Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Edeline Lee SS18 | London Fashion Week

Despite the chaos of my final school year, I made a point of clearing my schedule to see the Edeline Lee presentation this fashion week. I've seen Lee's shows for the last couple of seasons, and they always seem to stand out. This occasion was no exception.

Inspired by the life and work of Georgia O'Keef, the collection was a perfect example of art influencing fashion. The clothes lived out Lee's running narrative of strong and expressive women, with a heartfelt femininity in each garment. The bold silhouettes were reminiscent of O'Keef's signature voluptuous shapes and the colour palette that of New Mexico, where O'Keef produced some of her finest work. There was delicate stitching, audacious sleeves and turquoise accents - all of which created a wonderful collection.







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BP Portrait Award 2017 | National Portrait Gallery

Since attending last year as the first assignment of my A Level art course, I've been eagerly awaiting this year's BP Portrait Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. With 2,580 entries from 87 different countries, it shows the best and brightest of today's contemporary art scene. The vast technical skill of the works left me in awe. It was also refreshing to see such a diverse range of styles and approaches to a portrait in one space.







The above piece is by Lithuanian artist Laura Guoke. She received a grant to go to Syrian refugee camps and paint the people she came across after winning the BP Travel Award last year. It fascinates me how politics, and social issues continue to seep into contemporary exhibitions - it shows what an important role art can play in terms of challenging how we see and portray the world. Not to mention Guoke's portraits are rather beautiful. Check out the National Portrait Gallery's blog post to read about Guoke's experience.


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The Whitney Biennial

The Whitney museum in downtown Manhattan opened it's biennial exhibition in mid-March. I spent a morning exploring during my recent escape to NYC, and the diverse collection did not disappoint. The museum of American art used the exhibition as a way to showcase and challenge the tumultuous times in which we are living. America is currently experiencing the consequences of a political curve ball which is magnifying deep social divisions as well as creating new ones. The aim of the exhibition was to amplify unheard voices and reflect on the complexities of today's America through art. It spanned a huge variety of mediums, including conventional oil painting, large installations, and film and photography. Each piece had a concept and a story, effectively provoking conversation - just as art should. A standout piece for me was Samara Golden's site-specific installation. A clever use of mirrors and a balcony created an infinite portrayal of contrasting worlds. There were four miniature rooms decorated in different ways to evoke a different tone. One felt clinical, like a poorly kept institution, another showed a space of luxury. I could have looked at it for hours despite it's slightly unsettling nature. Check out this feature by the Whitney to hear the artist describe it in more detail.








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GALLERY HOPPING IN THE LOWER WEST SIDE

Dotted throughout a few streets in the Lower West Side are hundreds of independent galleries, each with their own concepts and stories to tell. During my October trip to New York, we spent a seemingly fleeting hour hopping from one to another, posing in front of the various exhibits and dancing through the studios. 

Each gallery had something rare and invaluable in New York City - space. Gaping white studios meant the art was the sole focus of your attention, not an easy task in a city known for its compact and loud industrial landscape.

Hans-Peter Feldmann

Jochen Holz at Chamber

Mike Womack: Crawl Space


Jonas Wood: Portraits
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POLLOCK FOR A DAY

We were told in our last art lesson of the year that over Christmas, the walls are being knocked down and redone. Our A level class decided to make use of the blank canvas soon to be destroyed. Here is a video of the process.




-LEXI
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An Afternoon at MoMA

As our initiation to the New York art scene, we went to the Museum of Modern Art, where legendary paintings and contemporary sculptures sat side by side. It was a vast and colourful collection, and overwhelming as a whole.

I should explain that the fond memories I have of New York include very few gallery visits. Before this trip, I could tell you that the Guggenheim was round, and replicate the Met logo due to it being embellished on the front of one of my early sketchbooks. However I returned to the city having studied art, fairly seriously, for around three years. I was able to recognise (and fangirl a little over) Starry Night, Cubism, Pollock, Matisse, and so much more. I went from having seen barely any art in New York, to what felt like all of it. MoMA was just the beginning. And it was wonderful.

We also saw the temporary exhibitions on Tony Oursler and Nan Goldin, both of which were fascinating.




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Painting a Portait - stepping back from the age of Instagram

Throughout my school career, there have been cycles of self portraits in the art department. Each year, the lower sixth embark on the theme of 'Identity', eventually leading to an oil painting self-portrait. It's such an iconic thing at my school, and now that I have the task of creating my own, it's pretty daunting. 

Not only is there an element of legacy, and a standard to meet, but there's also the question of how I want to permanently capture myself. In an age of instagram and snapchat, I'm very familiar with my own face. I see it all the time, and capture myself on different days, in different moods, and different outfits. But all of those photos are fleeting. They eventually get buried in streams of more and more photos on a screen. However with something as singular, and as tangible as a painting, it's very different. I have one canvas, one frame to convey myself at 16. And in the fast-paced digital world, having only one frame is not something I'm used to. There's also the added dimension of interpretation, both of the artist, and the viewer.

 It's that permanence of a portrait that puzzles me. So I decided to go back to basics, and capture myself in a very raw light. It's a starting point for sure.


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Terence Donovan: Speed Of Light

The exhibition spanning two floors in London's Photographer's Gallery showed the prolific breadth of Terence Donovan's work. His career spanning almost 40 years explored a variety of genres and mediums. I really enjoyed the exhibition, and walking around all I could think was what an incredible eye he had. His photographs have that magical quality, always capturing the light in the subject's face. Below are some of my favourite pieces. 






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ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION

I finally got myself down to the Royal Academy to see this year's summer exhibition. The eclectic range of art was inspiring. I've been painting quite a bit myself this summer, so this happily reinforced my creative energy.






I think the above photograph is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

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PRESSURE WASHER ART...

During my exams, I day-dreamed of the glamour of summertime. The sunshine, the sea, the sand. I had visions of all sorts of idyllic day-trips and long nights to come. 

So far, it hasn't worked out that way. 

The highlight of my week was the purchase of a high intensity pressure-washer. Much to my mother's delight, I offered to give it a go, given my new free schedule. The satisfaction of disapearing dirt was pleasing in itself, but the artist in me couldn't resist getting creative. Thus, the dragon was born. Yes, I actually used a garden terrace pressure washer to create a piece of art. Yes, I am actually writing a blog post on it. No, I have definitely not run out of ideas.



All jokes aside, it feels so good to be blogging and getting creative again (even if it is only with high intensity garden tools). 

-LEXI


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Play Date In Paris

In an attempt to escape the depressing cloud of revision for our mocks in January, Lily and I escaped to Paris last week for a few days of freedom. We had a magical day in Disneyland (that post is on its way) and another day exploring the Louvre and the city in general. These are a few pieces from our play date in Paris.






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States of Mind: Ann Veronica Janssens

As Ann Veronica Janssen's opening to her yearlong exploration of human conciousness, she filled a room at the Wellcome Collection Gallery with coloured mist, obscuring your senses and enveloping you in light.


The hazy yet vibrant installation was definitely an experience. Your perception of depth is completely warped, forcing you to rely on your other senses to navigate the room. I wanted to create a psychedelic arty montage of Sky and myself's journey through the installation. However, I found our commentary far too amusing to abandon, so my video ended up a bit of a mix. Watch below or click HERE.




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Francesca Woodman at Moderna Museet


Francesca Woodman was an American photographer, who was born in 1958 and committed suicide in 1981. The exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm featured a large collection of of her film photography and one of her videos, showing the progression from her early photographs, at age 13, to ones just before her death. 

source
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