Rowley Gallery Blog
This was another camera-shy exhibition. We had to switch off our cameras at the entrance, even though it was full of exhibitionist ‘performing sculptures’, all of them posing and pouting and teasing. Mostly they’re mobiles though none of them moved, their motion implied through poise and balance. Yet despite these contradictions, it’s a fantastic show, elegant and vibrant and fun. Continue reading “Performing Sculpture”
Lapis: James Whitney (1966)
One of James Whitney’s several cinematic masterworks, Lapis develops a series of impossibly dense mandala patterns in increasing intensity, set to a Ravi Shankar track. Whitney spent several years developing the imagery for the film, using his brother John’s homemade and hand-me-down motion control camera rig to realize it. Although James never aligned his creative interests with contemporary psychedelia, his work nevertheless sought to create an audio-visual catalyst for a deep and spiritual contemplation that was not too far removed. – Mark Toscano
I’ve carried the memory of this short film for years. Now, having just found it again, it’s still pretty impressive but not quite so overwhelming as the first time. I was an 18 year old art student watching it on a big screen in a small lecture theatre, with the volume turned up and completely immersed in its kaleidoscopic intensity, I’d never seen anything like it before. The film was made six years earlier, and what I love most about it now is its handmade lo-fi pre-digital devoted dedication to beauty.
We finally got to see the wonderful Charles & Ray Eames exhibition at the Barbican, but there were No Photography signs everywhere, which was a shame because it’s all so photogenic. It can’t be that it’s protected by copyright because there are lots of images on the internet. I guess the reasoning must be that if you can’t go home with a few souvenir photos then you’re more likely to buy the catalogue. Continue reading “The World Of Charles And Ray Eames”
This photo appeared recently on Twitter and it took me straight back to our visit there last year. It was a reminder to rediscover a few of our photos of this extraordinary building. La Pedrera (the Quarry) is the popular name of Casa Milà, commissioned by the Milà family and created by Antoni Gaudí, it now stands as the most beautiful building on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. Continue reading “La Pedrera”
Usually I write a monthly blog post on my garden, but it’s been very quiet this last month (apart from Medge the Hedge wandering in to my next door neighbour’s garage and getting stuck in a wellington boot – rescue ensued). Therefore, I will forgo my gardening notes this time and write not of plant pots – but of paint pots. Continue reading “Rowley Gallery Pots”
if you haven’t taken a stroll down main street,
my exhibition at yorkshire sculpture park,
there’s still time.
and you might want to kill two birds with a single stone
& come along to the first (& possibly last)
Darktown valentine’s cabaret. Continue reading “Darktown Valentine’s Cabaret”
A selection of pictures from the exhibition Quentin Blake: The Hospital Drawings at the Nightingale Project until 31 March 2016, to celebrate ten years of Sir Quentin Blake creating art for hospitals. Continue reading “Our Friends In The Circus”
The Christmas full moon got me thinking lunatic thoughts and I remembered this wonderful piece by Pina Bausch for Tanztheater Wuppertal.
Vollmond, meaning full moon or high tide, is among Pina’s most revered works and has been making waves, literally, since its creation in 2006… The full moon highlights our humanity and how we get thrown into emotional highs and lows. Pina’s dancer-actors ride this roller coaster throughout Vollmond, showing vulnerability and strength, detachment and desire, collapse and vitality. It’s visceral. It’s deeply relatable. There is no one story to this show, it’s a glimpse into the lives of a handful of intertwined individuals. Vollmond is a work you can return to and always come out of with a new perspective. Continue reading “Vollmond”
This year I had the honour to design the Christmas Card for Rowley Gallery. I chose to use some of the characters of a traditional Mexican pastorela, a play that recreates the biblical passage in which the shepherds are guided to Bethlehem and there are always angels, devils, sheep and funny situations. If you are in west London go and visit Rowley Gallery, it’s full of choices for your Christmas presents. The clock is ticking! Continue reading “Feliz Navidad”
In 1987 I was commissioned by Ian Simpson Architects to make a ceiling mural for the new entrance lobby at Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith as part of a major refurbishment of the ground floor. It took more than a year to complete and was finally installed in 1989 after I had also worked on the mural while it was up on the ceiling. Continue reading “Garden Of Delights”