest into Liberty's to gawk at fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

New English Art Club exhibition.

 

 

I cant go past a painting of a chair...or a Van Gogh!

 

Seurat at the NAtional Gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The madness of the Wallace Collection

 

 

 

 

Hurvin Anderson

 

On arrival in Ireland, I discovered the town on Clonakilty had put on a wonderfull festival that I wandered around and thoroughly enjoyed! Guiness Time! 

 

Ok, I'm sure you have had anough and we both know I took thousands of photos, but I wont subject you to them.

 

But what I can tell you is that there is no substitute for looking at paintings and artwork first hand. I learned things about their construction in the brushwork, application of paint, the evidence in the work of the artists thinking, the visible mistakes and adjustments, display choices, the list goes on and on. 

 

Put your phone down and look with both eyes. 

Thanks , David Hockney, and I agree.  I have the best job in the world and I love my professional development. Watch this space

 

Jennie