On Bell Street

The Lisson Gallery at 27 Bell Street in London is presently home to a fascinating and wonderful collection of sculptures by Ai Weiwei, cast iron facsimiles of tree roots grubbed up from the Amazon rainforest even before the latest round of Bolsonaro inspired deforestation wildfires. Melancholy mementos of ancient trees untimely ripped and castaway via traditional Chinese craftsmanship. Continue reading “On Bell Street”

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Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Returning home from a family gathering in the North West we took a detour from our usual route, and despite the dark clouds and pouring rain and the warnings of queuing traffic and closed roads we found our way over the Pennines to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It was our first visit and it was long overdue. The way was slow and wet and windy, but as we approached the sky cleared and by the time we left the sun was shining again. And in between the park was a revelation.  Continue reading “Yorkshire Sculpture Park”

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Ai Weiwei: Tree

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Another post, another London art installation. This time a petrified forest of Frankenstein-style trees by artist Ai Weiwei in the Royal Academy courtyard. This display consists of eight of Ai Weiwei’s ‘trees’ – the most that have been exhibited together at one time, which originally came from the rural mountains of China. Continue reading “Ai Weiwei: Tree”

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Our Heroes Are Back!

Onze Helden Zijn Terug! (Our Heroes Are Back!) is the title of this flashmob video made to celebrate the return of Rembrandt’s Night Watch to the Rijksmuseum in April 2013. It heralded the museum’s grand reopening after a ten year restoration project. Rembrandt’s masterpiece is now back in place in the Gallery of Honour but pretty much everything else has been rearranged. Continue reading “Our Heroes Are Back!”

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Château La Coste

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Château la Coste is a vineyard 15km north of Aix-en-Provence which, since 2004, has become home to a remarkable collection of art and architecture. Signs have been kept to a minimum and the entrance was not immediately obvious, but we eventually found our way to the elegant, new art centre designed by Tadao Ando and emerged alongside Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois. Continue reading “Château La Coste”

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Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

At first sight this year’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion resembles a giant table on the lawn with fairy lights hung beneath it. It was designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron and artist Ai Weiwei, the same team that created the National Stadium, aka the Bird’s Nest, for the Beijing Olympics. Continue reading “Serpentine Gallery Pavilion”

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