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…
Category: Gallery Visits
Barbican – Lee Krasner
The Barbican Art Gallery in East London, I always think, is a difficult place to find, with all the other events taking place at the Arts Centre. And when inside I always find it odd that you start the tour at a point half way round the gallery. That having been said the exhibitions are…
Claudette Johnson – Oxford
Oxford Modern Art has a reputation for bringing the very best of the modern to this city of medieval tradition. Very often this is in the form of installation and modern media but occasionally there is an exhibition of paintings which really opens up the space. I have seen Graham Sutherland and an amazing exhibition…
Van Gogh at the Tate
(The) Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter (1968) was one of the most influential albums of the 1960s. Released by the Scottish psychedelic folk rock band, The Incredible String Band, it’s title suggests the beauty of the afterlife. This concept may go somewhere to explaining the love affair the British have with Van Gogh. Van Gogh in Britain…
Hepworth – Artist in Society 1948-53
St Albans Town Hall, I have described in the past as the ugliest building in England. Maybe unfair but growing up and going to school there, seeing the decaying mock classical edifice on a daily basis informed my view. Can you imagine my delight now seeing it in its new form as twenty-first century Art…
White Box Art Channel 