Tag: painting

Did I promise myself to remain authentic to, or at least return to that standard when I strayed, in a world stained with the self-interest of the few to the disadvantage of the many. Doesn’t Anish Kapoor do that as an artist?

July 16, 2026

Did I promise myself to remain authentic to, or at least return to that standard when I strayed, in a world stained with the self-interest of the few to the disadvantage of the many. Doesn’t Anish Kapoor do that as an artist? Ralph Rugoff asks Anish Kapoor in his interview with the artist, whether art’s … More Did I promise myself to remain authentic to, or at least return to that standard when I strayed, in a world stained with the self-interest of the few to the disadvantage of the many. Doesn’t Anish Kapoor do that as an artist?

Is it all in the detail? Finding some significance of one’s own in major art exhibitions

July 13, 2026

What do we do to make our time in a major art gallery exhibition significant? In a recent blog (in full at this link) I started thinking about some mental and emotional linking themes that seem to me to relate two extremely different major art exhibitions that I needed, at I felt I needed, to … More Is it all in the detail? Finding some significance of one’s own in major art exhibitions

There is life in the old portrait yet! A visit to the Laing Art Gallery’s reframing of the ‘Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award Show 2025’

July 1, 2026

There is life in the old portrait yet! A visit to the Laing Art Gallery’s reframing of the ‘Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award Show 2025‘ This blog follows on from yesterday’s which reported a visit to The Hatton Gallery to see their new exhibition Lines of Action (see it at this link). The day-trip … More There is life in the old portrait yet! A visit to the Laing Art Gallery’s reframing of the ‘Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award Show 2025’

Reframing your Lines of Action: Is Art a way a doing this?

June 30, 2026

Reframing is defined simply enough in a mental health page at this link. Here’;s the opening. For me, the power in it lies in the avoidance of the oft used but poor term ‘positive reframing’, which assumes that negativity is only and merely a mindset and not a reality in the external factors of people’s … More Reframing your Lines of Action: Is Art a way a doing this?

Let’s pretend we can get in the mind (or guts) of great artists, and consider how Anish Kapoor might translate the question, ‘What’s a time you followed your gut and it turned out to be exactly right?’ This is a blog preparing to see his new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery.

June 24, 2026

Let’s pretend we can get in the mind of great artists, and consider how Anish Kapoor might translate the question, ‘What’s a time you followed your gut and it turned out to be exactly right?’ This is a blog preparing to see his new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Following your gut to their source: … More Let’s pretend we can get in the mind (or guts) of great artists, and consider how Anish Kapoor might translate the question, ‘What’s a time you followed your gut and it turned out to be exactly right?’ This is a blog preparing to see his new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery.

When the subject is ‘seeing’, why exclude visual art, for that too allows us to ‘see’ in more than ways that are entirely visual. This blog is an explanation of why I go to art exhibitions. This is almost the same as explaining why I feel a need to prepare myself to see them. The pleasures and perils of researched prescience is however a subject in itself. This blog anticipates seeing the new ‘Zurbarán’ Exhibition at 12.00 midday to 13.30 (about) on Thursday 9th July. Will it change my world?

June 17, 2026

Explaining why I go to art exhibitions is almost the same as explaining why I feel a need to prepare myself to see them. The pleasures and perils of researched prescience is however a subject in itself. This blog anticipates seeing the new Zurbarán ExWhen the subject is ‘seeing’, why exclude visual art, for that … More When the subject is ‘seeing’, why exclude visual art, for that too allows us to ‘see’ in more than ways that are entirely visual. This blog is an explanation of why I go to art exhibitions. This is almost the same as explaining why I feel a need to prepare myself to see them. The pleasures and perils of researched prescience is however a subject in itself. This blog anticipates seeing the new ‘Zurbarán’ Exhibition at 12.00 midday to 13.30 (about) on Thursday 9th July. Will it change my world?

There is no need for magical thinking in order to find art ‘that you wish you could experience again for the first time’. Visit art enough and it must reinvent itself. This is a blog on preparing to visit London again for an art-binge-fest

June 11, 2026

It is time for another looking forward period and for some events preparing myself – where appropriate material exists for doing so (a play-script or catalogue already purchase). In those latter cases, I will blog in preparation, Here to announce my schedule (with Geoffee and Baz left behind for one night at home), under this … More There is no need for magical thinking in order to find art ‘that you wish you could experience again for the first time’. Visit art enough and it must reinvent itself. This is a blog on preparing to visit London again for an art-binge-fest

Wear colours as if they were things and contained emotion as well as expressing it, or, ‘if I were a fairy queen, I’d wear red and green’.

November 22, 2025

Wear colours as if they were things and contained emotion as well as expressing it, or, ‘if I were a fairy queen, I’d wear red and green’. There is some contention about whether the only personality who is allowed to be seen in ‘red and green’ is a ‘fairy queen’ or an ‘Irish queen’. Unfortunately … More Wear colours as if they were things and contained emotion as well as expressing it, or, ‘if I were a fairy queen, I’d wear red and green’.

This blog documents reflection on a visit, and reading afterwards about, ‘Gilbert & George: 21st Century Pictures’ in the London South Bank, The Hayward Gallery on 22nd October 2025 at 10.30 a.m.

November 2, 2025

What might Gilbert & George mean when they said in 1986 in What Our Art Means (and republished by them in the catalogue of this exhibition in 2025) that it is intended ‘to speak across the barriers of knowledge directly to People about their Life, and not about their knowledge of art’.[1] This blog documents … More This blog documents reflection on a visit, and reading afterwards about, ‘Gilbert & George: 21st Century Pictures’ in the London South Bank, The Hayward Gallery on 22nd October 2025 at 10.30 a.m.

October 21st 2025: The first day of my birthday treats ends earlier than planned: Mea Culpa!

October 25, 2025

October 21st 2025: The first day of my birthday treats ends earlier than planned: Mea Culpa! I started this blog on the 21st October and its now the 24th and so backlogged with diary like blog reports. However, it helps to organise my brain to do them. On the 21st, I wrote this after an … More October 21st 2025: The first day of my birthday treats ends earlier than planned: Mea Culpa!

The appreciation of art is not a matter of ‘personal choice’ or ‘favour’; it is a duty. This is so not only for its maker but its reading, for reading is, in part, co-making.

October 2, 2025

The appreciation of art is not a matter of ‘personal choice’ or ‘favour’; it is a duty. This is so not only for its maker but its reading, for reading is, in part, co-making. Duty, of course, does not exclude personal pleasure if it does exclude banal ideas of choice between pleasures. The quotation and … More The appreciation of art is not a matter of ‘personal choice’ or ‘favour’; it is a duty. This is so not only for its maker but its reading, for reading is, in part, co-making.