Reviews of exhibitions in London and beyond, as well as books and performances related to the visual arts. 

Art, comedy, and defying the expectations of the critics

Interview with Stuart Silver, one half of Noble and Silver

‘We like that very personal feel, and that feel of blurring genres. One of the reasons for going into comedy was that we didn’t know what was going to happen there and we thought it would be a challenge.’

Interview: Rachel Jordan

An open-minded artist

Whatever I align myself with at the time, I always totally believe in. But I’m not going to stay stuck for ever. I think I’ve had my moment with being with the Stuckists. It’s carried me into a relationship. It’s almost served its purpose, but I don’t think that’s where my future lies.

Interview: Ramesh Meyyappan

Visual Storyteller

Ramesh Meyyappan brought a unique one-man show to the Edinburgh Fringe this year (2003)- A Visual Adaptation of Dario Fo’s ‘Mistero Buffo’. This mimed piece is a funny, warm and intelligent example of the potential of visual storytelling.

‘Aztecs’ and ‘Jake and Dinos Chapman’

Aztecs - The Royal Academy, London and Jake and Dinos Chapman:Works from the Chapman Family Collection - White Cube Gallery, London

There have been rave reviews for the Aztecs show at the Royal Academy, but this art was produced by one of the most bloodthirsty ‘civilisations’ that has ever existed.

The Turner Prize Show

Tate Britain, London

Am I the only person to suspect that culture minister Kim Howells’ Stuckist-style intervention into the Turner Prize this year was another case of government spin?

Devil’s Playground

Whitechapel Art Gallery, London

‘There’s a feeling of voyeurism that pervades Nan Goldin’s ‘Devil’s Playground’ exhibition in London’s Whitechapel gallery.

Warhol

Tate Modern, London

‘More than any other artist of his generation, Warhol showed us that the ubiquitous imagery of mass culture had come to reflect and shape contemporary life.’
Donna De Salvo, Senior Curator, Tate Modern

Inside Out

Esther Cawley - Quay Art, Kingston-upon-Hull

Yippee! At last, money is going to artists rather than administrators. I hope this continues.

TERRAIN VAGUE - JOAN FONTCUBERTA

Beverley Art Gallery, East Riding of Yorkshire

Joan Fontcuberta produces works that resemble paintings; grattages, frottages, decalcomania or the hand printed solvent transfers that feature in the works of Robert Rauschenberg.

Gender and Genre in Impressionist Portraiture

National Gallery, 16th January 2001

In the nineteenth century, the portrait form explored and celebrated the individual as a unique and dynamic identity.

The Politics of Art

Gustav Metzger and Mark Wallinger at the ICA, London, 8 February 2001

Society cannot function without visual art, said Gustav Metzger, after spending an hour and a half apparently arguing for the extermination of humanity.