A Crisis of Brilliance 1908-1922

Last Sunday, for my birthday outing, we visited Dulwich Pictury Gallery to see the exhibition A Crisis of Brilliance 1908-1922. Sadly it finishes today so there's no time for a second visit.

This exhibition traces the work of Paul Nash, C.R.W. Nevinson, Stanley Spencer, Mark Gertler, Dora Carrington and David Bomberg who were students together at the Slade School of Fine Art under the tuition of Professor Tonks. Henry Tonks studied medicine and became a surgeon before becoming an artist. Judging by the exhibition notes Professor Tonks was a task master who ran his studio like a military camp. So life for his students was no a 'walk in the park'.

However their work flourished as they were exposed to Futurism, Cubism and Vorticism and they became some of the most well-known and distinctive British artists of the twentieth century. The exhibition culminates with a selection of their drawings and paintings depicting the horrors of WWI.

I was particulary attracted to a landscape by Paul Nash using graphite and ink wash which has inspired me to try something similar. I think this simple sketch of mine evokes a similar mood.

Bittern Lookout

Summer Salon at the Islington Arts Factory

I'm really pleased that two pieces of my art work have been selected for this year's summer salon at Islington Arts Factory. Private view on Friday 26 July: all welcome.

The two images are shown here:

Band stand in Victoria Park from the Lady Burdett fountain

Kitchen still life

A tour of Union Chapel, Islington

Looking towards the Rose window: ©Graham White

Last Monday a small group from the Islington Art Society were treated to a tour of Union Chapel by Andrew Gardner. This imposing Congregational, non-conformist church sits on Compton Terrace and dominates the skyline where Upper Street and Highbury Corner meet in Islington.

Andrew explained that the chapel, that replaced a previous Georgian chapel which was deemed too small, was designed by James Cubitt in the 1870s with non-conformist values in mind. Unlike Anglican churches the chapel has no central nave. There are instead two aisles either side the central seating area which encourages a feeling of community among people sitting there. The acoustics were considered most important and you can easily hear the spoken voice from anywhere in the chapel without amplification. Likewise the minister can see the entire congregation (which originally numbered around 1600 people) when speaking from the pulpit. These were all designed to foster a sense of inclusiveness.

In the chapel's Victorian hey day up to 1,000 children attended Sunday School every week and this would have been the only formal education they would have received. There were lecture rooms upstairs and downstairs so the chapel was busy during the week as well as on Sundays.

The numbers attending the chapel declined markedly after WWII and by 1980 Islington Council was ready to demolish the building because it had fallen into such bad repair but this was halted by enthusiasts of Victorian architecture who began the task of restoring this colossal building. One way of raising funds was to use the chapel as a music venue and it is this area which has thrived and many famous names have played here. In addition to this the famous Father Willis organ has recently been restored and is going to be featured during the Organ Project Launch Week, 14-20 July with a diverse line-up of artists.

We all enjoyed our tour around the nooks and crannies of this vast complex including peering at the hydraulics underneath the organ, inspecting the basement and the offices upstairs. If you too would like a tour of the chapel or to attend a concert contact Union Chapel here.

Revealing the balcony: ©Graham White

Art for sale

One of my new card designs: A view from Corbridge, Northumberland

In the interests of being more business like and productive I have just updated and reorganised the greeting cards section on my website which you can find here.

A bigger splash makes me think

Today I've been lucky enough to spend a few hours socialising with two different friends at two different locations. I met my first friend at En Cas & Espresso café near Old Street where we enjoyed some food and watched snow falling outside.

I met my second friend inside Tate Modern by the bookshop which is next to the Turbine Hall. Since it is often easier to walk round London than go by public transport I made this journey on foot. I walked along City Road until I passed Moorgate Tube station. I wiggled my way round the City until I reached Cheapside then onto Queen Victoria Street, over Millennium Bridge to arrive at the forbidding and fortress-like museum of modern art on the south bank of the Thames where I noticed that the tide was in.

Along the way I dodged traffic and other pedestrians, giving way here and taking the initiative there. Once inside the museum I had to do the same to navigate my way to the bookshop to meet my friend. Then we had to travel on several escalators to finally reach floor four so we could visit A Bigger Splash: Painting after Performance.

There are 13 rooms devoted to this exhibition and the bigger splash refers to the David Hockney (1967) painting in Room One, of a swimming pool with a burst of water as its focal point. On the opposite side of the room there is a Jackson Pollock painting (circa 1950) on display on the floor and on the wall above a documentary showing the artist at work on this same piece. I think I liked this exhibit most out of the whole exhibition.

The first paragraph of the exhibition notes states: "A Bigger Splash: Painting after Performance looks at the dynamic relationship between painting and performance since the 1950s, and at how experiments in performance have expanded the possibilities for contemporary painting."

I confess I don't really understand what this means but we ploughed through every room doing our best to take in what there was to offer. At one point I asked myself: "If I had made this morning's journey covered in wet paint and had someone film me doing it, then shown it on TV in an art gallery would it count as art?" I really was that puzzled.

While I really didn't like watching female models being used as props and some of the images appeared to be quite sadistic I was intrigued by Geta Brătescu's films of her painting her face and then cleaning it all off again. Likewise I enjoyed the Polish artist Edward Krasiński's line of blue tape stuck all around Room Six at a fixed height and watching footage in Room Two of people firing guns at sacs of paint embedded in canvas devised by Niki de Saint Phalle made me laugh.

I found this exhibition very challenging and surprisingly thought provoking which I wasn't expecting when I walked into the first room and by the time we left Tate Modern I noticed that the tide was going out.

Mariko Mori: Rebirth

Last Monday I was given the opportunity to visit Mariko Mori's exhibition Rebirth at Burlington Gardens, part of the Royal Academy of Arts. Other than visiting the exhibition in person you won't find a better description of it than this link to the Royal Academy where you can watch a very informative video about the subject matter plus an interview with the artist.

When I visit an exhibition I try to approach the artwork with an open mind and on a good day I leave a gallery feeling refreshed and invigorated - often I've learned something new. On this occasion I experienced something approaching a meditative state which increased as I passed from one gallery to another. I wasn't fully aware of this until it was time to leave the building and make a decision about how I was going to get home. Having to deal with crossing the road safely and navigate my way round Mayfair was surprisingly challenging.

So now it is the Thursday after my visit and I still feel quite incapable of describing adequately what the exhibition is like. But I do recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area and then you can decide for yourself. It's on until 17 February.

Catherine the not-so-great

Today was the first meeting of the year of the Freelance Media Group. We meet at the Groucho Club, the private hang out of the Very Important People who inhabit Media Land. Sometimes you'll spot a celebrity or two which is all good fun but you must not, whatever you do, engage them in conversation.

Anyway there is fat chance of that happening since we meet in a room up several flights of stairs away from all the schmoozing. Here I found myself sitting next to a journalist who revealed that she covers royal stories and she politely agreed when I pointlessly gushed 'Ooh, you'll be busy when the baby arrives.' Then I asked her what she thought of the Duchess of Cambridge's new portrait by Paul Emsley on display at the National Portrait Gallery which in the last few days has been subjected to a barrage of criticism. She assured me that it looks much better 'in the flesh' than it did in the papers. So I decided to check it out for myself since we were just a short walk away from the gallery.

My first impression was that it is far too big. It is more-or-less 3ft x 4ft. I think it would have had more impact if it had been half that size. I imagine it could be quite terrifying receiving a commission to paint a royal portrait and maybe that is why Catherine has ended up looking a bit lifeless. I much preferred the portrait further along the corridor of Mo Mowlam (a British MP and Labour minister) painted by John Keane in 2001. This portrait is full of life, you can see the brush strokes and although Mo Mowlam is in repose you can get a sense of her vitality. Poor Catherine by contrast doesn't appear to have any vitality. However if you turn your head slightly you can see her engagement photos hanging in a neighbouring gallery where you can see that she is clearly a very lively young woman.

This is just the first official portrait of Catherine and no doubt in time we will be able to chart the progress of her royal life in future portraits in the same way we can with Her Majesty the Queen who appears to have sat for more portraits than some of us have had hot dinners - let's hope they might have a bit more life in them.