I’m not sure why, but this year I’ve spotted a lot of contemporary art that features tongues. The last tongue-related work I spotted was a fantastic show by Alicia Radage at the Herbert Read Gallery in Canterbury, Kent – and has finally prompted me to put together this list of art with tongues!
Continue reading “Tongue-tastic art!”A Sea Change – Art in Romney Marsh
This autumn a rich and scenic treasure hunt of art has been unfolding in and around Romney Marsh. It’s exciting to see contemporary artists animating the evocative, historic sites of the medieval churches of Romney Marsh, originally built for the isolated shepherd communities living out on the marsh.
Continue reading “A Sea Change – Art in Romney Marsh”Off With Her Head by Lindsey Mendick at Carl Freedman Gallery
F*cking brilliant. A totally bombastic articulation of things which sadly still need to be said. A many-layered, nuanced show, crashing together epochs of references. And so much work, an immersive installation rich with detailed, damning observations in ceramic, sculpture, stained glass and video.
Continue reading “Off With Her Head by Lindsey Mendick at Carl Freedman Gallery”‘They/Them/Their: Naturally Not Binary’ at IMT Gallery
Tonight was the first art show I’ve been to in London which felt real. Real work – people trying to work something out, grappling with their materials to try and understand something, to get somewhere. Engaging with the work of trying to deconstruct some of the deeply embedded ideological fault lines in our society. Power structures that so often go unquestioned. But slowly, slowly, a critical mass of critical practitioners is blossoming.
Continue reading “‘They/Them/Their: Naturally Not Binary’ at IMT Gallery”Holly Hendry and Olivia Bax
Some great sculpture with materials that sing, I have found recently in London…
Continue reading “Holly Hendry and Olivia Bax”‘The Natural World’ by Oliver Hoare
A beautiful ammonite spiral, the arc of a giant seedpod, a softly lit room with spotlights highlighting all manner of incredible artefacts. Each item beguiling, glistening in the light and laced with all manner of geographic and historic provenance for the visitor’s delight. So many small marvels, yet why did this rendering of “The Natural World” by Oliver Hoare leave me feeling so queasy?
Continue reading “‘The Natural World’ by Oliver Hoare”‘Make’ at The Freelands Foundation
I was recently drawn to the wonderful Freelands Foundation in Northwest London to visit their recent exhibition ‘Make’, all about thinking through making.
Continue reading “‘Make’ at The Freelands Foundation”We Will Walk – at Turner Contemporary
In 2020 the Turner Contemporary in Margate, Kent hosted a show called ‘We Will Walk – Art and Resistance from the American South’, celebrating and documenting the art of black communities in the 20th century. It was an exhilarating and moving show, with such a rush of humanity and bathed in an art spirit of the highest order. I wrote a little delayed art commentary afterwards but the show felt so profound, in many dimensions, that I struggled to do a full write-up. Here at least are some of my reflections gathered together with some photographs, to document this show.
Continue reading “We Will Walk – at Turner Contemporary”Delayed Art Commentary – Feedback Loops at ACCA Melbourne
Back in the heady pre-pandemic days of 2020, I was lucky enough to be visiting Melbourne in Australia. When I discovered there was a group show at the ACCA, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art featuring Zadie Xa, I naturally had to visit. I’d heard about her work, but not seen it in the flesh. And I was intrigued to see the work of the other 5 artists showing alongside her.
Continue reading “Delayed Art Commentary – Feedback Loops at ACCA Melbourne”Delayed Art Commentary and Purvis Young
Sometimes my art writing verges into serious Delayed Art Commentary … actually I quite like that phrase, and also the notion, of having a little time to digest and process a show. But there’s definitely a sweet spot, the optimum amount of time for the work to muddle round my brain a bit, but also for my initial reactions not to be too distant, to be able to call them back, dig into them, turn them over and figure out a bit more what it all means.
Continue reading “Delayed Art Commentary and Purvis Young”