tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89958982772350988052011-11-02T19:06:52.978ZThe Painting of MelancholiaBlackdognoreply@blogger.comBlogger1011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-70735063625410682992010-10-02T13:35:00.001+01:002010-10-04T11:49:05.425+01:00Ged Quinn
The Fall, 2006
Oil on Canvas 153 x 250cm
Saatchi Gallery, London
19 August 2010
I must admit I was a little disappointed with the Newspeak: British Art Now (Part 1) exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, there was certainly some quality work, but overall it lacked the impact of the Sensation exhibitition at the Royal Academy in 1997.
One of the artists that did catch my eye was 47 year Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-70773776569474725182010-08-28T14:11:00.000+01:002010-08-28T14:11:34.770+01:00Albrecht Dürer
British Museum, London
Not Seen
Melencholia I, 1514
Engraving, 23.7 x 18.7 cm
The idea of a melancholic as someone given to profound contemplation, was developed by the work of Italian philosopher Marsilio Ficino. Ficino not only rehabilitated the “Aristotelian” notion of the gifted melancholic , but expressly tied it in with the Platonic notion of “divine frenzy”, thereby layingBlackdognoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-34614251223560444272010-07-31T00:02:00.000+01:002010-07-31T00:02:00.313+01:00Walter Sickert
Ennui, 1914
Oil on Canvas 152 x 112cm
Tate Britain, London
15 February 2008
The exhibition was of work by the Camden Town Group of painters, who “inspired by the work of van Gogh and Gauguin on the continent, introduced Post-Impressionism to Britain”. This may be the case but in my opinion the biggest influence on Sickert is Degas, using many of his themes such as the music hall Blackdognoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-29653006244843041812010-06-27T00:01:00.001+01:002010-06-27T00:01:00.821+01:00Vincent van Gogh
The Sower, 1888
Oil on Canvas 32 x 40cm
Royal Academy, London
10 March 2010
Unfortunately the recent exhibition of van Gogh’s letters, drawings and paintings proved to be so popular that it was difficult to even stand still in the press of the crowds in the Royal Academy. However, there were a lot of fine paintings on display and it was especially interesting to see them Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-54109854674654313172010-05-29T00:01:00.001+01:002010-05-29T00:01:00.500+01:00Anselm Kiefer
Karfunkelfee 2009
Gold paint, chemise, jesmonite, snake, brambles, concrete, acrylic, oil, emulsion, ash and shellac on canvas in steel and glass frame. 332 x 576 x 35cm
White Cube, London
30 October 2009
This was the first exhibition I had seen of Kiefer’s work in a commercial gallery. The work compromised a series of forest diptychs and triptychs displayed in glass and steel Blackdognoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-39818732207951759892010-05-02T00:02:00.002+01:002010-05-02T00:02:00.506+01:00Giorgio Morandi
Still Life, 1962
Oil on canvas 30.5 x 30.6cm
Tate Modern, London
1st June 2001
This was the first time I had seen his work and in all honesty I couldn’t remember any specific painting from the show, only the overall impression the body of work made. Consequently I have chosen a painting that was in the show, but that I have had chance to see at the National Gallery in ScotlandBlackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-50430706907876432502010-03-28T00:02:00.002Z2010-04-05T13:17:04.101+01:00Lara Viana
Mirror 2008
Oil on Board 47 x 40 cm
Domo Baal, London
11 March 2010
I have been following this artist since her MA show at the RCA in 2007and it was a pleasure to see her first solo show in London. There were many interesting paintings, most involving a melancholic theme, sympathetically hung in an interesting gallery space on the first floor of a London town house.
The one I have Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-83588223445976883652010-02-28T00:01:00.002Z2010-02-28T00:01:00.505ZMichael Raedecker
Tipping Point 2007
Acrylic and thread on canvas 198 x 336 cm (3 parts)
Hauser and Wirth, London
27 September 2007
I always find the wood panelled rooms of this old bank building a strange space to exhibit large contemporary paintings. This show of a mixture of Michael Raedecker’s work was no exception. The subject matter covered the familiar modernist houses, flowers and ruins.Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-62085641774958051042010-02-03T10:49:00.003Z2010-02-03T10:56:45.133ZAugust Strindberg
Purple Loosestrife, 1892
Oil on Canvas
Tate Modern, London
10 May 2005
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this exhibition, I found it both charming and melancholic and was interested to read that he was a Gemini and prone to mood swings. Strindberg was clearly influenced by Northern Romantic [1] landscapes, but had his own expressionist way of painting that relied more on the Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-42328917886587508912010-01-03T10:12:00.000Z2010-01-03T10:12:46.110ZLeon Golub
Interrogation II 1981
Acrylic on Linen 305 x 426 cm
Irish Museum of Modern Art
19 September 2000
This was an immense exhibition of over 80 piaintings by this American artist and the first time I had seen his work first hand or in reproductions.
Totally unprepared, the shock of seeing so many of these larger than life scale paintings of oppression and cruelty was palpable. Golub's Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-77480032770303872062009-12-06T00:05:00.001Z2009-12-06T00:05:00.585ZEuan Uglow
Lemon, 1973
Oil on canvas 19 x 33cm
Private Collection
Not Seen
In July 2003 I went to see the first public exhibition of the work of Euan Uglow since his death from cancer in 2000. Disappointingly this painting of half a lemon was not included in the show. It is quite unsual in that most of his work whether of nude models or still life involved a dynamic pose. The artist Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-10136683283050107702009-11-29T00:02:00.004Z2009-12-05T09:11:27.403ZFerdinand Hodler
The Night (Die Nacht), 1889
Oil on canvas 116 x 299cm
Kunstmuseum, Berne
Not Seen
Hodler was 37 when he made this autobiographical painting on the theme of sleep and the fear of death, ten years before Sigmund Freud published “The Interpretation of Dreams”. Both the central figure and the man top right are Hodler himself, while the female figure seen from the back on lower rightBlackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-88486152875610071392009-11-22T00:01:00.006Z2009-11-22T09:50:48.443ZMichaelangelo Merisi da Carravagio
The Burial of St Lucy, 1608
Oil on canvas 408 x 300cm
Museo di Palazzo Bellomo, Syracuse
Not Seen
In 2005 I went to the National Gallery in London several times to see a wonderful exhibition of Caravaggio's late paintings, from the period when he fled Rome accused of murder in 1606 until his death whilst returning to Rome from Naples four years later.
Blackdognoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-28043556533388714732009-11-14T11:59:00.000Z2009-11-14T21:22:18.286ZWilhelm Sasnal
Tarnów Train Station, 2006
Oil on canvas 100 x 140cm
Hayward Gallery, London
14 October 2007
I thought the selection of Sasnal paintings picked for the ‘The Painting of Modern Life’ exhibition at the Hayward was excellent and I especially liked the three shown in the downstairs gallery; this view of Tarnów train station, Gas Station 1 and Gas Station 2.
It was at Tarnów Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-2352347888285510842009-11-08T00:05:00.002Z2009-11-08T00:05:00.505ZRezi van Lankveld
Pieta, 2005
Oil on Board 78 x 65 cm
Not Seen – Private Collection
I have seen work by van Lenkveld at The Frieze Art Fairs in London, but unfortunately I haven’t seen this particular painting which I believe is now in a private collection.
Van Lenkveld works on paper, wooden panels and on canvas but essentially her process is the same. She places the support on the floor andBlackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-82719183922842774732009-10-31T23:59:00.002Z2009-11-01T08:40:21.436ZNicholas Poussin
The Dance to the Music of Time 1634-6
Oil on Canvas 82 x 104cm
The Wallace Collection, London
29th October 2009
Hung in a corner of the great gallery on the first floor this modestly sized painting is easy to miss amongst the competition from the numerous Old Master Paintings, French and Italian furniture and bronzes. This decorous but powerful painting is said to depict theBlackdognoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-77367882247792968532009-10-25T00:04:00.007+01:002009-10-25T00:04:00.764+01:00Adolph Menzel
Room with a Balcony, 1845
Oil on Cardboard 58 x 47cm
Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Not Seen
I regret missing the chance to see this painting in 2001 when it was shown in the London National Gallery in the exhibition of 19thC paintings Spirit of an Age: Paintings from the Berlin Nationalgalerie. Menzel is perhaps best known for his work as a “court” painter followingBlackdognoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-54334097661549392492009-10-18T00:02:00.001+01:002009-10-18T00:02:00.078+01:00Michael Andrews
Lights III: The Black Balloon 1973
Acrylic on Canvas 160 x 129.5cm
Not Seen
Unfortunately I hot seen this piece, but have seen some of his paintings; the very popular and atypical work "Melanie and Me Swimming" and two of the deer stalking paintings from 1980. Whilst the later are more in keeping with his artistic vision, I have instead selected one of the series of seven “Blackdognoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-85717081810485349842009-10-11T00:01:00.000+01:002009-10-11T00:01:00.260+01:00Balthus
Jeune Fille a la Chemise Blanche 1955
Oil on Canvas 116 x 90cn
Foundation Maeght, Nice
August 2000
I have probably seen a dozen paintings by Balthus and find his work at best troublesome. This painting is not typical and I have chosen it because it clearly shows the knowing sadness that hides within most of his work.
As the title clearly states it is of a young girl, and whilst sheBlackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-38926460118537592562009-10-04T00:05:00.002+01:002009-10-04T00:05:00.717+01:00Elizabeth Peyton
Jarvis, 1996
Oil on Panel 27.9 x 35.6 cm
Not Seen
27th July 2008
This painting is typical of her work during her ‘rise to fame’. She dropped the small intimate works on paper of historical figures in 1995 and focused on painting. These portraits predate the images of her friends and take the form of tributes by an adoring fan. Despite the distancing effect of working from Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-15868524615662033092009-09-26T19:41:00.000+01:002009-09-26T19:41:05.151+01:00William Kentridge
The History of the Main Complaint 1996
Drawings for Projection
Tate Modern, London
12 May 2000
I first came across the work of William Kentridge in 2000 when Tate Modern opened and I saw "The History of the Main Complaint". I recall few details, a shrouded hospital bed, the switches between an echo scan and the eyes seen in a rear view mirror, but do remember the pervading Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-631562436747596882009-09-19T21:20:00.002+01:002009-09-19T22:35:10.901+01:00Paul Winstanley
Man Watching TV 2003
Oil on Linen 100 x 121 cm
Frieze Art Fair
15 October 2004
I was lucky to see this work at the Frieze Art Fair in London on the stand of the American Gallery “1031PE”, as it is now in a private collection. He paints very few with figures, usually preferring paintings based on photographs of uninhabited interiors and landscapes. It is unusual in another Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-34924391404065600642009-09-13T00:02:00.002+01:002009-09-19T22:35:56.327+01:00Marlene Dumas
Gelijkenis 1 & 2 2002
Oil on Canvas 60 x 230 cm
Punta della Dogana, Venice
17th August 2009
This diptych by Dumas is based on the famous Hans Holbein the Younger painting “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb”, both of which are now owned by François Pinault and were on display in his new contemporary art space in Venice. They were originally exhibited one above the other, Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-39973723330360500622009-09-06T00:01:00.001+01:002009-09-06T00:01:00.190+01:00Diego de VelázquezAesop, 1638Oil on Canvas 180 x 94 cmMuseo Nacional Del Prado18 April 2009During my visit to the Prado Museum in Madrid to see Goya’s Black Paintings I took the opportunity to see this portrait by Velázquez. Painted as one of a pair as a test of whether he could outdo Rubens for powers of invention and assert his challenge for the patronage of Philip IV.Although the philosopher Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-14248762838944973892009-08-30T00:08:00.003+01:002009-08-30T00:08:00.397+01:00Adriana VarejãoO Sedutor 2004Oil on Canvas 230 x 530 cmVictoria Miro Gallery, London10 October 2004The show contained four of these immense, almost life size, paintings of tiled saunas and a number of smaller studies on paper that were framed behind glass. Each had a different monochrome theme and I have chosen the one painted in a variety of blues from tinged white to almost black. The blues Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-1409145429683660782009-08-23T00:04:00.001+01:002009-08-23T00:04:00.250+01:00Luc TuymansBend Over, 2001Oil on canvas, 60 x 60 cmTate Modern, London8th July 2004This remains one of my favourite Tuyman’s paintings despite having seen it a number of times. These notes are from when I saw it in the Tate retrospective. It shared a room with other modestly sized paintings some as early as 1988. Despite this non-linear hang and the different themes, the uniformity of Tuyman’s Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-444941448279310392009-08-16T00:01:00.000+01:002009-08-16T00:01:00.237+01:00Giorgio de ChiricoMelanconia 1912Oil on Canvas, 79 x 63 cmEstorick Collection, LondonMarch 2003The show focused on De Chirico’s obsession with the Ariadne myth and contained both early and late examples of paintings based on the troubled Cretan princess.The myth begins with Minos, the king of Crete, being shamed by his wife’s infidelity with a bull. He has Daedalus construct a labyrinth to keep Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-91310026472513086852009-08-09T00:04:00.001+01:002009-08-09T00:04:00.387+01:00Lucas CranachAn Allegory of Melancholy 1528Oil and Tempera on Panel 113 x 72 cmRoyal Academy, London08 April 2008I always find the Sackler Wing galleries in the Royal Academy claustrophobic and this exhibition was no exception. There appeared to be no logic to the 'hang', which was neither chronological nor thematic, and I flitted from painting to painting where space in the crowds allowed. Blackdognoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-57885490694861817282009-08-02T00:02:00.004+01:002009-08-02T00:02:00.102+01:00Michael SimpsonBench Number 59, 2000-05Oil on canvas 244 x 534cmThe Tithe Barn, Bradford on AvonSeptember 2005This is one of four related paintings exhibited in 2005 in Bradford on Avon. Psalm (Bench #54) and Prayer (Bench #55) at the Old Gas Works and Hymn (Bench #58) and Song (Bench #59) at the Tithe Barn. They are four paintings that form part of Simpson’s ongoing body of work that started in Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-79744218101328187942009-07-26T00:04:00.005+01:002009-07-26T00:04:00.116+01:00Tiziano VecellioFlaying of Marsyas 1576Oil on canvas 212 x 207cmNational Gallery, LondonMarch 2003This was a wonderful exhibition of over 40 of Titian's paintings, from all periods of his life, crammed into the Sainsbury Wing of London's National Gallery. It was a great opportunity to see this work together and despite the crowds I visited several times.The painting I have chosen is one of his Blackdognoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-27641027940213127122009-07-19T00:05:00.001+01:002009-07-19T00:05:00.255+01:00Arnold BöcklinThe Isle of the Dead, 1880Oil on Canvas 111 x 115cmMuseé D’Orsay, ParisNovember 2001I saw this painting in a retrospective exhibition of his work to mark the centenary of his death. There was a large number of paintings, tracing Böcklin's development from Late Romanticism to Symbolism. Rediscovered in the 1920’s by by the surrealist painters, Böcklin became a strong inspiration in Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-43113415685090583272009-07-12T00:02:00.003+01:002009-07-12T00:02:00.616+01:00Matthias WeischerEcke 2005Oil on Canvas 40 x 30cm51st Biennale, Venice1st November 2005Despite his work being in the Saatchi collection and at Frieze 2004, I had never seen it in either print or at an exhibition before. This is a man who is obsessed with interior space. Almost every painting shown was an interior, all sparsely furnished and unoccupied. In fact I cannot even remember a door or Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-24773971987115814332009-07-05T00:01:00.001+01:002009-07-05T00:01:01.428+01:00Adrian GhenieDada is Dead 2009Oil on Canvas 220 x 200 cmHaunch of Venison, London23rd May 2009This was the first time I had seen work by this young Romanian painter and it certainly was well suited to the Haunch of Venison’s new home in the old Museum of Mankind in Burlington Gardens, behind the Royal Academy. The show was rather obliquely titled “Darkness for an Hour” referring to the protest Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-47100917537930135582009-06-28T00:05:00.005+01:002009-06-28T00:05:02.172+01:00Piero della FrancescaMadonna del Parto c1460Fresco (detached) 206 x 203 cmMuseo della Madonna del Parto, Monterchi9 September 2008The original location of the painting, is the Capella di Cimitero of the Santa Maria della Momentana in the hilltown of Monterchi near Arezzo. The chapel was destroyed in 1785 by an earthquake and the work was detached and placed in a new chapel until 1992, when it wasBlackdognoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-79716993712344789622009-06-21T00:03:00.002+01:002009-06-21T10:05:47.817+01:00Wilhelm SasnalUntitled (Kacper and Anka) 2009Oil on Canvas 180 x 220 cmSadie Coles HQ, London12th June 2009The press handout says that the twin themes of his new body of work exhibited at Sadie Coles are “food sovereignty and earthly idylls”. It goes on to say how “the paintings of coffee mounds, unmarked barrels, brightly coloured tubs, and a hazy Cuban road: all speak of trade, transportation Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-82787227166187825242009-06-13T23:38:00.006+01:002009-06-13T23:49:37.298+01:00Nicola TysonFigure With Arm Extended 2004Oil on CanvasSadie Coles HQ, LondonFebruary 2005I have seen this painting twice now, once at Sadie Coles in 2004 and again at Frieze in 2005. It is an abstraction of a female (?) figure with atrophied arms leaning forwards. The figure is on left hand side of the canvas, the background of which is an abstract plane with no depth. There is no discernible Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-13502502494652091662009-06-07T00:01:00.003+01:002009-06-07T00:01:00.868+01:00Norbert SchwontkowskiDas grüne Leuchten, 2005Oil on Canvas 55 x 70cmNot SeenPrivate CollectionUnfortunately I have only seen this painting in photographic reproduction, which isn’t ideal for such a subtly painted work. However, I have seen a number of similar pieces from the same time at art fairs, which gives me an understanding of his process and how the finished paintings look. He adds Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-83226443682516708022009-05-30T22:45:00.011+01:002009-05-30T22:59:43.125+01:00Daniel RichterGedion, 2002 Oil and varnish on canvas 306 x 339cm Saatchi Gallery, London7th November 2004Before I first saw this I already knew that there was a reference to Immendorff’s famous Hört auf zu Malen (Stop Painting, 1966); the Expressionist work that called for painting to cease unless it was motivated by political commitment, but I had no idea what the title signified. I have since Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-79342290151534993372009-05-24T00:03:00.001+01:002009-05-24T00:03:00.771+01:00Jenny SavilleReverse, 2002-3Oil on canvas 213 x 244 cmRoyal Academy, London18th June 2004I saw this large self portrait, head on one side lying on a mirror at the Royal Academy Summer show in 2004. It was hung in a gallery of non-members work such that it could be seen from the central hall framed by the doorways; made the visit worthwhile.It isn’t a traditional portrait by any means, more of an Blackdognoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-32651197196573897832009-05-17T00:04:00.000+01:002009-05-17T00:04:00.244+01:00Eberhard HavekostAmerican Lip Gloss BO6, 2006Oil on canvas 95 x 150cmWhite Cube Hoxton, London3rd April 2007This painting was in his exhibition of new work in the White Cube and selected for ‘The Painting of Modern Life’ exhibition at the Hayward later the same year. I don’t care for his technique, but the interesting choice and range of subjects meant the exhibition was better than I expected. Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-48868483195257690392009-05-10T00:05:00.002+01:002009-05-10T00:05:00.945+01:00Andy WarholBig Electric Chair, 1967Silkscreen on primed canvas 137 x 185cmTate Modern, LondonFebruary 2002In his 1863 essay “The Painter of Modern Life” Charles Baudelaire described such an artist as one who would fuse photography with painting to capture the transience of modern life. The first painter to rise to this challenge was Edouard Manet, and he is often cited as the first Modernist Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-77883691254067814442009-05-03T00:02:00.002+01:002009-05-03T00:06:45.687+01:00Johann Heinrich FuseliNightmare, 1781Oil on Canvas 127 x 102cmTate Britain, LondonApril 2006This iconic painting was centre piece of the Gothic Nightmares exhibition at Tate Britain. The exhibition explored the work of Henry Fuseli, William Blake and their contemporaries in the context of the Gothic, the taste for fantastic and supernatural themes which dominated British culture from around 1770 Blackdognoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-51944722689796103162009-04-26T00:05:00.002+01:002009-04-26T00:05:00.861+01:00Yan Pei MingSelf Portrait, 2003Oil on Canvas 220 x 220 cmFrieze Art FairOctober 2007I have seen is work a number of times at art fairs, this piece was on the David Zwirner stand at Frieze in 2007. It is a self portrait and typical of his style with the head filling the canvas. He always works in one or two colours (usually black or red) mixed with white. This one looks like burnt umber. He was Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-32384646503083089672009-04-22T15:10:00.006+01:002009-04-22T15:20:21.326+01:00Francisco José de GoyaThe Dog, 1823Oil on Plaster, on Canvas 131 x 79 cmMuseo Nacional Del Prado18 April 2009I finally managed to make my pilgrimage to The Prado Museum in Madrid to see Goya’s Black Paintings for the first time. These were amongst the last of his works and were painted directly onto the walls of the house he ‘retired’ to in 1819. After years of neglect, all 14 paintings were Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-9245307237535732542009-04-06T00:01:00.002+01:002009-04-06T00:01:00.390+01:00Marlene DumasStern 2004Oil on Canvas 110 x 130 cmFrith Street Gallery, London3rd December 2004This was my first visit to The Frith Street Gallery; which comprises a group of small rooms on several floors in a terrace house in this street in Soho. Exhibition is titled "The Second Coming" and really works well in the space. Despite the positive religious note struck by the title the predominant Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-88859055238905116162009-04-02T00:01:00.000+01:002009-04-02T00:01:00.584+01:00Mark RothkoBlack on Maroon, 1958Oil on Canvas 266 x 366 cm Tate Modern, London19 October 2008The Seagram murals were originally painted to decorate the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram Building, New York (the skyscraper in Park Avenue designed by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson). When Rothko was finished, he realised he had actually created three different series, yet decided that the Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-44990761335963783052009-04-01T00:02:00.002+01:002009-04-01T00:02:00.933+01:00Lisa YuskavageTrue Blond Draped, 1999Oil on Canvas 38 x 29 inchesNot SeenI first encountered the paintings of Lisa Yuskavage at the “Galleries” show at the Royal Academy in 2002. The subjects of the paintings were all women, some with extremely large pendulous breasts and all with improbable 'ski slope' noses. My curiosity was aroused as to why she would invest so much time and effort in making aBlackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-69408038484203661132009-03-31T00:03:00.003+01:002009-03-31T00:03:01.166+01:00Dirk SkreberUntitled (The New House of Usher) 1997Oil on Canvas 300 x 170cmWhite Cube Hoxton8 April 2008 You Dig the Tunnel, I’ll Hide the Soil’ was a group exhibition to pay homage to Edgar Allen Poe’s bicentennial in 2009. The show was curated by artist/writer Harland Miller and staged at both the White Cube Hoxton Square and Shoreditch Town Hall, and features the responses of contemporary Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-21952652329964759732009-03-29T12:00:00.005+01:002009-03-29T12:00:00.673+01:00René MagritteNot to be Reproduced, 1937Oil on Canvas 80 x 65 cmVictoria & Albert Museum, LondonApril 2007This is a painting that I have seen quite a few times and is my favourite Magritte. Most recently in the Surreal Things: Surrealism and Design exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This explored the influence of Surrealism on the worlds of fashion, design, theatre, interiors, Blackdognoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-85924905329129577592009-03-26T00:05:00.001Z2009-03-26T00:05:00.110ZClare Woods
Black Vomit, 2008Enamel and Oil on Aluminium 200 x 220 cmModern Art, London17 September 2008
This was the first time I had seen work by this artist in a gallery and I was impressed by the confidence with which she works on such a massive scale. These are enourmous psychic landscapes, that for all their scale, look and feel claustrophic with their intertwined braches. It is almost as Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-36335378398788268542009-03-25T00:07:00.002Z2009-03-25T00:07:00.597ZLaura OwensUntitled, 2002Oil and acrylic on linen. 213 x 335cmCamden Arts CentreNovember 2006This was my first visit to this gallery and I surprised myself by enjoying the exhibition immensely. It featured finished work from the last ten years and an interesting room full of studies. Even when she does work from photographs for some pieces the image is always built up through a succession of Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-81553780020412716002009-03-24T00:02:00.002Z2009-03-24T00:02:00.997ZGerhard RichterWoman with Umbrella, 1964Oil on Canvas 160 x 95cmHayward Gallery14 October 2007From the exhibition of The Painting of Modern Life this is one of the first images you encounter on entering and sets the scene perfectly for this contemporary exploration of Baudelaire’s ideas.The title (Frau mit Schirm) is deliberately banal and seems to objectify what at first seems a strange paintingBlackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-50193351933603263212009-03-22T11:13:00.007Z2009-03-22T12:41:33.754ZGlenn BrownNausea, 2008Oil on Panel 155 x 120 cmTate Liverpool17 March 2009It is always strange visiting a gallery for the first time because the environment has to be absorbed as well as the work. This was no exception and I was lucky to be able to spend a few hours with the paintings, most of the time as the only visitor in a particular room. The show is impressive and the way the work was hungBlackdognoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-12851773596916699332009-03-20T00:01:00.004Z2009-03-20T00:01:01.102ZGeorg BaselitzMarcel and Maurizio are kind of similar, one might assume, the pharmacy flies higher, 2009Oil on Canvas 300 x 250cmWhite Cube, London18 March 2009This large impressive exhibition of new work, titled ‘Mrs Lenin and the Nightingale’ and curated by Sir Norman Rosenthal, is totally suited to the austere White Cube environment. It comprises 16 paintings, all of the same subject; a Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-67214436999333487512009-03-19T00:10:00.005Z2009-03-19T00:10:00.671ZAlex KatzPurple Wind, 1995Oil on Canvas 90 x 66 inchesNot SeenI have only seen this painting in photographic reproduction, which isn’t ideal for such a large work. What is worse is that I missed the chance to see it in Dublin in 2007 at an exhibition of Katz’s work at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and so far I have been unable to establish where the painting is now. I presume it is in private Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-77064534054533896732009-03-18T00:05:00.005Z2009-03-19T09:21:06.684ZHenri MatisseThe Piano Lesson, 1916Oil on canvas 245 x 212cmMoMA, New York21st November 1999This was my first visit to MoMA and I saw so many ‘great’ paintings for the first time that I find it difficult to even remember them all. However, two paintings made such an impression that I will not forget the experience. One was Les Demoiselles D'Avignon by Picasso and the other was this painting by Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-12251994447098625802009-03-17T00:02:00.004Z2009-03-17T00:02:01.091ZEdvard MunchSelf Portrait with Cigarette, 1895Oil on Canvas 110 x 86 cmRoyal Academy, London22 October 2005I had been looking forward to this exhibition, titled Munch by Himself, at the Royal Academy, for a long time and I wasn't disappointed. Given Munch’s melancholic disposition many of the works were of great interest to me, but rather than pick one of the more iconic pieces I decided to Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-34240131604860906272009-03-16T00:01:00.002Z2009-03-16T08:48:50.157ZGustav CourbetL'Homme Blessé 1844-54Oil on Canvas, 81 x 97 cmNational Portrait Gallery, London11 November 2005This painting was in a large-scale exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, covering artists’ own images from between the Renaissance to the contemporary period within the tradition of western painting. It was very interesting exhibition, well hung and mercifully, late on Friday Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-73354845052807130392009-03-12T00:03:00.001Z2009-03-12T00:03:00.329ZOtto DixThe Dancer Anita Berber 1925Tempera on Plywood, 120 x 65 cmGalerie der Stadt, StuttgartNot SeenThe only painting by Otto Dix that I have seen is The Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden, that is in the Pomidou Centre in Paris. Whilst this is painted in similar colours and materials to The Dancer Anita Berber, it lacks the latter’s air of melancholy. So I will work from a quality Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-72115497782383510842009-03-11T00:02:00.001Z2009-03-11T00:02:00.391ZGary HumeIncubus 1996Alkyd House Paint on Formica, 239x 385 cmModern Art, Oxford24 August 2008Gary Hume has been making paintings of doors for over twenty years and this is the first exhibition to survey this body of work. There were eighteen Door Paintings spanning the twenty years and seeing them together in the space was a totally different experience than seeing them hung with other work. Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-47306307969284388162009-03-10T00:01:00.007Z2009-03-10T00:27:41.436ZErnst Ludwig KirchnerSelf Portrait as a Soldier 1915Oil on canvas, 69 x 61 cmRoyal Academy, LondonJune 2003The show focused on his work between 1908 and 1918 and concentrated in particular on his depiction of street scenes in Berlin and how he used these as a mirror of human psychology. Although some of these works are more melancholic than celebratory I have chosen the last painting in the Blackdognoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-17765936870231494672009-03-08T11:48:00.012Z2009-03-08T12:40:52.256ZNigel CookeTo Work Is To Play 2008Oil on Canvas 220 x 370 x 7cmModern Art, London24 May 2008The title of the show is "New Accursed Art Club" and is clearly about ‘old school’ artists being a dead cliché, a theme that is explored in various ways in the work. The word that comes to my mind when confronted with these large imposing paintings is bathos, the way one finds an incongruous mixture high Blackdognoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-1069475073209274792009-03-05T00:08:00.004Z2009-03-05T00:08:00.531ZMaria LassnigDu oder Ich, 2005Oil on canvas 202 x 155cmSerpentine Gallery, London1st May 2008This exhibition was quite a surprise for me as although I had seen her work published in magazines, the reproductions did little to convey the power of the large finished paintings. For over 60 years she has been making difficult, complex pictures that attempt to visualize the invisible aspects of her Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-28274106784466764562009-03-04T00:07:00.004Z2009-03-04T00:07:00.938ZGillian CarnegieUntitled, 2003Oil on Canvas 172 x 137cmTate Britain, London22nd October 2005Exhibiting at the Tate for the second time in 3 years this time as part of the Turner Prize shortlist. Whist I enjoyed her exhibition immensely, it was no surprise it didn’t win.She works within traditional categories of painting - still life, landscape, the figure and portraiture - each with a different Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-48360192781110152732009-03-03T00:04:00.002Z2009-03-03T00:04:00.341ZEdouard VuillardNape of Misai’s neck, 1897Oil on board mounted on cradled panel, 13 x 33 inRoyal Academy, London31st March 2004This extensive show covered not only his paintings, but also featured his drawings and photographs. Although there were many paintings of gloomy interiors that betrayed his interest in the theatre of Ibsen and perhaps the influence of Edvard Munch, I preferred his Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-67073603734203460872009-03-02T00:05:00.000Z2009-03-02T00:05:01.176ZGerhard RichterI.G. 1993Oil on Canvas 82 x 92cmCompton Verney - Warwickshire9 December 2007One of three paintings of the naked back of his third wife, Isa Genken, this is #790-3 in his Catalogue Raisonné and is part of the contemporary art collection owned by the Fundacion ‘la Caixa’ in Barcelona.In this life size painting I.G. is shown from the waist up, she has her head down and stands with herBlackdognoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-87801268235662827372009-02-27T00:08:00.005Z2009-02-27T00:08:01.184ZFrancis BaconHead VI, 1949Oil on canvas 93 x 76cmMuseum of Modern Art, Scotland29th August 2005A special pilgrimage to Edinburgh to see this exhibition of portraits and heads, many of which I had only seen in reproduction before and I wasn't disappointed.The first room contained many outstanding paintings including two that I have long admired, but only seen before in reproduction. "Head VI" is Blackdognoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-85873583811443068822009-02-26T00:06:00.010Z2009-02-26T00:06:02.823ZKaren Kilimnik Mary Shelly Writing Frankenstein 2001 Water soluble oil colour on canvas, 20 x 16 inchesSerpentine Gallery, LondonApril 2007I really didn’t like this exhibition at all and struggled to engage with the work. What really put me off was the way the Serpentine Gallery looked like it had been the victim of an episode of the Channel 4 reality show “Changing Rooms”. The idea was to Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-45393892582500038162009-02-25T00:08:00.005Z2009-02-25T00:08:00.157ZMichael van OfenUntitled 2005Oil on Canvas 50 x 43cmAlison Jacques Gallery, London11 November 2006A small but interesting exhibition of work by the German artist Michael van Ofen was held in the old Alison Jacques Gallery behind the Royal Academy. The gallery is just like a private house, but with the walls painted white and now furniture. I mention this as it was the perfect space for these Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-17895405330645158332009-02-24T00:03:00.001Z2009-02-24T00:03:01.032ZJohannes KahrsMan putting his Finger in his Fingers 2004Oil on Canvas 240 x 250 cmParasol Unit, LondonDecenber 2006This was another excellent exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Parasol Unit in London. The title of the show was “Lonely long meaningless way home” and was the first solo exhibition of Johannes Kahrs work in the UK. The title is a quote from Franz Kafka, and comprised a Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-41692892129509013922009-02-23T00:06:00.002Z2009-02-23T08:43:34.539ZDexter DalwoodCeauşescu's Execution, 2002Oil on Canvas 268 x 347 cmTate Britain, London26th February 2003This was the first Dexter Dalwood painting I had seen and its dramatic size and bold colours gave it a lot of presence. I loved the contrast in the brushwork between thick slathers of paint in the background and the thin blended surface in the foreground. The specks of broken glass and shards Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-50324338918555477952009-02-20T00:07:00.003Z2009-02-20T00:07:00.902ZClaire HarveyCyclops 2005Oil on Canvas 35 x 40 cmFrieze Art Fair21 October 2005I have only seen this artists work twice, once at the Frieze Art Fair in London and then a small exhibition of her work in the members room at Tate Modern. There were three small paintings at Frieze on the Fons Walters stand (her gallery in Amsterdam). The work in Tate Modern was even smaller consisted of hundreds of Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-36068169753403753392009-02-19T00:04:00.002Z2009-02-19T00:04:00.948ZChantal JoffeJeremy, 2008Oil on board 40 x 32cmVictoria Miro, London3rd July 2008In addition to the large pieces exhibited at this show of her work there were a number of smaller pieces on a variety of supports. This piece is painted onto a thin sheet (6mm) of 7 ply birch plywood. The painting wall unframed and mounted off the wall probably with a block glued to the back.As most of her paintings Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-18253428128328584242009-02-18T00:05:00.013Z2009-02-18T14:50:48.566ZPhilip GustonThe Pit 1976Oil on canvas 189 x 295cmRoyal Academy, London31st March 2004This was an extraordinary exhibition the documented the transformation of a figurative painter to an Abstract Expressionist and then to a painter of large vulgar figurative works that looked like they were the artwork for an underground comic. Initially the works seemed to have nothing in common, but after Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-77664061288367039032009-02-17T00:02:00.002Z2009-02-17T00:02:00.376ZMax BeckmannThe Night, 1918-19 Oil on canvas 133 x154cmCentre Pompidou, Paris3rd November 2002I saw the Max Beckmann retrospective twice, in Paris and then again in London at Tate Modern. Interesting that they had different approaches to the exhibition and the contextual background for the paintings was much stronger in Paris. They included archive film footage from the front of World War I (Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-8203992739105606382009-02-16T00:10:00.003Z2009-02-16T21:22:52.053ZKai AlthoffUntitled, 1999Watercolour, pen and pencil on board 25 x 24cmSaatchi Gallery, London7th August 2005In amongst the big hitters in the first (and only) instalment of the “Triumph of Painting” exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in its GLC Building incarnation there were a few small works by German artist Karl Althoff.I have never seen these before, except in reproduction, and was surprised Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-76794395367833456262009-02-13T00:05:00.007Z2009-02-13T10:15:12.275ZElizabeth PeytonSeptember (Ben), 2001Oil on Panel 30.8 x 23.2 cmThe Royal Academy, LondonSeptember 2002I first came across her work at the "Galleries Show" at the Royal Academy in September 2002 and was very taken with this portrait of a lost soul.Peyton made her name with paintings of male celebrities, on the one hand rock stars whose flames had burned too bright, and on the other those from Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-78518572922004791872009-02-12T00:01:00.001Z2009-02-12T00:01:00.464ZGeorg BaselitzThird P.D. Foot, 1963Oil on canvas 130 x 100cmRoyal Academy, London27th September 2007Georg Baselitz is the archetypal painter of “bad” paintings. One of the Neo-Expressionist artists he is seen as an "enfant terrible” and this exhibition has paintings depicting taboos ranging from masturbation and excrement to allusions to Hitler.My favourite painting in the exhibition is the Blackdognoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-1642446500230127162009-02-11T00:08:00.002Z2009-02-11T18:49:45.049ZKaye DonachieI am so multiple in nights, 2005Oil on canvas 67 x 38.5 cmMaureen Paley, London9th December 2005The show comprises seven oil paintings on canvas, sparsely hung in the downstairs gallery. Large areas of wall have no work, all the paintings are a small size, none bigger than 70 x 50 cm, and some of the works are hung at odd heights. The title of the show is Monte Verità and as Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-74373139355533378092009-02-10T00:05:00.004Z2009-02-10T00:05:00.817ZMichael BorrëmansOne, 2003Oil on Canvas 70 x 60cmParasol Unit, London4th June 2005The last time I visited this space it was housing the Carnegie Art Award in 2004. Since then it has been transformed from a crumbling warehouse into a really beautiful exhibition space. I was one of the first visitors after the opening and the polished concrete floor is amazing. I would love one in my own studio! Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-88958315858176237552009-02-09T00:19:00.013Z2009-02-09T00:19:00.469ZEdward HopperAutomat 1927Oil on canvas 71 x 91cmTate Modern, London 31st May 2004This was a wonderful exhibition and I visited many times, mainly in an attempt to get some peace from the crowds of visitors and allow time for contemplation of so many iconic paintings. Selecting one work is really difficult as I find most of Hopper’s paintings melancholic. In the end I have chosen Automat, firstly Blackdognoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-10081959696799057512009-02-06T00:02:00.007Z2009-02-23T22:15:32.749ZGeorge ShawScene from the Passion #53, 2002 Humbrol enamel on board, 77 x 101cm Tate Britain, LondonMarch 2003Seeing George Shaw’s work for the first time was one of the highlights of the ‘Days Like These’ triennial showcase of the work of contemporary British artists. The paintings struck me as being perfectly modern images, combining the horror of the non-places of my own childhood with a Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-22444222823571687392009-02-05T00:02:00.001Z2009-02-05T00:02:01.056ZJohn CurrinSerpentine Gallery, London1 October 2003Heartless, 1997Oil on Canvas 117 x 91 cmIt is a classic ¾ length portait of a young female in a gold dress with a heart shape cut out across the chest perhaps evoking the emptiness of suburban life. I know that he works from images taken the covers of Cosmopolitan magazine and this could be a reworking of such a cover model, that has been given Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-60411964627693521432009-02-04T00:08:00.003Z2009-02-04T00:08:01.389ZVilhelm HammershøiRoyal Academy, London3rd July 2008Resting, 1905Oil on Canvas 49 x 46cmA woman is seated on an open backed chair, with her hair gathered up in a bun. Her right arm is hooked over the back of the chair. Her gaze is at the wall on the left hand side of the painting. She is wearing a black skirt and a dark grey blouse with puffed sleeves and a scooped neck. A piece of porcelain is Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-14299382326212524372009-02-03T00:09:00.004Z2009-02-03T00:09:00.660ZWilhelm SasnalGirl Smoking (Anka)Oil on Canvas 45 x 50 cm Saatchi Gallery, London 7th August 2005I first saw paintings by Sasnal in the "Urgent Painting" exhibition in Paris in 2000 and this one was my favourite. It was a big influence both on how I wanted to paint and my choice of "Backs" as a subject. Since then I have not even been able to see a reproduction of the painting so this was a Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-45131783176268729342009-02-02T00:06:00.003Z2009-02-02T00:06:00.371ZCecily BrownModern Art, Oxford17th July 2005Black Painting #4, 2002Oil on Linen 198 x 229cmGenerally her titles can be misleading, but in this series she is clearly acknowledging the link with the late works of Goya. The paintings depict sleeping nudes haunted by their dreams; but instead of the owls and demons of Goya’s caprichio “The sleep of reason…” we have winged genitalia.
I don’t know Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-54225361646399697042009-01-30T14:00:00.007Z2009-01-30T14:11:34.031ZSusan RothenbergThe Italian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale31 August 2007The Fence 4 (chicken wire) 2006-7Oil on Canvas 71 x 71 cmFrankly I was very disappointed with most of the painting on show this year in the Italian Pavilion. However, I did find the group of five paintings by Susan Rothenberg interesting, representing a major shift in direction since I had last seen her work.After making herBlackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-20538865224294723942009-01-29T00:09:00.005Z2009-01-30T14:10:33.998ZDana SchultzRoyal Academy, London10th October 2006Face Eater, 2004Oil on Canvas 46 x 58 cmWent to the USA Today exhibition of works from Saatchi’s collection at the Royal Academy. One of the highlights for me was going to be seeing Dana Schultz’s paintings for the first time. However, I have to admit to being disappointed, I think they actually look better in reproduction than in reality!The bestBlackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-45904099841438685022009-01-28T00:05:00.004Z2009-01-28T00:05:01.260ZPierre BonnardThe Tate Gallery, LondonApril 1998Nude in the Bath and Small Dog, 1941-6Oil on canvas 122 x 151 cmI was tempted to choose Indolence, a nude from 1898 that has a definite feel of ennui. However, I chose this late painting of his wife Marthe entombed in the bath at their home Le Bosquet. She died in 1942, aged 75.I find it a very melancholic work and the sense of loss he felt, is Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-43037699196008671592009-01-26T00:07:00.000Z2009-01-26T00:07:01.003ZCaspar David FriedrichNot seen (Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin)13 January 2009Der Mönch am Meer 1808-1810Oil on Canvas 110 x 172 cmFriedrich is classed as a German Romanticist and the title probably refers to the notion of artist as monk that was popular in Germany[1] in the early 19thC. Beat Wyss in her essay[2] on Caspar David Friedrich goes as far as to suggest that it is actually a self Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-85951859652504728372009-01-23T00:09:00.000Z2009-01-23T00:09:00.678ZMuntean & RosenblumInterim Art, London13th May 2003Untitled (The day doesn’t promise …), 2003Acrylic on Canvas 230 x 280 cmMy first visit to Maureen Paley’s gallery in the East end of London. An interesting exhibition by another ‘Tag Team’ of artists, this duo coming from Austria. Downstairs was a DVD video installation (To Die For..) and a large silver-point and charcoal cartoon in the Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-5187895847291738912009-01-22T00:30:00.003Z2009-01-22T00:30:00.871ZPaul GauguinCourtauld Institute Gallery, London5 December 2008Nevermore, O Tahiti 1897Oil on Canvas 60 x 116 cmIt had been my original intention to include Gauguin’s painting from 1891 called Faaturuma which actually means melancholic. This is typical of his symbolist approach to colour and line and is indeed a melancholic full length portrait of Tehura, the 13 year old mistress Gauguin describesBlackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-66663735589080556232009-01-21T00:10:00.000Z2009-01-21T08:22:39.186ZGraham CrowleyBeaux Arts, London21 February 2001End of the Season, 2000Oil on canvas 91 x 152cmOne of my first visits to a commercial gallery in London as a student and remember the atmosphere being fairly intimidating. Nice gallery, very frosty staff! Still, managed to hold my nerve and ask to look at the catalogue and survey the paintings for 20 minutes or so.A series of large contemporary Blackdognoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-53792440803100405532009-01-20T00:05:00.005Z2009-03-19T16:49:21.865ZGlenn BrownArchitecture and Morality, 2004 Oil on prepared wooden panel 140 x 98 cm Serpentine Gallery, London8th October 2004This was a really influential show for me even though I had already seen his work before when he was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2000. It wasn't that the work was substantially different from that included in the Turner, but more that I had developed and matured as Blackdognoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-17615063513821687842009-01-19T00:30:00.000Z2009-01-19T00:30:01.124Z
Edouard ManetCourtauld Institute Gallery, London5th December 2008Un bar aux Folies Bergère, 1882Oil on canvas 96 x 130cmHung perhaps a little too high, the painting nevertheless commands the large room despite fierce competition from a number of paintings by Gauguin and Cezanne, and the best attempts of a huge gilt frame to bury it. It is a portrait of a young woman, Suzon, who worked at the Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-85999837074779313792009-01-17T00:03:00.002Z2009-01-17T00:15:01.708ZEric FischlNot Seen (The Hirschhorn, Washington DC)12 January 2009The Funeral, A Band of Men (Two Women): Abandonment! 1980Oil on Canvas 140 x 262 cmThis is perhaps an unusual painting to choose as it is one of his works that I haven’t seen in a gallery (acquired by The Hirschhorn in Washington DC and not currently on view). Although most of his best work has a fin de siècle melancholy, I chose Blackdognoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-80516894985758683142009-01-16T00:13:00.004Z2009-01-16T00:13:00.885Z
Giotto di BondoneLa Cappella degli Scrovegni31 October 2005The Arrest of Christ (Kiss of Judas) 1304-06Fresco 200 x 185 cmOn the train journey from Venice to Padua the anticipation of seeing greatest single collection of frescoes in the world was building with every mile. Arriving at Padua station I immediately walked to the chapel to book the earliest ticket I could, to give me the maximum Blackdognoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-14755310031392840532009-01-15T08:01:00.001Z2009-01-15T11:45:44.088ZPeter DoigTate Britain01 May 2008Blotter 1993Oil on Canvas 249 x 199cmThe retrospective at Tate Brittain was one of the best I have seen for a contemporary artist and of particular interest to me as many works had a melancholic 'feel'. I have picked one of his earlier paintings, 'Blotter', that won the first prize in the 1993 John Moores exhibition and is owned by the Walker Art Gallery. The Blackdognoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-28259813678216043652009-01-14T00:03:00.001Z2009-01-15T11:46:45.291ZMichael FullertonTate Britain7 August 2005David Milligan 2004Oil on Linen 90 x 70 cmAn interesting little exhibition, held in the ‘Art Now’ space in Tate Britain, mixing sculpture, video and painting. As far as I could make out the very loose common thread was communication or transmission of information. I have since discovered that he has also produced some small works in red pubic hair. One ofBlackdognoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-38779104284805491362009-01-13T00:30:00.001Z2009-01-15T11:49:30.885ZLucian FreudTate Britain4 July 2002Two Japanese Wrestlers by a Sink 1983-7Oil on Canvas 51 x 79 cmI enjoyed the large retrospective of Freud’s work especially as it showed his development as a painter who did more than just fleshy nudes. Although many of his nudes do have a melancholic air, probably associated with the poor sitter spending many uncomfortable hours under very unforgiving light, I Blackdognoreply@blogger.com0