I have spent the past two days in London – relishing the abundance of free galleries to visit – but also paying for the privilege to see one particular exhibition.
On Tuesday evening I went to the private view of the Royal College of Art Student Work-in-Progress Show. Animation, Architecture, Design Interactions, Design Products, Innovation Design Engineering and Vehicle Design students displayed their fancy designs and I was most impressed. My sister was one of the exhibitors – so I lingered by the Design Product section (her chosen platform) but caught a glimpse of all other stations too. Lauren Davies’ work:
During the afternoon, I took advantage of the RCA’s proximity to Hyde Park – and the Serpentine – and went to check out Lygia Pape’s exhib. She is a Brazilian artist and this is her retrospective (she passed away in 2004) – and her first solo exhibition in London. There are video installations, ink on paper (very cleverly lined – with objects shifting the line pattern), coloured wood cut blocks and some black and white photography. I liked it for the variety.
I spent some time studying the Louise Bourgeois nude hanging in the foyer. I’m a big fan of Ms Bourgeois:
On Wednesday morning, I arose bright and early to get from Hackney to the Royal Academy, Piccadilly, in the hope of catching David Hockney’s current exhibition: A Bigger Picture. I stood outside, in the FREEZING cold morning, for an hour – and managed to get one of the 50 tickets that are allocated on the day. I felt very lucky. I walked up the grand staircase and into the colourful, mesmerising, emotive, joyful, seasonal exhibition that Hockney’s paintings come together to create. With all the media hype surrounding the exhibition, I was concerned that it might not live up to my expectations. I needn’t have worried – it was magnificent.
The magenta, purple, luminous orange – and other wild colours he works into his landscapes – are at once entirely unreal and entirely recognisable. They are beautiful, and evoke the most wonderful sense of the changing of the seasons. This exhibition is recommended.
What a wondrous cultural fix. Now back to Frome for theBlack Swan open art exhibition – opening on the 11th Feb, The Secret Staircase opening at Rook Lane on 8th March and plenty of other exciting arty events going on throughout the year…!
