painting – Page 2 – criticismism ii

December 16, 2012January 31, 2013

Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon

Of the half a dozen mass market art paperbacks you might find in your local good book store, there may be at least two biographies of Michaelangelo Caravaggio. In addition to this, the latest, there may be another recent account by Peter Robb. That book, called M, emulates the passions…

May 4, 2012May 4, 2012

Interview: Corinna Spencer

New touring exhibition Tainted Love positions itself somewhere between group show and group therapy. Twelve artists have produced work with the theme of obsessive, one-sided love. At least they will now have company. â€œWeâ€™ve transformed the gallery with these partitions,â€ says artist and curator Corinna Spencer, speaking on the phone…

December 6, 2011

Turner Prize 2011 @ BALTIC

They say no one likes a sore loser. And Iâ€™ve no doubt in person that after the winner was announced in last nightâ€™s Turner Prize, George Shaw was gracious in defeat. But shortly after Martin Boyce stepped up to claim the Â£20,000 award, it appeared to be paintings by Shaw…

August 17, 2011September 2, 2011

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, 1892-93

By elevating the point of view and catching performer May Milton as she surges past, Toulouse-Lautrec captures the unsteady excitement of a late night at the Moulin Rouge. And unlike the paparazzi shots which litter today’s gossip pages, looking at this work leads to a feeling of inclusion. Perhaps that’s…

August 10, 2010

12 pieces of conceptual art that would probably work as tweets

From the 20th century onwards, the beauty of much art is it has no need for the eye of a beholder. Conceptual works, in theory, place as much importance on the idea as the finished visual object. And while lots can be said about the dozen pieces below, the kernel…

July 11, 2010

Diane Arbus/Chicks on Speed/Arabicity/July must-sees

Here’s another round up of stories written in the past week for Culture24: Preview: Diane Arbus – Artist Rooms, Nottingham Contemporary Preview: Chicks on Speed – Don’t Art, Fashion, Music, Dundee Contemporary Arts Preview: Arabicity: Such a Near East, the Bluecoat Culture24’s art must sees for July

July 7, 2010July 27, 2010

Why do so many artists choose The Fall?

This blog entry is being put together to the sound of The Fall, in an attempt to understand why so many artists claim, or are said, to draw or paint to the sound of Mark E Smith’s timeless band. Usual conditions for producing these musings are, for the record, a…

July 4, 2010

Howard Hodgkin/Ice Traffic/Fiona Banner/Nothing is Forever/Profusion/The Papered Parlour/Prop

Here’s a belated round up of last week’s stories for Culture24. Click below on any that interest… Preview: Howard Hodgkin – Time and Place, at Modern Art Oxford Review: Ice Traffic in See Further: The Festival of Science and Arts at Royal Festival Hall Preview: Fiona Banner – Harrier and…

June 26, 2010

Remedios Varo, The Creation of The Birds (1957)

It must be tempting for an artist to think the painted, drawn or sculpted subject has a life beyond the canvas, page or block. This was maybe the original impulse of art – with cave paintings as an invocation for the success of the tribal hunt. Most paintings of beauty…

June 20, 2010

Francis AlÃ¿s/James White/Clare Twomey/Surreal Friends

Here’s a round up of the pieces I wrote for Culture24 last week. Enjoy! Review: Surreal Friends: Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Kati Horne at Pallant House Review: James White: New Paintings, Max Wigram Gallery Review: Clare Twomey: A Dark Day in Paradise, Brighton Pavilion Review: Francis AlÃ¿s: A Story…