Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 7:24 am
The Real Van Gogh: the Artists and his Letters, is the new exhibit at the Royal Academy and its attempt to combat the common myth that Van Gogh was a madman blessed with genius, as it instead chooses to portray him as a professional artist.
The attempt starts with a stroll through the first gallery in which viewers see that Van Gogh wrote in order to voice his needs and thoughts in a clear fashion. What is interesting is that the voice that is portrayed in the letters discusses how to actually paint and draw by informing friends and his brother about how he is learning to create art with new brushes or pencils. A significant fact to notice is that the letters are not outcries of suffering or depression.
Although it may seem as if this would make for a boring gallery, the actual effect is anything but, with the 30 drawings and 65 paintings that surround the exhibit which is a remarkable collection complied from loans and displayed in their full glory.
Some may enjoy the fact that the letters give significance to the painted works, while others may simply see the letters as art on their own as Van Gogh’s delicate instructions are an inspiration for any aspiring artist.
The most intrinsic aspect of the exhibit however is that by reading the letters Van Gogh wrote about his paintings before studying them the viewer gets the rare opportunity to see each painting through the actual artist’s eyes, which is the real charm of the entire show.
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 6:30 am
While the current buzz and promotional efforts at the new Royal Academy show Earth, Art of a Changing World may be the installation art outside and inside the hallway of the museum, it is worth walking by each of the overdone pieces to see the stunning items inside the gallery.
The first place that you should stop is on the first floor at the installation of Amazonian Field by Antony Gormley. The installation is enough to stop you in your tracks with thousands of eyes staring down at you from the multitudes of terracotta figures that are standing shoulder to shoulder across the room floor.
The second stop you make should be at the Hot Spot by Mona Hatoum which is a large globe of steel stainless mesh that has a neon outline of all the continents. The borders of each country that is currently suffering from political unrest is glowing a hot red, which casts a spell over the room set off with a slight crackle of the electricity that leaves you to wonder when the entire might combust.
Also worth a stop is the Heart of Darkness by Cornelia Parker which is composed of charcoal from a forest fire in Florida. Around the charcoal is a sting of pine cones, branches, and other debris that represent the after effects of such a disaster.
According to Parker the debris can be related to any catastrophe that is created by man from rainforests to the overuse of biofuels.
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 10:47 am
Anish Kapoor’s latest sculpture is now up in The Royal Academy of Arts courtyard with an official unveiling set for Tuesday to mark the upcoming exhibition of his work in the gallery.
The statue in the courtyard was inspired by a quote from the poet Rainer Maria Rilke and is made of steel shiny spheres that bubble up around steel statue Palladian buildings to the height of 15 metres.
Kapoor stated that the design is created to enthral viewers due to the fact it looks almost weightless and leaves viewers wondering how it is composed. He also stated that although it bears a resemblance to DNA that is not what he intends the piece to portray.
In 1992 Kapoor was the recipient of the Turner Prize and since then has become known widely throughout the public art world in particular in 2002 when his Marsyas statue was on display in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall.
Kapoor will be given all of the main galleries that are located at the Royal Academy making him the first artist to ever receive the honour of an exclusive solo show.
He stated that the institution houses some of the best artwork throughout the world so he is aware of the honour that he academy bestowed on him by deciding to host a show of his work.
There will be 50 new sculptures included in the show as well as some of his most well known and controversial pieces of work.
