Snowdon – Artists and their Studios

Posted on May 26, 2012 by admin

Frank Auerbach by Lord Snowdon, 1962

Here are some selection of photographs taken by Lord Snowdon in the 1960s of British Artists. You can see more photographs taken by Snowdon between 1962 and 2005 here on the Snowdon Review – a beautifully curated new website which catalogues his photographs, designs, objects, books and ephemera.

Lucian Freud by Lord Snowdon, 1963

Ivon Hitchens by Lord Snowdon, 1963

I also came across this page on Pinterest with more photographs of artists in their studios including De Kooning, Francis Bacon and Monet.

All About Eve – The Photography of Eve Arnold

Posted on April 6, 2012 by admin

Marilyn Monroe, The Misfits, Nevada 1960. Estate of Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos

An exhition celebrating the life and work of photographer Eve Arnold is on display at Art Sensus, London The retrospective includes photographes chosen by her close friends the curator Zelda Cheatle and the academic Brigitte Lardinois, who worked closely with Arnold at the Magnum Photos agency in the 1990s. Above and below are couple of examples including one of Marilyn Monroe (who Arnold photographed many times throughout her career). The exhibition ‘All About Eve – The Photography of Eve Arnold’ continues until the 27th April, 2012.

Silvana Mangano at the Museum of Modern Art, New York 1956. Estate of Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos Audition, Royal College of Music 1963. Estate of Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos Tweet

Vienna

Posted on February 5, 2012 by admin

I have had a few trips to Vienna lately so I thought I would write some
of the things I did in this beautiful city just in case anyone is planning on visiting…

If you (like me) are a fan of the film Before Sunrise you could do this tour which you can download on to your i phone. I didn’t have time to do all of this but I did go to Cafe Sperl. On the same street are a couple of interesting shops that are worth a look; Saint Charles Cosmothecary (sells lots of lovely luxury beauty products like Korres and Sapofactur), Anukoo (specialises in fair fashion) and if you carry on further down Gumpendorfer Straße and take a left at Hofmühlgasse you come to Polyklamott (a great second hand clothes shop)

Before Sunrise

If you want to track down more second hand, Bric-à-brac and vintage shops then it is worth heading south to Schleifmühlgasse and furniture store Bananas and high end vintage store Flo Vintage. There are lots more Bric-à-brac and vintage shops in this area as well as a sweet little cookbook shop called Babettes which has a little cafe at the back which sells herbs and spices.

If by this time you are desperate for some Viennese coffee (Melange) and cake (SacherTorte, Gebackene, Apple strudel…) then Cafe Museum, Cafe Sacher, Demel and Kliens Cafe are all good places to stop off (Cafe Sacher and Demel are in competition over the famous Sacher Torte.. so its a good excuse to try both!)

Polyklamott and Bananas

Cafe Sperl and the kitchens at Demel

There are so many galleries and museums in Vienna… The Albertina has a wonderful collection of prints and drawings as well an interesting temporary exhibitions programme. The Wien Museum documents the history of Vienna and has a large collection of art, textiles and sculpture. If you can, head over to the MuseumsQuartier where contemporary gallery MUMOK is located – the gallery has an exciting programme of contemporary exhibitions (a Claus Oldenburg show is just about to open) This is also the site of the Leopold Museum (which holds a large collection of works by Klimt and Schiele) and Kunsthalle (the home of Contemporary Austrian art). There are also a couple of bars and is a great place to hang out in the Summer. If you are in this area you could pop round the corner to Die Sellerie (a lovely little gift shop located on Burggasse)

Museum Quarter

If you have time take a tram around the Ringstrasse. Jump on numbers 1 or 2 – they both run the length of the impressive boulevard (buy a 24hr ticket from stations and punch it before you use it)

For dinner you could try Figlmuler which serves Vienna’s famous schnitzel (the size of your plate!) along with potato salad and a glass of Riesling for under 20 euro. The Naschmarkt (Vienna’s most famous food market) is also a great place to go for an evening meal. I went to Neni which sells delicious Lebanese and Middle Eastern food at reasonable prices in a relaxed atmosphere. If you want something a bit more swanky head over to haus haus and up to the third floor restaurant Do & Co for magnificent views of Stephansdom.

Marie Antoinette Square

Let me know if you have been to Vienna and can recommend any other places to visit. It really is a beautiful city and I hope I can go back again soon!

Alex Hartley: The World is Still Big

Posted on January 13, 2012 by admin

Alex Hartley: Waiting for Daylight to End, 2011

Alex Hartley’s exhibition ‘The World is Still Big’ opened at Victoria Miro back in November (I have only just managed to see it before it closes next week). The show consists of a number of large scale mixed media works. On first sight these look like like photographs, but they are in fact sculptures.

Hartley has incorporated architectural models into each work – for example the huts in the two images above and below are actually constructed out of wood and potrude out of the photograph towards the viewer. Unfortunately seeing these works as 2D images really don’t do them justice. When you view them in the flesh you can see all the intricate and painstaking detail which has gone into each piece. He describes these scenes as representing …”one moment and what I end up building into them is a back-story to that moment usually about failure: a man trying to inhabit wildernesses, a man trying to inhabit these Utopian dreams gone wrong.”

Alex Hartley; Clearing, 2011

In the courtyard of the gallery the artist has constructed a dome (complete with wood burner and pet chickens) which he has been living in for the duration of the show. (This dome was inspired by the 1960s Colorado hippie commune ‘Drop City’ – hence the name of the work ‘Dropper’) The exhibition raises a number of issues such as community, belonging and isolation, and counter culture versus establishment.

Alex Hartley: Dropper, 2011 (installed in the courtyard of Victoria Miro Gallery)

The World is Still Big at the Victoria Miro Gallery runs until 21st January, 2012

London City Guide

Posted on December 15, 2011 by admin

I have put together a few things that I like to do in this ‘London City Guide’. There are some places to eat and drink, art galleries to see and parks to take a wonder round and lots more… even some good places to pick up some coffee and cake! if you are a tourist and only in the City for a few hours, visit London regularly or even live here - I hope that you might enjoy some of these suggestions….

Above are an example of some shops and below are some art galleries that I love to go to, there are lots more to see here. I would also love to hear some of the things you like to do in London too… I live in North London and work in the centre so my suggestions probably tend to stear towards these areas of town. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Sune Jonsson: And Time Becomes A Wondrous Thing

Posted on November 25, 2011 by admin

Sune Jonsson: Overtornea, 1966

Sune Jonsson: New-York, 1965

PM Gallery in Ealing opens tomorrow with a new exhibition of works from the late Swedish artist Sune Jonsson Sune Jonsson (1930-2009). This collection of works taken in the 1950s and 60s documents the journey of agricultural Sweden to a more industrialised society. Although Jonsson worked mostly in Västerbotten in Sweden, he travelled to Europe and America and some of the works (including the one above) are taken in New York where he was inspired by the American photographer Walker Evans. This is a small retrospective of Sune Jonsson’s work and includes some familiar and lesser known photographs; all of which are beautiful and poignant.

The exhibition continues until the 7^th January, 2012. There is a gallery tour given by the curator of the exhibition, Kerstin Ullström Harris , on Saturday 7^th January at 2pm. Pitzhanger Manor-House was designed by the architect John Soane in 1800 and is worth a look if you are visiting the gallery.

Sune Jonsson: Holmsund-1954