joseph scissorhands

Friday, 14 February 2020

All The World Loves Lovers...

All the world loves lovers,

All the world loves people in love,

Don't forget it,

Love whatever the price...

- Paddy McAloon

Saturday, 8 February 2020

Cambridge Contemporary Art: Mixed Show

I am one of eight artists selected by Cambridge Contemporary Art to have work featured in their current mixed exhibition. There are several new pieces of mine on display. The exhibition closes on the 14th February, so is nearing the end of its run. If you are unable to make the trip to Cambridge then contact the gallery about the availability of works.

20/20 Vision

Mixed Show
until 14th February
Cambridge Contemporary Art
6 Trinity Street

Cambridge

CB2 1SU

Tel: 01223 324222

Saturday, 1 February 2020

Alexander McQueen: Roses

“We’ve referenced the rose in many collections at Alexander McQueen. For me, it’s the most British flower of all, a symbol of femininity... I love the fragility and also the splendour of it... the idea that it represents birth and rebirth and the whole life cycle... The fact that it has beauty as a bud, and a beauty through its decay... it has a strength and power... It almost represents a woman, to me.” - Sarah Burton

Having really enjoyed their last exhibition (here), on the second floor space of the Alexander McQueen flagship store on Old Bond Street, I made another journey there to enjoy their new current display - Roses. The exhibition features the label's historical and ongoing adaptation of the rose/floral motif as the inspiration for some pretty spectacular dresses. There are a couple of my favourite original Alexander McQueen dresses designed by the man himself from his 2007 Sarabande collection. The original of the dress (below) featured real flowers which began to fall off the dress as the model moved around the catwalk creating a sense of drama. The original flowers have largely been replaced by artificial fabric flowers which have been hand-dyed to replicate the original colours of the real things. I was lucky enough to be given a personal guided tour of the dresses by the lovely assistant/curator Maxmara who is a fount of knowledge and anecdotes explaining the history of each dress, and also the complexities of their construction, as well as the number of hours put in by the 'petit mains' and other contributors, the unsung heroes of the fashion world doing vital work behind the scenes to realise the original vision of Alexander McQueen and successor Sarah Burton. The variety of floral-inspired designs on display here reminded me of the 'Garden' section of last years blockbuster Christian Dior exhibition (here), who was also inspired by flowers and gardening. I was reminded too of the floral couture created by florists seen in Covent Garden in 2018 (here). This exhibition is a great opportunity to investigate the construction and wilful deconstruction of traditional tailoring techniques, and to also see the levels of skill and intricacies involved in the ornate embroidered surface decoration of garments. Once again I came away completely inspired having seen the work of a creative team at the top of their game. Below can be seen short films of the original 2007 Sarabande fashion show, and also intriguing footage of the construction process of Burton's beautiful Rose dress (top picture, above), by Head of the Atelier Judy Halil.

Roses
Alexander McQueen
27 Old Bond Street
London
W1S

Saturday, 25 January 2020

Bridget Riley

From Here, (1994) detail

'Looking is, I feel, a vital aspect of existence. Perception constitutes our awareness of what it is to be human, indeed what it is to be alive.' - Bridget Riley

I really enjoyed my visit to this Bridget Riley retrospective as there was so much to learn from the artists work, although the awkward layout of the gallery spaces in the Hayward made it appear to be a disjointed experience, where the viewer is forced to jump back and forth between different periods of Riley's career. A more fitting space would I thought, have been either of the Tate galleries in London. Despite this, the quality of work on display makes it a very good exhibition, full of many surprises not the least the chance to discover the earlier representational, figurative works from Riley's youth before she made the leap to pure abstraction. It was a pleasure to see the influence of Seurat's work on her output. The development of her excercises in pattern and colour were really pleasing and dazzlingly to the eye, confusing the visual senses with dynamic optical tricks to create a sensation of movement. This survey contains work from all phases of Riley's career beginning with the strong graphic shapes of her black and white work from the 1960s, to the cool coloured stripes of the 1980s, through to the disruptive diagonals of the 1990s and the softer more sensual curves of the noughties, demonstrating just how strong an artist Riley actually is. There was lots for me to take from this show, as I saw parallels between the rhythms of some of Riley's 1970s works, and those of some of the pieces that I began developing last year. Watch this space, and visit this vibrant, vital exhibition, it's the perfect antidote to a grey London winter.