Keith Haring – Liverpool

London buses. There used to be an expression along the lines of “you wait ages for a red bus and then two come along together. I feel a little like that with “stick man” art. Having enjoyed the A R Penck show at The Ashmolean, my next trip was to Tate Liverpool for Keith Haring….

A R Penck – Oxford

The Ashmolean in Oxford occasionally holds free small exhibitions, which are always worth a visit. On my recent visit (The Forest Fire) I caught up with A R Penck. The exhibition ‘I Think in Pictures’ is the first UK show of this distinctive, energetic artist for nearly thirty years. A R Penck is, of course,…

More on The Forest Fire

More on the The Forest Fire, my Painting of the Month, by Piero di Cosimo in The Ashmolean, Oxford Much has been written of this Renaissance masterpiece. The gallery notes attributes the theme to a reading of De Rerum Natura (on Nature), an epic first century poem by the Roman, Lucretius. The theme of the…

Piero di Cosimo – The Forest Fire

The gift or discovery of fire has fascinated all manner of prehistory, mythological and cultural investigation from the cave dwellers to Disney (Baloo the bear). And it is the subject of my Painting of the Month for August. The Ashmolean has a great collection of artefacts including some iconic Renaissance panel paintings. The Forest Fire…

Lanzarote – César Manrique

César Manrique, more than anyone else, is responsible for the low rise, consistently welcoming, settlements on Lanzarote. His influence as architect & politician is felt across the island; the low rise white plastered houses with green or blue window furniture are the norm. Born in Arricife in 1919, he studied architecture and art in New…