December Art Fix: Top 3 Exhibitions

1/ Zaha Hadid: Early Paintings and Drawings

Serpentine Gallery, Until 12 Feb 2017

The latest show from the Serpentine Sackler Gallery celebrates the early drawings and paintings of late architect Zaha Hadid, her spectacularly designed restaurant adjoins the gallery. The pieces on display were created before her first building; The Vitra Fire Station, and show her visualisations of space and ideas. 

There is a clear Constructivist influence in her painted works, there are geometric, angular forms reminiscent of Tatlin and Malevich. One project is based on Malevich's Architekton, a architecturally inspired sculpture he produced in the 1920s. Hadid reproduced the sculpture, painting it from a birds-eye-view and gave it a new London setting on the South Bank. Hadid's architectural and painterly fusions are truly inspiring and these early works confirm her dedication to developing unique and radical work.

2/ Bruce McLean: A Hot Sunset and Shade Paintings

Bernard Jacobson Gallery, Until 28 Jan 2017

British artist Bruce McLean has been a long time favourite artist of the Devas Designs team. McLean's bold approach to colour and form is uplifting and eye-catching - criteria we always look for when buying art for the home. McLean is a multi artist who works across painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, film and performance art. He is known for both his versatility and rebellious spirit, often mocking the establishment - when offered an exhibition at Tate Britain in 1972, he held a 'retrospective' which lasted only one day.

McLean's current exhibition at Bernard Jacobson presents recent works, all produced over the last year. These include six 'shade' paintings, a series which explores light and shadow, as well asa standout six-meter long minimalist painting called 'sunset'. The works of display are above all beautiful and high spirited; perfect viewing for the cold, Winter months.

3/ Robert Rauschenberg

Tate Modern, Until 2 April 2017

'Robert Rauschenberg blazed a new trail for art in the second half of the twentieth century' declares Tate. This show sets out to confirm Rauschenberg's place in modern art and outline his radically new approach and new aesthetic that acted as a bridge between Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s. There are works that span the entirety of Rauschenberg's influential career from his early experimental works in the 1950s to the work he created before his death in 2008.

There are several landmark works here including his famous 'Monogram' work which features a stuffed goat with a tyre around its waist. Another room shows his dedication to screen printing and the incorporation of Popular imagery, inspired by a visit to Warhol's studio. His important and longstanding collaborations feature too, including the many stage design created for Merce Cunningham's choreographed performances, all of which were scored by John Cage.

Robert Rauschenberg was born in Port Arthur, Texas. He grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian household of strict rules and regulations before being drafted in to the Navy for three years. His life story is a captivating tale of how one man broke away from convention to challenge and enliven the art scene, an agenda which would change contemporary art forever. Tate's Robert Rauschenberg exhibition is a must-see.

November Art Exhibitions

Looking to escape the Winter weather? What better way to hide from the cold than to spend the weekend at a London art gallery. Here's our top three new art exhibitions to visit this November ...

1/ The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from The Sir Elton John Collection

Tate Modern, Switch House - Until 7 May 2017

Tate Modern’s latest show may come as a surprise to some visitors; it showcases a dynamic and important collection of modernist photography from the Rocket Man star. There are nearly 200 works on show, selected from Sir Elton John’s incredible photographic collection. Some of the biggest names are here; May Ray, Dorothea Lange, Brassai, Andre Kertesz and Aleksandr Rodchenko and more.

The works have been beautifully selected and act as an introduction to Modernist photography; its themes, values and movers and shakers. As well as being visually striking, each print is in remarkable condition; many of the works were bought direct from the artists. It’s also worth picking up an audio guide where you can hear from Sir Elton John himself discussing his personal thoughts on the works.

‘I collect for the beauty, not the value. I’m in awe of these things’

2/ Flaming June: The Making of an Icon

Leighton House - Until 2 April 2017

One of the most iconic and reproduced paintings from the Victorian Era, Flaming June, is now back on display at the studio it was created in 1895. It was painted by Sir Frederic Leighton, the English painter and sculptor now known for his elaborate Leighton House.

The painting is a beautiful and sensual work, richly pigmented in orange and red. It shows a sleeping woman behind a Mediterranean backdrop, sun-drenched and collapsed from the heat of midsummer sun.

Flaming June is being shown alongside other works submitted by Leighton to the Academy that year - these are equally romantic and sumptuous.   

3/ Paul Nash

Tate Britain - Until 5 March 2017

Paul Nash has been a longtime favourite artist of ours, the combination of his subtle colours which often depict surreal scenes is a fascinating mixture. Nash was undoubtedly one of the pioneers of British modern art. His landscape scenes often feature surreal and mystical motifs which reference to Britain's ancient past.

Tate's exhibition takes us on a journey using works from his early career through to his paintings created during the Second World War. We learn about his unique style of translating the landscape. It was a deeply personal approach that took into account both natural elements and the power of mythology. This is a beautiful and poignant show - a must see.

 

 

 

Interior Inspiration: Sean Scully

"I do believe abstraction is and was meant to embody deep emotion.

I believe that’s its job, in the history of art."

- Sean Scully-

Sean Scully has spent his career honing his unique style of abstraction. In the mid-1960s he abandoned figurative work and has since remained faithful to block coloured canvases - particularly huge scale striped paintings.

The Dublin-born artist grew up in London and in the mid-1970s moved to America, he stills splits his time between Europe and New York. Scully draws on the traditions of Abstract Expressionism through his use of loose paintwork. His subtle yet powerful use of colour has always captured our attention and we were delighted to discover that his latest exhibition opens this month in London at The Timothy Taylor Gallery.

For this post we've drawn inspiration from Scully's painterly stripes and coloured canvases and found ways that you can bring these aesthetics into your home. We understand that buying art can be both expensive and time consuming but adding painterly furnishings and wallpapers is a quick way to add artistic charm to your home.

Take a look at our Scully inspired interiors picks ...

We love the Kallianthi Wallpaper Collection by Harlequin, designed by Clarissa Hulse. They have been inspired by her love of botany and nature. The stripe wallpaper collection are taken from a hand-painted watercolour design. Like the work of Sean Scully, the stripes are reminiscent of patterns from the landscape - horizons, sunsets and seas.

Bluebellgray's design are all based on hand-painted originals so are a go-to if you're looking for painterly furnishings. Their Lomond Collection was inspired by Scotland's beautiful Lock Lomond, again uniting with Scully's natural influences. The Lomond palette features turquoise with flashes of zesty chartreuse green and fuchsia pink and can be purchased on a range of items from curtains to cushions to lampshades.

The Paint Stripe rug, pictured below, by Paul Smith for The Rug Company was inspired by mid-century abstract art. He was particularly inspired by drip paintings, possibly the work of Abstract pioneer Jackson Pollock. The rug is meant to directly represent a canvas with expressive drips of colours which creates a beautiful broken stripe effect. 

Zaha Hadid's UltraStellar Collection

This month Zaha Hadid’s final furniture collection went on display at David Gill Gallery, a space she had a long-running relationship with. We attended the opening last week which celebrated both the show and the life of the late architect.

For her UltraStellar series, Hadid moved away from the acrylic material she’s known for, instead turning to traditional materials; wood, glass, silver and leather. The table pictured below left is walnut with a lenticular glass eye in the centre. She astounds us yet again with the beauty in the fluidity of her forms, their organic movements heightened by natural materials.

Every piece is bespoke and highlights her unwavering vision for contemporary, almost futuristic, design. The collection includes the Lisse Chandelier, show below, a colossal and dazzling chandelier in glass and aluminium. The exhibition comprises just eight works in total, each is arresting and inspiring.

Three of the pieces were created for her Liquid Glacial collection - most recognisably the Liquid Glacial table made entirely in glass, shown below. The design sees a flat tabletop transformed through refracted light as ripples below the surface of the glass create a subtle wave effect. The overall effect is a stunning impression of water frozen in time. Zaha Hadid’s design visionary will undeniably live on in these beautiful pieces.

We also loved the two versions of the group sofa, pictured below. Both variations allow groups of three to four people to sit together in a more united and conversational pose than regular sofas. 

“[Zaha] manipulated materials, she pushed our beliefs in shape, throwing away traditional ideas of form and function and made us all catch our breath whenever we saw her work. We will miss not only Zaha’s unique voice in terms of design and manufacture but we will most importantly miss a very dear friend.”

- David Gill -

The show is on until 29th October 2016.

Marc Camille Chaimowicz at The Serpentine Gallery

The Serpentine Gallery’s 2016 exhibitions have been equally dynamic, innovative and inspiring and this season’s show by Marc Camille Chaimowicz is no exception. Chaimowicz established himself in the 1970s with his print-crazy installations and party performances. His work often blends popular culture with art historical references and includes painting, sculpture, design and immersive site-specific installations.

Marc Camille Chaimowicz: An Autumn Lexicon; Installation View, Serpentine Gallery (29 September – 20 November 2016); Photo © Hugo Glendinning

His current show ‘An Autumn Lexicon’ at the Serpentine spans his career from the 70s to the present day. It draws on ideas of memory and place while responding directly to the environment and Serpentine Gallery building. It combines wallpaper, furniture, paintings, rugs, household items and news article clippings - of course we were excited to see this connection between art and interiors. He's even designed curtains for the gallery windows and coloured the window glass with pink and green acetate, creating an immersive exhibition experience.

We couldn't help but notice the Bloomsbury aesthetic throughout the show which featured the same muted and pastel colours seen in Vanessa Bell’s work. It reminded us of our project in Ireland which was based around a Bloomsbury palette. Read more about this project here.

There are also lovely details of the building and gardens throughout the show. Chaimowicz has created backdrops with repeated patterns of the Serpentine pavilion using various block printing and painting methods. There is an art deco style to much of the furniture which reflects the original tea room which preceded the gallery in the 1930s. Among the news clippings are pages from interiors magazines showing the interior design elements of his work including his South London home which blended styles from the 30s, 50s and 70s. Interior design enabled Chaimowicz to merge his talents in painting, pattern, design and installation.

It’s a beautiful show which is both reflective of historical design and original in its own way.

The show is open until November 2nd - catch it while you can.

 

“We should resist the tyranny of linear time for one which is much more

elusive, labyrinthian, gracious and once understood, perhaps even kindly.

Once we recognise that it can fold in on itself – wherein, for example, recent

events can seem distant and more distant ones seem closer – we then have a

greater fluidity of means.” – Marc Camille Chaimowicz

Culture Trip: Barcelona

Travel remains a leading source of inspiration for Devas Designs and we are always excited to explore and discover cultural hotspots across the world. Recently one of our team visited Barcelona, a city bursting with colour and culture.

Here's a guide to our must-visit cultural sights in Barcelona:

1/ Museu Picasso

The Picasso Museum houses one of the most extensive collection’s of Picasso’s work with over 4,000 exhibited pieces. Comprising five medieval stone mansions, the museum is itself a beauty to behold with beautiful courtyards and winding staircases. Much of the collection focuses on Picasso’s formative years and the masterpieces he painted during his early teens - while not his most iconic works, they set him up as an artist of immense character and skill and it’s interesting to see his continual stylistic changes. A particular highlight was the room dedicated to his famous Blue period as well as a collection of Cubist paintings. A staggering collection in a stunning setting, one of our must-see Barcelona sights.

2/ Gaudi in Barcelona: Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and Casa Batllo

Sagrada Familia - It would be impossible not to mention Antoni Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces, his most distinctive creations are in Barcelona. The city’s shining glory is the Sagrada Familia, the giant basilica famously known for its continued construction which commenced in 1882. It’s a wild combination of Gothic and Art Nouveau forms and once inside, the stained glass windows cast a myriad of rainbow colours across the space.

 

Park Guell - Perhaps our favourite of Gaudi’s creations due to its natural outdoor elements. It sits on Carmel Hill with views across the city, and provides a beautiful interplay of natural forms and mosaic decorated structures. The main section is ticketed, but the beautiful gardens remain to free to visit, their tall trees provide calm and shade above the bustling hot city in the distance.

Casa Batllo - A smaller but no less impressive construction by Gaudi in the centre of Barcelona. It encapsulates Gaudi’s unique take on Art Nouveau design with its elaborate facade covered in broken mosaic tiles. The skeletal-like balcony details and curved patterned roof again call on organic forms and fluidity. Inside the tiled room and stained glass windows are just as beautiful and arresting as its exterior.

3/ Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA)

For those looking for a more contemporary experience, Barcelona’s Museum of Contemporary Art, aka MACBA, is the place to go. MACBA’s collection dates from mid-20th Century to the present day and is known for its hard-hitting modern displays - when we visited there was a riotous exhibition about the influence of Punk on modern art.

Watch this space - Abstract Expressionism at the RA

The Royal Academy of Art has amassed an immense collection of American works from galleries and private collections (over 100 lenders in total) which include works by artists such as Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Janet Sobel to name just a few.

Abstract Expressionism is widely known as a ground-breaking moment in the formation of modern art. Artists no longer wanted to recreate scenes from life but wanted their spectators to experience paintings physically - for us to 'feel' their emotion through the medium of paint, sculpture and so on. Their often aggressive gestural marks also filled the entirety of the canvas, dispensing with the traditional ideas of composition and geometry. Artists like Jackson Pollock poured, dripped and spilt paint, pushing materials to become free and almost overtake the artist's hand. What was also revolutionary about this way of working was that by desiring physical feelings from their viewer, the Abstract Expressionists weren't creating work just for academics or theorists, but art for all.

There will be some amazing works on display - icons from the movement by the likes of Pollock and Rothko. There's also an assurance that the gender imbalance will be rectified by the inclusion of significant female painters including Janet Sobel and Lee Krasner.

The exhibition will open in September this year.

Botticelli Reimagined

For this week’s art fix we visited the V&A’s hotly anticipated ‘Botticelli Reimagined’ exhibition.

The V&A reminds us that his Botticelli’s work was largely forgotten for 300 years before audiences rediscovered it in the 19th Century. Since then he has informed the work and imagery of artists to come.

What makes this exhibition so remarkable initially, is its sheer quantity of work, from painting to fashion to film and photography to sculpture and tapestry - it’s got it all! There are some truly breathtaking works like Rosetti's La Ghirlandata, pictured below left. Rosetti even owned work by Botticelli, one of which is featured in this exhibition, a true testament of his love of the Renaissance master.

While we loved seeing the traditional works on display, one of the highlights for us was seeing the contemporary piece and how Botticelli’s Venus has been subverted in contemporary art. The photograph in the centre below uses pieces of trash and junk, remoulding it into Botticelli's iconic composition. The beauty of the images lies in Botticelli's Venus icon to survive amongst its mishmashed context - an interesting metaphor for its endurance in contemporary culture.

Inspired by Anwar Shemza

Walking around the Tate Britain last week we were struck by a wonderful Spotlight Display by Anwar Shemza.

Shemza moved to London from Lahore in 1956. In London he abandoned his illustrative and figurative approach that had brought him acclaim in Pakistan, he had achieved widespread recognition in Pakistan but was unrecognised in London

Shemza started his own, new style of compositions which combined calligraphy, Islamic architectural features and abstraction. Some of his influences came from artists such as Paul Klee and we loved the way he blended this abstraction with Islamic artistic traditions.

Hilma af Klint: Painting the Unseen at The Serpentine Gallery

This weekend we visited an extraordinary exhibition at The Serpentine Gallery of a Swedish artist Hilma af Klint. While this exhibition has attracted a huge amount of press, prior to this show she was virtually unknown in the UK.

Being a woman, producing pioneering and unconventional artwork such as this, is probably the greatest reason for af Klint's exception from history. She began her career by painting landscapes and portraits and gained some recognition at that time. It was her protestant upbringing and studies of Theosophy however that was the pivotal inspiration for her abstract works - this was also the first religious group in Europe to accept women in senior positions which must have empowered af Klint herself. Between 1906-07 she created her most revolutionary paintings which derived from automatic drawings she produced during seances - some encompass swirling abstract patterns, others follow geometric structured diagrams.

She painted the work below in 1907, years before Kandinsky or Mondrian or Malevich had ventured into abstraction. Looking into her colourful swirls, bold splatters and geometric shapes painted in the early 1900s it is undeniable that af Klint is a true pioneer of abstraction. 

Hilma af Klint was certainly a complex and creative character, drawing on spiritual experiences and unconscious thoughts. This is an unmissable exhibition and an important step in making sure that she gains recognition - open until May 15th 2016.

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse at The Royal Academy of Arts

We visited ‘Painting The Modern Garden’ … While Monet is at the centre of this exhibition, there are works by Renoir, Cezanne, Pissarro, Van Gogh, Matisse and Klimt to name a few. The exhibition promises to help you see ‘the garden in art with fresh eyes’ and its doesn’t disappoint.

Interestingly the natural garden subject seems to have enabled many of these avant-garde artists to work with a greater freedom than before, freeing their palettes and their brushstrokes. Throughout he exhibition you are greeted with Monet’s stunning gardens until ending in a grand finale; Monet’s great pastel coloured waterlily paintings.

The exhibition opens with a beautiful comparison - Monet's 'The Artist's Garden in Argenteuil' (pictured below left) is placed beside Renoir's painting of Monet painting in the very garden in Argenteuil (pictured below right). This sets the tone for the exhibition, an affirmative statement about the impact Monet had on his fellow impressionists and hints that he influenced not only the garden subject matter but the act of painting en plein air.  

There are some beautiful works by a less famous name, Spanish artist Santiago Rusinol. His paintings are more structured than the Impressionist works on display and convey spectacular modelling of light, like this work below which evokes the brilliant glow of sunset. 

We thought it would be lovely to also share with you some images of Monet's garden in Giverny. These are the gardens Monet spent nearly forty years in his house in Giverny, a period many argue were his most creative. In 1883 he and his family rented the house with its 2 acre land and by 1890 he had saved enough to buy it and the surrounding land. As an avid gardener himself, Monet worked alongside his gardeners and created precise designs and layouts for his garden's planting, resulting in a stunning display. Over time he built up the land, eventually buying a water meadow which he plated up with water lilies. These became the subject of his best known works and the water meadow is now one the garden's most popular features. 

William Morris Gallery

Last weekend we visited the beautiful William Morris Gallery in London. William Morris is perhaps the best known proponent of the British Arts and Crafts Movement. His contribution is particularly marked with the revival of traditional textile arts.

Alongside his textile design, he was also a poet, novelist and social activist. The Arts and Crafts Movement developed in the 19th Century as a result of artists concerns over industrialisation. The Movement placed value on materials and design, advocating art reform.

The gallery is situated in a Grade II listed Georgian house, itself a lovely building. The Walthamstow house was William Morris’s family home between 1848-1856 - he would have been only six when he moved in. Walthamstow was at that time a country village and many have suggested that Morris was later influenced by his time spent there, surrounded by natural forms. Going against industrialisation, Morris’s designs are rooted in nature, drawing inspiration directly from natural forms including flowers, leaves and branches.


For Interior Designers, the Arts and Crafts Movement can be particularly influential as its designs featured throughout household items from wallpaper to furniture and the architecture itself.

Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture at Tate Modern

This week we visited the must-see new exhibition at Tate Modern, ‘Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture’. It’s a truly beautiful and poetic exhibition showcasing Calder’s stunning kinetic sculptures.

Calder initially trained as an engineer before moving to Paris in the 1920s to start his artistic career. It was during his engineering education that he became fascinated with kinetics, physics and the nature of materials. In Paris he experimented with kinetic sculptures that brought to life the avant-garde interest in movement. His kinetic works blended movement with sculpture and in 1931 he invented the ‘mobile’ - Duchamp coined the term, having used it to describe Calder’s new sculptures. The poetry and beauty of his sculptures lay in their ability to move of their accord, simply catching the air in the space they hang.


We love pinning inspirational photos on Pinterest and Tate’s Pinterest board is always packed with great images. Their recent board ‘Art, Architecture and the Home’ show artworks in interiors, we liked this image below of Peggy Guggenheim alongside a Calder mobile - https://uk.pinterest.com/tategallery/art-architecture-and-the-home/

We also discovered this image of an Alexander Calder mobile in Georgia O’Keeffe’s house in Abiquiu, New Mexico. The blend of rustic design with the fluidity of his mobile is a perfect balance.

On the subject of artists’s home we were intrigued to find these images of Alexander Calder’s own living room. Having seen his mobiles in a white walled gallery space, it was quite the contrast seeing images of them amongst his colourful furnishings and belongings.

El Divino Morales at The Prado // Madrid

We also caught Prado’s ‘El Divino Morales’ exhibition of the work of Luis de Morales. Morales is one of the most significant Spanish artists from the Renaissance period. The show focusses on altarpieces and devotional panels, two formats that he championed.

For fifty years he lived and painted in Extremadura and was certainly the most prolific painter of that area.

He was influenced by Flemish traditions of the 1400-1500s as well as Italian Renaissance artists and formed a style combining these two. The Prado tells us that this contributed to the commercial possibilities and successes at the time of his work; his audience recognised the religious subjects and loved the emotionally charged manner in which they were painted.

There is a section of the exhibition devoted to his paintings of the Passion, one of his keys subjects. His figures are almost silhouetted against dark backgrounds and beautifully sculptural.

Museo Nacional del Prado // Madrid

Last weekend we had a wonderful trip to Madrid and had time to explore the spectacular collection at the Museo Nacional del Prado.

As well as enjoying their permanent collection, they had an exhibition of rock crystal carvings from Renaissance Milan; ‘Arte Transparente’.

The exhibition analysis's the technique of carving rock crystal, which has been relatively unexplored by galleries. There are twenty exquisite examples on display, with fourteen alone coming from the same group known as ‘The Dauphin’s Treasure’. The other six on display come from historic collections including pieces from the Medici family from Florence.

During the Middle Ages rock crystal was even associated with the celestial, while now it carries a hefty price tag. In Milan it emerged during the 16th Century as royal and wealthy families became interested in its beauty and value.

Scottish Art at Sotheby's

This month Sotheby’s launched a dedicated Scottish art sale. ‘Highlights of Scottish Art’ features eighty works by Scottish artists from the 19th and 20th centuries, including photography.

The work of renowned Scottish colourist Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell is headlining the auction. His works for sale included this piece ‘The Cheval Glass’ from his much loved Reflections series. We love this series particularly as each work shows a subject in an elegant and stylish interior. Each subject stands before a mirror and their reflection completes the portrait.

This work, also by Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell is beautifully vibrant. It depicts Florian’s Cafe in Venice and was strongly influenced by French impressionist painters like Cezanne. Cadell’s loose brushstrokes and free handling of paint give this painting a wonderful sense of energy. A work like this could perfectly enliven an interior and look dashing in a room with a neutral colour scheme.

There were also some charming works for sale by Samuel John Peploe who experimented with manipulating colour and form. He loved using strong colours and even used gesso to prime his canvas so that his colours were as vibrant as he could get them. 

William Russell Flint is particularly known for his watercolours, so this work really stood out for us. He trained as a lithographer and was a prolific book illustrator. We loved the blue, green and grey tones of this watercolour, it would lovely in a classic interior of a similar colour scheme. This work has a romantic and wistful atmosphere that is beautify elegant, a sense of stillness pervades. A work with a subtle atmosphere and tone like this can perfectly blend into an interior, bringing a splash of colour and elegance without detracting from interior design and existing architectural details.

The Whitney // New York

During our trip to New York we also visited the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Whitney focuses on American art from the 20th and 21st centuries. It was founded by sculptor and collector Gertrude Whitney, who wanted to promote the work of American avant-garde artists. After the Met Museum declined her gift of 700 works of art for their collection, she opened her own gallery in 1929.

It was a great year to visit the Whitney - in April it finally opened its new doors after the five year construction of a new gallery in the Meatpacking District.

The new building was remarkable to see, it has been designed by architect Renzo Piano, known for his many prizes and museum constructions. While he has been criticised for his imposing structures, we were struck by the boldness of his design.

We were most intrigued by the Whitney's permanent collection which ranges from 1912 to the mid 60s and traces the development of American Modernism. The collection is dominated by Abstract Expressionism.

Among the works on display by Edward Hopper was this study for his iconic painting 'Nighthawks'.

We also like this charcoal drawing by Georgia O'Keeffe (left). Her abstract work was inspired by organic forms from nature like flowers and trees. There is a beautiful fluidity in the rhythmic spirals in this drawing. Willem de Kooning's paintings were also beautifully vibrant, such as this work called 'Door to the River' (right) which uses giant strokes of pink and yellow.

As well as a fantastic permanent collection, there was a retrospective of Frank Stella which we caught. The exhibition showcased works from the 1950s to the present day with over 120 works of art including paintings, sculptures and drawings. Stella is a key figure in American Modernism, inspiring minimal, abstract and colour fields artists so it felt pertinent to see his work in New York. We were also attracted by his bold colour schemes, works of art like this can enliven modern and minimal interiors. 

'Picasso Sculpture' at MoMA New York

You might have seen from Philippa’s Twitter photos that she spent last week in New York, exploring the city and in particular its extraordinary art galleries. New York during the Autumn is a beautiful place, its colours and culture are truly inspiring.

For those of you who have been, it will be no surprise that one of our highlights was visiting MoMA. We were lucky enough to catch MoMA’s exhibition of Picasso’s sculptures. It’s been highly anticipated as there hasn’t been an exhibition of this scale of Picasso’s sculptural works since 1967.

 Throughout his influential career, sculpture was a medium Picasso returned to time and again. He approached sculpture in an excitedly experimental way which we love. He blended both traditional and unconventional materials and methods, much like his paintings.

The exhibition itself had over one hundred works on display, complimented by photographs and works on paper which was a lovely story telling device.

Picasso’s ‘Still Life with Guitar’ (1912) really grabbed our attention. It has been formed in true Cubist style, with multiple angles modelled from cardboard.

It was fascinating to see an artist whose career is triumphed though works on canvas with such a vast collection of sculptural works. We also enjoyed seeing how his sculpture informed his painted works and vice versa. 

Autumn at Paisnel Gallery

This week we visited Paisnel Gallery in St James's to view their Autumn collection. Paisnel Gallery specialises in 20th century art, with particular attention given to Post War art and the work of the St Ives group. 

Among the paintings on display was this work by John Piper. The British landscape is a setting he returns to time and again and this work entitled ‘Portholland, Cornwall’ is a classic example of this. His paintings of towns have in many ways become archives of these sites. We were particularly intrigued in this work for its mixture of both figurative and abstract styles.

John Copnall's painting also caught our eye for its simple colour scheme. The work is mixed media and collage with overlaid and painted sections. His use of hessian, canvas and plaster was inspired by the work of Antoni Tapies. We like the materiality of the work, which, combined with a subtle colour scheme gives a wonderful texture.

We have written about Howard Hodgkin's work before, his sense of energy really inspires us. This work, 'Put Out More Flags', immediately captured out attention for its colour, movement and energy. Characteristically, it is a hand coloured etching and the layering of colours is fluid and balanced. Although his prints were intricately hand crafted, he retains a sense of spontaneity which we love. A work like this could really enliven an interior and look splendid in a modern space.