David Hockney: A Bigger Picture - EXHIBITION REVIEW
the first thing that grabs you when you enter the exhibition is the sheer scale of it. not just the number of pictures (over 150 in total) but the scale that the artist has created these works. countless canvases have been stuck together to create huge windows into the scenic yorkshire countryside. Hockney’s draughtsmanship excels in the colours he has used with his palette to bring his paintings and sketches of the woods and trees alive - and there are a lot of trees.
the radiant colours and fantastic greens he used in the pictures almost allow the viewer to smell the freshly cut grass or feel the heat of the rocks in his canyon paintings. You will feel totally emmurised in this exhibition, almost to the point you’ll feel you are in the paintings. the study of these landscapes which have taken many years to complete and collect cant help but make me think of Van Gogh great field paintings in there detail and aesthetic.
Hockney’s paintings focus on the changing of the seasons and how the landscape adjusts and moves with the continuing months, ending in a beautiful tribute to nature and the yorkshire dales.
One feature of the exhibtition that has drawn a lot of media attention is the film of a yorkshire road surrounded by trees and woodland. the film was created by about nine cameras fixed to a car filming as the car slowly drives down this road. Hockney filmed this same scene over the months whiched once editted results in a film that see’s the changes of the seasons almost a time lapse film. this was an interesting watch, yet for me didnt add any weight to the exhibition, and was not neccessary, including the additional film of some ballet dancers and hockney raising a cup of tea - i still dont understand that at all.
for me the most interesting element of the exhibiton was Hockneys landscape drawings he created on the iPad. these fantastical landscapes were drawn using a painting app on the hand held device and printed to canvas on a huge scale. the detail acheived was as good as the oil paintings in the other galleries and was great to see such an artist experimenting with other mediums.
In conclusion a great exhibition of paintings by David Hockney, if your around London until April 9th then drop in and check it out!
Christie’s celebrate record prices this week!
Its been a great week for Christie’s auctions as they sell a Picasso and a Melendez for record prices.
The Luis Melendez entitled “Oranges, nuts, spices, boxes of sweetmeats, a jug and cask on a table” sold for £3,513,250, which is over £1,500,000 more than what was estimated for the work and Picasso’s “Femme au fauteuil” sold for £4,745,250 nearly a million pounds higher than its estimate.
It seems that once again the art market celebrates its boom in trading with the auction houses reaping the rewards.
A SHARE OF A DAMIEN HIRST?
Gagosian gallery offers free Hirst print.
Head over to http://www.josefvalentino.com/ to help this guy visit all 11 Gagosian galleries all over the world to win a FREE Hirst print. Josef is selling ‘shares’ of the prints worth to help pay for this trip, how great is that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk_h-O8puY4&feature=player_embedded#!
Lucian Freud exhibition opens!
It is far to say that the most talked about event in the art world right now is the recently opened Lucian Freud exhibition. This exhibition is the biggest collection of his portraits to date and is an absolute must see.
Check out this fantastic audio slide show of some of Lucian’s work narrated by his long time friend and sitter David Dawson. A must watch!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16849079
The exhibition is open 9th February - 27th May 2012 at the National Portrait Gallery.
Artists come together to sell art online.
South Wales artists Harry Holland, Steve Young and Paul Beauchamp have joined forces to sell works by other artists online. Gallus Editions ( http://www.galluseditions.com/ )was set up “because we want to make high-quality, limited-edition prints of our work at prices people can afford” said Mr Holland.
The internet is quickly becoming the place to sell works of art. Buyers can be anonymous, and often pick up a piece of art at a discounted price. Even the auction houses are now selling works at their auctions via the internet. Now with the buyer sat at home with a laptop, perhaps millions in the bank, a very impressive art collection could be massed without leaving the home. But what does this mean for the art market? Does this take away anything from the art world or does it open it up for more to experience art. This is a very interesting debate and one that will over the next few years see mass development and interest. Could you buy a painting without even seeing it in person?
REVIEW: Drawings Show, Albany Gallery.
The Albany Gallery, Cardiff has opened its doors to its latest exhibition of Drawings. The show features work by a variety of Welsh artists including Ceri Aukland-Davies and Kyffin Williams. One notable feature of the show was the popular subject of animals. This is not a typical display in the gallery as the focus is generally more on the beautiful Welsh landscape that surround its base artists, but it did flaunt the years of talent within its artists and provided interesting conversation for the evening. It was perhaps no surprise that the biggest figures made on the opening evening came from Sir Kyffin Williams’ landscapes and farmer paintings. Although water colours and ink wash, some of the prices were not to dissimilar to his oil paintings.
This is show is a must see if you are in the South Wales area. The exhibition runs from the 13th to the 28th January 2012.
Brontë portrait up for sale
This beautiful portrait of the author is up for sale with a starting bid of £3,000, despite not having the authorship confirmed. However, any item with ‘Brontë’ attached to it does cause a stir and people reaching into their wallets.
This is the second portrait of the young author to hit the market in as many months which has raised excitement to many collectors of Brontë paraphernalia.
