Ron Mueck

I am always fascinated by artists who use processes and materials to create work which makes me wonder how on earth they created the pieces that they do, and leave me with a sense of amazement and wonder. One such artist who does this for me is Ron Mueck.

I ventured up to Hauser and Wirth, and I am so glad I managed to catch this show before it closes. His work first caught my attention at the Millenium Dome with the huge crouching boy installation and then again as artist in residence at the National Gallery a few years ago.

He creates a sense of wonder with his hyper realistic figures, but adds a surrealistic twist when he plays with the scale of the figures - either reducing them or enlarging them in scale. 

The attention to detail is amazingly obsessive, down to the individual application of single hairs in eyebrows and eyelashes and on legs.  

The hyper realistic figures are very reminiscent of Duane Hanson's work in the 1970s. There were only four pieces in this exhibition but again the sense of wonder and empathy for the figures made the visit worthwhile for me. Stunning!

Piccasso's Vollard Suite

There is a rather wonderful exhibition currently in the Print room of the British Museum. It shows off the complete set of 100 etchings created by Picasso in his classical period, between 1930 and 1937, and commissioned by the art dealer Ambroise Vollard. This set of etchings is known as the Vollard Suite. 

The prints reflect Picasso's obsession with his young mistress Marie-Therese Walter, his interest in classicism, and brief flirtation with Surrealism. The Suite is divided into themes which include, The Battle of Love, The Sculptors Studio, Rembrandt, The Minotaur and The Blind Minotaur, and the last being three portraits of Ambroise Vollard. The display is complemented by the inclusion of etchings by Rembrandt, (the best ever etcher?), Goya, and also classical busts and ceramics.

Among the prints my favourite image is Blind Minotaur Led through the Night by Girl with a Fluttering Dove 1935. This beautiful, atmospheric image in which a young girl with a dove leads the blinded minotaur through the night, hold its own against many of his actual paintings. It is an image full of tenderness and pathos and I wonder how it would have looked had Picasso developed it into a large painting. There is a beautiful contrast of light which emanates from the bodies of the characters, and the rich black of the night scene.

Whilst some of the plates would have benefited from more work by Picasso, the exhibition displays his inventiveness and mastery of line and composition. It is one I shall definately be returning to again before it closes in September.

Kaleidoscope: a new screenprint

I have been working with the wonderful people at Jealous Gallery and print studio to create a new screen-print - Kaleidoscope (Red). It was nice to visit their new premises in Shoreditch and observe the process, as I haven't done this form of printmaking since teaching, a good few years ago. The project was handled and printed by the fantastic Jess (a star in the making!).

The print makes its debut at the Grand Designs Live show at the Excel Centre, London this weekend on the Jealous Gallery stand. The signed limited edition is 40 and there will be an additional edition of ten prints with diamond dust. The prints are available direct from myself via the website, or the galleries that represent me (see Contact page), or Jealous Gallery.

Dulwich Festival, Artists' Open House 2012

As part of the Dulwich Festival Artists' Open House 2012, I am pleased to have been invited to exhibit at Romeo Jones, in the heart of Dulwich village. Romeo Jones is the wonderful delicatessen which supplies the finest artisanal food produce from both the British Isles and the continent. My work can be found in the beautiful 'salon' style cafe at the rear of the shop. I will be exhibiting for the whole of May and not just the weekends (12/13th May and 19/20th May), of the Open House. I will be showing my latest all white piece - "Periphery".

It was a real pleasure to be selected to exhibit at this particular venue which has a growing reputation for showing artwork, and I would like to thank Festival Art Organisor Rachel Gluyas, and the proprietor Patrick Belton for making this possible.

Romeo Jones, 80 Dulwich Village, SE21. 

Tel. 0208 299 1900

www.romeojones.co.uk

Mon - Fri  8 - 5pm

Sat - Sun  9 - 6pm

Screaming at Sotheby's

Ventured up to Sotheby’s, New Bond St. to see a version of the ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch (1863 - 1944). The version consigned to the saleroom and up for auction next month in New York, is a pastel drawing by the artist. The image of ‘The Scream’ is reckoned to be only second to that of the Mona Lisa in terms of art awareness in the general public conscience, and is regarded as the archetypal image of the angst and anxiety of modern man.

‘The Scream’ is a series of four artworks created between 1893 and 1910. The version for sale is owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen and was bought direct from the artist by his father. Munch described the inspiration for the image thus:

I was walking along a path with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

This is referenced in the poem written by Munch on the frame of the piece for sale at Sotheby’s, which says ‘the scream’ actually comes from Nature and not the figure in the artwork. This is certainly echoed in the Expressionist lines and colours used by Munch in each of the finished artworks.

Interestingly at the time that the image was created Munch’s sister was committed to a mental asylum and he himself feared he would go mad. Munch lived near the asylum and a local abattoir and could hear the screams of humans and animals from both of these places. 

I was amazed at the high levels of security employed by Sotheby’s to safeguard the treasure. It should come as no surprise really when sales estimates are as high as £50 million. You have to pass through not one but two airport style security scans and place all metal objects such as keys, phones, wallets etc. into a tray. Your body is then scanned with one of those wand thingumajiggies before you are corralled into a queue and made to wait,( for as long as twenty minutes, states the notice), before you are allowed into a darkened room to view the picture from a distance, behind a barrier. It is though, a particularly beautiful drawing/preparatory sketch, and the colours really sing in the darkened room.

The mind boggles as to what final price it will fetch at auction when the gavel comes down next month in New York on May 2^nd. Sotheby’s reckons that the £50 million estimate is the highest that they have ever put on a piece of art for sale. It was a privilege to be able to view it before it disappears off to New York, and then from public view, doubtless into some anonymous private collection.   

Make a trip to Sotheby’s if you can before the work is sent to New York on Saturday, as there are also some other important pieces on view by the greats of 20^th century art, such as Warhol, Bacon, Picasso, Dali, Magritte, Rodin and Matisse.

Mondrian Nicholson in Parallel

To the Courtauld to see the MondrianllNicholson in Parallel show. Enjoyed this small exhibition which focused on the period before the second World War when Mondrian came to live in London and the influence he exerted over Nicholson. 

I would have liked to see more larger pieces by Mondrian but my absolute favourite pieces in the exhibition were Nicholsons' plain white carved reliefs. Absolutely spare and beautiful. 

It was some of this sparse, contemplative quality that I was trying to capture in the plain white pieces that I create (pictured below), which rely on the play of light, shadow and form, rather than colour.  

 The exhibition continues at the Courtauld Gallery until 20th May 2012.

Angels in Berkeley Square

Found myself in Berkeley Square on a beautiful sunny day. Didn't hear any nightingales singing alas, but did see a beautiful collection of Angels and Goddesses by the sculptor Emily Young. Have previously seen her work at the Fine Art Society and love the scale, texture and subject matter. It was great to see others touching and interacting with the pieces. Wonderful!