Glass from Mariawald Abbey

Some images from the sixteenth century stained glass display at the Victoria And Albert Museum in London. These are from Mariawald Abbey in the Rhineland near Cologne.

Tate Britain (Again)

Barbara Hepworth is represented in the Tate by only a couple of pieces, which is a pity when faced by the tidal wave of Henry Moore abstracts and drawings. There is the exquisite Ball, Plane and hole (1936) in ‘The Thirties’ room and Pelagos (1946), which I missed on this occasion. It always surprises me; the Tate policy of…

I am a Wanderer – Kiki Smith

I am a wanderer is a celebration of the various media works of Kiki Smith (b. 1954), at Modern Art Oxford. Smith, born in Nuremberg, but brought up in New York, her early works are influenced by the culture of the place and time, Social Agenda, Sexual identity, the AIDS crisis and feminist activism. Interdependence…

Gunpowder Art in Oxford

The Ashmolean, Is the oldest museum in the world, as we keep reminding ourselves, but at the same time putting on some great cutting edge free exhibitions from time to time. The current example is a terrific display of gunpowder art – yes gunpowder art. Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957) is known for his…

Blake at the Tate Britain

Relevance is the key to great art. If painting is not relevant in its day then it is pointless. But when that relevance transgresses the ages it is even more valuable to us.  William Blake is one of those greats whose message is as relevant today as it was 250 years ago. The Tate Britain…