Oscar Wollheim curates a sumptuous suite of five great abstract masters – Bowling, Gilliam, Golding, Hoyland and Sylvester II – in his imaginative and vibrant exhibition, Modal Painting, at Maximillian William.
Bringing together thirteen emerging artists between the ages of 16-25, the Barbican’s latest exhibition, It All Comes Down, explores how young people navigate the world and approach their artistic practise during the pandemic.
After seeing artist Charlotte Salomon’s work in an exhibition before the first lockdown, So Mayer started to reflect on the evolution of Salomon’s innovative, word-strewn paintings. Here, they consider how Salomon’s work conjures and embodies a unique voice, a bold assertion of self that defies curatorial and art historical prejudices.
Reading about the life and friendships of artist Ida Nettleship John has given doctoral student, Eliza Goodpasture, comfort during lockdown and companionship when friends feel far away.
Before the second lockdown Toni Roberts saw Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s show Fly in League with the Night at Tate Britain. Here, she recalls vibrant paintings alive with stories, brilliant studies of people, and human relationships that transcend the canvas’ edges.
In this creative ‘Christmas’ essay, Hannah Hutchings-Georgiou reflects on the power and therapeutic potential of drawing in her own life, the artistic practise of Louise Bourgeois, and Jean Frémon’s new text Nativity (Les Fugitives).
Artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen’s epic Year 3 project brings together more than 3000 class portraits from over 1500 primary schools to commemorate a most formative time in a child’s educational life. The result, says our writer Shamini Sriskandarajah, is at once illuminating and moving.
In the third chapter of her mini-series, Toni Roberts discovers that witchcraft is alive and well in Romania. Looking at Lucia Sekerková Bláhová’s photography series, Vrăjitoare, the modern, technologically savvy face of magic and witchery is revealed.
Millais’ painting, Ophelia, continues to inspire viewers and critics alike, but what if the heroine came back from the watery grave she was condemned to? Here, Hannah Hutchings-Georgiou considers the return of Ophelia in the artwork of Jada Bruney and Rolake Osabia, and the music visuals of Christine and the Queens.
The National Gallery’s blockbuster exhibition celebrates the professional ingenuity, self-confidence and skilful proto-feminist paintings of one of Italy’s best Early Modern women artists, Artemisia Gentileschi.
In the final postcard of her series, Rochelle Roberts reflects on the last few months since the first lockdown, and finds comfort and hope in the artwork of Somaya Critchlow and Dorothea Tanning’s Interior with Sudden Joy, 1951.
Alice McCabe’s beautiful tapestries weave millet, flowers, paper and wire together as a timely reminder of our dependency on nature and its residual energy to heal, writes Miriam Al Jamil.
