Tag Archives: art

Comparing the art of Constable and Turner

Posted on by
Reply

DURING A VISIT to London’s National Gallery, I entered a room in which paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851) and J Constable (1776-1837) were being displayed.

By Turner in the National Gallery

Seeing these artists’ works together reminded me of a visit to the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight (Cheshire). I wrote about this place in my book “An Alphabetical Tour of England”, and compared the two artists. Here is what I wrote in my book:

“In one small gallery, … two paintings hang close to each other but are separated by a neo-classical fireplace (an exhibit). One of them is by JMW Turner (1775-1851) and the other by his contemporary and rival J Constable (1776-1837). It is interesting to see them almost side-by-side because it allows the viewer to compare their styles and what they tried to convey in their paintings. The Turner painting depicts “The Falls of the Clyde”, and the Constable depicts “Cottage at Bergholt”. Neither of the paintings, both created in the age before photography, achieves the accuracy of, say, a photograph. Both seem impressionistic, but the effects that the artists were attempting to have on the viewer are entirely different. Turner’s paintings are often far more impressionistic than Constable’s. Although his subject matter is always at least almost discernible, I feel that Turner’s works were created to evoke both the artist’s and the viewer’s psychological and/or emotional reaction(s) to what was being depicted. In contrast, Constable’s painting techniques seem to have been designed to emphasise aspects of the scene he was painting to give the viewer the impression that he or she is looking at the very same view as that which attracted the artist. Constable regarded painting as being a branch of science. In a lecture he gave in 1836, he said:

‘Painting is a science and should be pursued as an inquiry into the laws of nature. Why, may not landscape painting be considered a branch of natural philosophy, of which pictures are but the experiments?’

Turner, in his almost abstract paintings such as the one at the Lady Lever, appeared to be wanting to stimulate the viewer’s deepest emotions. In contrast, Constable tried to convey to the viewer what he saw or felt was important in his subject matter. Without resorting to the almost photographic accuracy of, for example, both Canaletto and Vermeer, the two artists, whose paintings hang almost next to each other in the Lady Lever, successfully achieve their aims. For me, the avoidance of detailed accuracy of representation in both Turner’s and Constable’s paintings, enhances the impression of reality in my mind, something that photography cannot do to the same extent.

Even if you do not wish to compare Turner and Constable, I can strongly recommend a visit to the soap maker’s gallery in Port Sunlight …”

Seeing the paintings at the National Gallery reinforced my feelings as expressed above in the excerpt from my book.

If you wish to read my book, it is available from Amazon’s websites, e.g.:https://www.amazon.co.uk/ALPHABETICAL-TOUR-ENGLAND-Adam-Yamey/dp/B0FVV6JLZ7/

An artist from China who is creating works of art using gunpowder

Posted on by
Reply

CAI GUO-QIANG IS an artist who was born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China, in 1957. Many of his artworks involve the extravagant and clever use of explosive materials, as can be seen in a documentary film being screened at the White Cube Gallery in Bermondsey (south London) until 9 September 2025. The film is accompanied by a collection of the artist’s images created on canvas, glass, and mirrors. Pleasing to the eye, these images have been created by an unusual method.

Guo-Qiang uses gunpowder, and ignites it, to assist him produce his pictures. The gallery’s website outlined his technique:

“… each composition is first mapped by sprinkling the powder, then covered and weighted before ignition, so that the blast disperses, recomposes and fuses matter into image.”

The unpredictability of the explosive material adds an interesting chance element to the finished product, but despite this, the composition was initially planned by the artist. In some of the works on display, not only was gunpowder placed on the base (i.e., paper, glass, etc) but also pigment powders. The explosions caused by igniting the gunpowder cause interesting spreading and scattering of the pigment.

The artist began experimenting with using explosives in his works on materials such as canvas and paper in the early 1980s in Quanzhou. Occasionally, the work in progress would ignite, and the fire had to be smothered to save the artwork. The works on display at White Cube were created after 2015, mainly in the 2020s. By now, he has refined his technique so that wholescale conflagration does not happen. However, as a gallery assistant told us, if you look carefully at some of the works, small burn marks can be found here and there.

Apart from being created in an intriguing way, I found the pictures being displayed in the gallery to be both attractive and beautiful.

Works of art flating on a canal near London’s Paddington

Posted on by
Reply

EVERY FEW WEEKS, we walk along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal (Paddington Arm) between the Meanwhile Garden in North Kensington and Little Venice near Paddington station. About 1/3 of the way along this route, we stop at the pleasant Grand Junction Café. Many canal narrow boats are moored alongside the towpath. Most of them are floating residences. Today, 31 August 2025, we spotted a narrow boat that we had not seen before. Moored between the Meanwhile Garden and the café, it is a floating, mobile art gallery.

Below the words “Canal Boat Contemporary” attached to the starboard side of the boat, there was a large glass-covered frame facing the towpath. This contained about 15 paintings. Next to the frame, there were notices giving information about the gallery’s concept and the works of the artist being displayed. There was also a whiteboard on which viewers could add their reactions to the art, using the marker pen attached to it. Between 27 August and 2 September, works by the artist Henrietta Roeder are on display.

Also attached to the boat and visible to passersby was the ‘manifesto’ of Canal Boat Contemporary, which can be read on a website (www.canalboatcontemporary.com). It refers to the ‘box’, by which they mean the display containing the art. Here are some excerpts from the manifesto to illustrate what the organisation is trying to achieve:

“Opera sings to chandeliers. If art wants to matter, it has to leave the palace … We moor up. We don’t ask for permission.We resist fixed power structures and take art to different places and contexts … We’re all speaking, nodding, showing – but always to each other. The Box is a window turned outward – away from the art world – for new eyes. It’s for someone walking their dog … The Box is modest, but powerful. A single painting on the towpath can shake you to the core … We don’t want your submissions. We want doppelgängers. Copy us. This idea wants to spread like moss. All you need is a frame no one’s using. A window everyone passes.”

Seeing the boat with its artworks, appearing as if from ‘out of the blue’ was a lovely experience. I think it is a wonderful idea to bring contemporary art outside of great institutions and commercial art galleries to make it available for anyone to stumble across unexpectedly.

The mouth as landscape in Dulwich, south London

Posted on by
Reply

RACHEL JONES IS an artist who was born in London in 1991. She trained at Glasgow School of Art, then at the Royal Academy Schools. There is an exhibition of her paintings, “Gated Canyons”, at Dulwich Picture Gallery until 19 October 2025. I must admit I had never heard of her before visiting the show in August 2025. So, I went to see it without knowing what to expect.

Rachel’s colourful paintings on display vary in size and shape. All of them are more abstract than figurative, but not completely abstract. The artist uses colours well, producing appealing images. Many of them interested me as a retired dentist because most of what was on display included somewhat abstract depictions of jawbones, teeth, lips, and tongues. The artist regards the mouth as being important as it is a portal through which we interact with the outside world, express our feelings, and explore psychological landscapes. If I understand it correctly, Rachel regards the mouth as a gateway to both our inner selves and the outside world. Having read the informative labels that tell viewers about her work, I began seeing, or even imagining, elements of her paintings that might be interpreted as features of oral anatomy.

The exhibition occupies three rooms, one of which I felt was too small to properly view the three large pictures within it. Otherwise, the paintings were nicely displayed and well-lit. I am glad I saw the show, but I would be reluctant to recommend it to most people I know.

Beautifully blown in Bermondsey

Posted on by
Reply

BERMONDSEY STREET IS only about 500 yards in length, and about 200 yards of it runs under the railway tracks and has no shops, eateries, or any other outlet open to the public. The remaining 300 yards of this thoroughfare is a delight to visit. It is lined with numerous cafés, restaurants, and a couple of pubs. In addition, there is a good picture framer, several art galleries, some fashionable shops, a church, and a museum of fashion and textiles. There are also a couple of open spaces – small parks. Apart from the magnificent Caphe House – a superb Vietnamese restaurant, one of my favourite places on this street is London Glassblowing (see: https://londonglassblowing.co.uk/).

London Glassblowing is a gallery dedicated to the display and sales of artistic glasswork creations. It was founded by Peter Layton, who was born in 1937 in Prague (then in Czechoslovakia). Fleeing the Nazis, his family moved to Britain in 1939. They settled in Bradford near his grandfather, a pathologist who was a colleague of Sigmund Freud. Initially specialising in ceramics, Peter went to teach at the University of Iowa in the USA. While he was there, Peter soon became fascinated with glass and studied in the institution’s glass blowing programme. After his return to the UK, where artistic glass blowing was not yet highly developed or even highly regarded, he opened the London Glassblowing Workshop in Rotherhithe in 1976. After moving to several different locations, it arrived at its present home on Bermondsey Street.

In addition to displaying fine works of art made with glass, visitors to the gallery can watch the glass blowers at work. This is fascinating to see. When we visited yesterday, the 16th of February 2024, there was a group of young children watching the glass blowers at work. A gentleman was patiently explaining what the glass blowers were doing and how they were achieving the exquisite multicoloured vase they were making. It was only when I got home that I realised that the person explaining was none other than Peter Layton.

Art, Alembic, and brewing in Baroda

Posted on by
Reply

THE SINGER LATA MANGESHKAR (1929-2022) has only ever appeared in one advertising film. It was for a medical product, a cough syrup, called Glycolin. This stuff was manufactured by the Alembic pharmaceutical company of Baroda, founded in 1907. In 1960, it was the first company to manufacture penicillin in India. Under the leadership of the Amin family, Alembic produces a wide variety of pharmaceutical products.

The company owns a huge ‘campus’ in north Baroda. This has been named Alembic City. Part of it, which contains repurposed former factory buildings, has been developed to create an art hub, which has been named Alembic Art District.

Alembic Art District

The Art District contains a museum that illustrates the history of the Alembic company. Other buildings house artists’ studios. These are given free of charge to selected artists who have applied for them. There is also gallery space.

A food court has been created. Nearby, there is a good Japanese restaurant (called Bento B). Next door to this is The Brewery.

Those who are familiar with Gujarat will know it is a teetotal state – sale and consumption of alcohol is forbidden. So, what is with The brewery? Well, it is a brewery, but alcohol is not brewed here. It is a kombucha Brewery. We sat in the stylish restaurant within The Brewery, and enjoyed the best kombucha I have ever tasted.

Like the Tate Modern and the Battersea Power Station, both repurposed former industrial sites, Alembic Art District contains remnants of its former existence. However, the resulting environment that has been created is much more delightful than the two places in London mentioned above.

From Lagos in Nigeria to Peckham in London

Posted on by
Reply

UNTIL I VISITED THE SOUTH LONDON GALLERY (‘SLG’) yesterday, the 11th of October 2023, I had no idea that Peckham in south London is home to one of the UK’s largest Nigerian diasporic communities. Some even call the district ‘Little Lagos’ after the capital city of Nigeria. Until the 29th of October 2023, the SLG is hosting an exhibition of artworks, called “Lagos Peckham Repeat: Pilgrimage to the Lakes”, by Nigerian and British Nigerian artists. Lagos means ‘lakes’ in Portuguese, and the Nigerian city of Lagos developed on an area with several lakes. Part of the show is housed in the same building as the Camberwell School of Art, and the other in a nearby repurposed, former fire station, which was purchased in 2010 and donated to the SLG by the artist Raqib Shaw (born in Calcutta in 1974). The two venues are a few paces from each other, and both are well worth visiting.

The exhibition consists of photographs, videos (including an excellent one showing a woman in Nigerian clothing riding through Peckham on a black horse), sculptural assemblages, and coloured drawings. Words are inadequate to describe the imaginative exhibits, but if you are unable to visit the show, there is a good verbal summary of the artworks on https://www.southlondongallery.org/exhibitions/lagos-peckham-repeat/ . To give you some idea of the ideas that link the various works on the display, I will quote from the gallery’s guide:

“This exhibition brings together thirteen contemporary Nigerian and British-Nigerian artists to explore links between Lagos, meaning ‘lakes’ in Portuguese, and Peckham as a channel through which to address wider issues of migration. It is framed around ideas of pilgrimage, meaning journeys to a sacred or special place and, in this case, migration motivated by a search for a better life. At the heart of the exhibition is an exploration of the complexities of shifting notions of home and identity as generations of Nigerians settle in London permanently, return to Lagos, or move elsewhere.”

And I feel that this summarises the show very well. All of the exhibits are visually engaging in an exciting way, and if you bother to read the guide carefully, all of them convey the artists’ concepts with great lucidity and originality.

After seeing the show, you can obtain good refreshments in the SLG’s simple but attractive South London Louie café. The SLG also has a bookshop with many intriguing titles on offer.

Art from India displayed amongst the plants

Posted on by
Reply

I ENJOY SEEING SCULPTURES displayed in gardens or other plant-filled locations. Until March 2024, the wonderful conservatory in London’s Barbican Centre is hosting a selection of sculptures by Ranjani Shettar. She was born in Bangalore (Bengaluru, India)) in 1977, and now lives and works in rural Karnataka. Her current exhibition in the Barbican is called “Cloud Songs on the Horizon”. The works on display were made especially for this site.

Her works are made of various materials (wood, stainless steel, muslin, and lacquer) and she employs techniques that have been adapted from traditional Indian crafts. Ms Shettar’s organic sculptures look like magnified plants or parts of plants. As she said once:

“Nature’s beauty is ever present, art helps to uncover, perceive and appreciate it.”

Seeing her exhibits in the Conservatory, certainly confirms this. However fine the artworks, putting them amongst plants helps emphasise the greater beauty of nature’s creations. The beauty of the sculptures competes with that of the plants, but the latter almost always win. So, placing one’s artworks within an area rich in plant life is a brave thing to do. I felt that Ms Shettar had done it successfully. Her creations have a harmonious relationship with the plant life surrounding them.

Whether or not you visit the exhibition, which I enjoyed, seeing the Barbican’s Conservatory – the second largest in Greater London – is always a worthwhile experience.

Anselm Kiefer at the White Cube in Bermondsey

Posted on by
Reply

TODAY, I MADE MY second visit to the Anselm Kiefer exhibition, which is on at the Bermondsey White Cube gallery until the 20th of August 2023. I was pleased to visit it again because after my first visit, I left it feeling oppressed and somewhat depressed. This might be what the artist (born at the end of WW2 in Germany) intended when he created the extraordinary series of scenes of dereliction and decay on show in Bermondsey. My second visit (on the 15th of August 2023) left me with a slightly more favourable impression, but my opinion that the artist has depicted an image of a world of confusion, conflict, and decay, remains unchanged.

The works, which are distributed in several rooms and the central corridor of the gallery, are, so I read in an information sheet, Kiefer’s reactions to, and representation of, a novel by James Joyce – “Finnegan’s Wake”. The artist has written short quotations from the book on many of the items that together make up the amazing art installations. As I have not read the book, I cannot comment on the appropriateness of what he has created.

In one room of the gallery, there are mainly huge paintings, which I found attractive. On close examination, one can see that the paint has been applied to that it is far from flat. The three-dimensional surfaces create interesting illusions, which change according to from where you view the pictures.

Another room has a huge pile of sand littered with discarded, corroded supermarket trolleys – an impressive but sad sight. In yet another room, most of the floor is covered with barbed wire and huge pieces of concrete – the ruins of a large building. As a friend of ours said, it looked as if it had been imported straight from a bombsite in Ukraine.

Would I recommend visiting this exhibition? It is certainly inappropriate for people who suffer from claustrophobia or depression. However, if you are of an adventurous frame of mind, do head for this show before it ends.

Artists as artworks in London’s East End

Posted on by
Reply

BRICK LANE IN east London has been home to immigrants from various parts of the world. Currently, many of the people who live and work in the area are of Bangladeshi heritage. In the last few years, the area has attracted the ‘trendy’ set, whose interests are mainly in the attractions north of the former Truman Brewery. Some years ago, my friend David, visiting from Atlanta (Georgia), and I paid a visit to Brick Lane and were surprised to find a bit of ‘Ye Olde England’ almost hidden amongst the predominantly Asian businesses. It was the The Pride of Spitalfields London – a real old-fashioned ‘boozer’. Stepping into it, it was difficult to imagine you were not in a country pub, but in the heart of east London. It is on Heneage Street next door to what had once been part of a brewery.

In 2015, the Trustees of the Gilbert & George Centre, a charity, acquired the building next door to the pub. On the 1st of April this year (2023), the converted buildings were opened to the public. They have been beautifully transformed by the SIRS Architects practice and they house artworks by the duo Gilbert and George (‘G&G’), who both trained at London’s St Martins School of Art. According to the G&G website (gilbertandgeorgecentre.org):

“The property was purchased with the idea to create a permanent home for works of the artist and to enrich London’s cultural offering thus further.”

G&G produce often very colourful works, all of which include the pair of creators within their images. As artists, they are also the subjects of their creations – they are almost always depicted in all their works. Their works deal imaginatively with a wide variety of things that we all face in our daily lives – some of them often considered too distasteful to be discussed or displayed. But G&G boldly bring them to our notice in a dramatic way.  As Michael Bracewell, a Trustee, wrote on the website:

“Gilbert & George maintain an ideological opposition to formalistic art theory and the reference of art to the history or theory of art. Asserting instead the power of emotion and actuality, their art addresses subjects that are culturally excluded, neglected or disowned. Their art questions social taboos and morality. By looking at difficult subjects the art and vision of Gilbert & George is intended to ‘de-shock’ rather than seeking to shock. Its aim is not the simple task of ‘shocking’ a viewer, but the difficult task of interrogating a subject and themselves … Unchanging, they have the appearance and countenance of modern sober-minded, anonymous citizens, who have embarked on the astral journey of their own Divine Comedy: purgatory, Heaven and Hell as they find it and perceive it in our world, in nature and in themselves.”

Whether or not you like the creations of G&G, the new Centre is well worth visiting, even if only to see the fine design of the buildings containing it. If the art is all too much for you, you can pop into the pub next door and seek liquid relief. And if you loved the place, which we did, you can visit the boozer to celebrate the arrival of this superb new addition to the London art scene.