London and the White Cube

 Anselm Keifer - Tempelhof, 2010, 380 x 760cm oil, acrylic and salt on canvas

 Last weekend I went to the White Cube on Bermondsey Road .  A fantastic exhibition of new work by the internationally renowned artist Anselm Kiefer was staged across 11,000 sq ft of gallery space, ‘Ill Mistro delle Cattedrali’ is the largest ever presentation of his work in London.  I was blown away by this work and having seen a lot of his exhibitions  this was the best and is well worth a visit.   


Tobias Rehberger - Again, 2011, wood, paint, acrylic, foil and motor

 Another exhibition visited was ‘Sex and Friends’ at Pilar Corrais Gallery where Tobias Reheberger was exhibiting a new body of work.  He is another artist I admire for his sculptures and installations which principally revolve around the concept of transformation, whilst working with industrial processes and technological innovations. This exhibition shows a series of unique shadow sculptures which, at first glance, seem abstract. They are displayed with special lighting effects casting amorphous shadows on the wall to form a hidden message. Quite a different type of work but for me interesting to see the way he uses his materials and the processes. Avril Elward

Degas at the Royal Academy

The Dance Class (La Classe de Danse),1873–1876, oil on canvas, by Edgar Degas

On Tuesday I travelled to London to visit the exhibition at The Royal Academy of Edgar Degas (known in his lifetime as the painter of dancers). Despite the cancellation of all trains to London from Solihull and the pronunciation of Degas on the audio description being very different to the familiar use of the name the visit was really enjoyable.

Having never seen any of Degas work in reality I so was surprised at how faded the colours were. The sculptures were my favourite, particularly the little dancer, standing no more than 98.4cm it is a painted bronze with muslin and silk. The sketches made of the different poses were remarkable, mainly drawn whilst the dancers were practising or waiting to dance. These sketches were shown alongside photographs taken at the time. Very interesting exhibition. Maureen Toomey

Weekend Gallery Visits

Rig: untitled; blocks - Polystyrene, fabric, timber, cement
Overall installed dimensions: 720 x 1190 x 1040 cm / 283 1/2 x 468 1/2 x 409 1/2 in

Another visit to London this time to see the work of Phyllida Barlow, at Hauser & Wirth.  Barlow is inspired by everyday objects of the city and in this exhibition she has created a group of works that brings the cacophony of the gallery’s external surroundings inside.

Off then to visit the Saatchi gallery and have lunch before going to Shoreditch, quite a contrast to Sloane Square, but buzzing with lots of small gallery’s and quirky shops. Well worth a visit to speak to artists there and get to know more about the art scene in London. Its great visiting well known gallery’s but equally inspiring to visit the lesser known spaces.

Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, have a very inspiring group show The 43 Uses of Drawing. From a doodle on the phone pad to a hastily drawing of a map and directions, the contemporary drawing practice looks at the work not only of fine artists but of those with no drawing experience.  I was impressed by a selection of drawings by a surgeon detailing the procedures of various operations he had performed. The exhibition on until 29 October and is well worth a visit, followed by coffee and cake at a quirky vegetarian coffee house  Summersault . Avril Elward

Watercolour, Stone and Glass Exhibition

Last week we made a trip to the Art Barn at Preston Bagot to see the work of Graham and Ian Blaine and the stone carving of Nick Bragg a cathedral trained stonemason. Graham had filled the walls with his watercolours which sit well on the old stone walls and Nick had his ’Glasses Krew’ set up in a group on the mezzanine area of the barn. We thought the Krew looked like some characters from the Muppet Show. Both Ian and Nick were demonstrating their working methods outside in the glorious sunshine. We then adjourned to the Crabmill for lunch and critique with Avril blending very nicely in her lime green attire with the grape vine behind her. Maureen Toomey

Jammers do the Saatchi

Folkert de Jong - The Dance

Today the jammers went to London and back for £2 on Chiltern Railways. We began our art jaunt at the Whitechapel Gallery where Cornelia Parker had made a selection of over 70 works from the Government Art Collection. The place is laid out like a rabbit warren and we had to ask twice in order to find the café.  It was an eclectic mix, grouped in colour ways, with my personal favourite being the very funny Print for a Politician by Grayson Perry – it showed civil servants being hung.

We were mesmerised on the tube journey over to the Saatchi Gallery by a man on his laptop concentrating so hard his tongue had taken on a life of its own. The exhibition here was The Shape of Things to Come – a selection of work from 20 international artists. It is playful, witty and colourful with the emphasis on the traditional sculptural concerns of form, expression and how we interpret the human body - great to see this as a move away from the piousness of some latter-day conceptual work. Coffee and critique (with much people watching) followed in the Duke of York Square, Kensington. Jackie Mackay