Ronald Searle, 1920- 2011
By Alan Hindle
I don’t think I learned anything at art school except a deep distrust of the art world. Everything I know about drawing I stole from Ronald Searle. It’s inexplicable, but I have only to look at the scratchy, squiggly, pulsing lines of his doodles and I’m happy. I always thought maybe, somehow, I would go to France and bribe my way with a bottle of champagne to an audience with Searle. Now that will never be. Ronald Searle has died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 91.
Every cartoonist since the fifties has been influenced by him, whether they are aware of it or not. His visual record of life and death in the Changi prisoner of war camp, created under devastating conditions and at huge risk, are still powerful today. But what he is best known for are the joyously raucous illustrations of his St. Trinian’s cartoons and the Molesworth books he did with Geoffrey Wiilans, followed by his gloriously human cats, travel illustrations, caricatures, and intensely detailed, baroquely curliecued cityscapes. His commercial illustrations helped shape the look of glossy magazines after WWII, right through to the seventies and his legion of devoted acolytes/grateful thieves now permeate the graphic design world.
He will be missed. I will miss him. But at least, whenever I scribble my own doodles, I am tapping into my love for his work and feel a little of that happiness still.
Statue of limitations: Reagan monstrosity should be London's last
By Mike Pollitt
Today is officially London sculpture unveiling day! First, the bizarre, massive Ronald Reagan near the US Embassy:
According to the Beeb, the statue proclaims: “Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot”. Which translates as “Stop your boasting, once oppressed peoples of Eastern Europe. It was the rich white American wot won it.”
Now compare Anish Kapoor’s Sky Mirror unveiled today in the City:
It’s, inclusive, interactive and pretty. The Reagan statue is intrusive, redundant and ugly. I really hope that the age of boring statues of rich men is pretty much finished now. Off with their heads, says I!
Images from The Foreign Office’s Flickr and Discovering London, an excellent London blog which I encourage you to drop in on from time to time.
UPDATE
And let’s not forget this blast from the past, where Ronald Reagan denied illegally selling arms to Iran to fund his illegal war in South America then was caught and made this breathtaking apology.
Tracey Emin - Love Is What You Want
By Lauren Down
All photographys by David Levene, Courtesy of The Hayward Gallery
Little remains unknown about Tracey Emin, as her life after all is the subject of her very public art works: from the drinking, the sobering, the parties, her travels from Margate to Spitalfields and the emotional trauma in between. Inextricable then she seems to have made art and life, her trademark quilts and signs embroidered with violent outbursts of hate and understated pans of sadness.
Whilst some still remain unconvinced by Emin’s particular brand of nostalgic, self-indulgent artistic explorations this major retrospective is easily her finest to date and one that might persuade even the harshest of critics.
Spanning the length and breadth of her career, ‘Love is What You Want’ is from the start expertly curated by Ralph Rugoff and Cliff Lauson. Matching the melodrama of the artists oeuvre with the layout of the exhibition, the pair have laid out some of Emin’s most famous works in and amongst lesser known, seldom seen pieces of painting, video and photography. Drenched in a pink a hue, ‘Knowing My Enemy’ – a partially collapsed pier – stands tall in the main room, looking over her famous blanket confessionals as the neon light flickers.
Soon we are lead down a dark corridor, with the black walls framing her luminescent neon signs that blaze in lavender purple, bright pink, blue, white and green.
As the Western Cowboy inspired film plays out at the end of the room, the entire exhibition is awash in its soundtrack as the lights static fizzes underneath. The sexually provocative and fiercely feminist artists has also created new outdoor sculptures especially for the Hayward Gallery.
Until 29 August.
The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, Waterloo, SE1 8XX
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/tracey
0207 960 4200
Snipe’s Weekly Exhibition Guide: 23 - 29 May
By Lauren Down
‘Manhattan’ – Michael Craig-Martin, 1981 – The artist and Alan Cristea Gallery
Michael Craig-Martin: Drawings 1967 – 2002
Alan Cristea Gallery, 31 Cork Street, Bond Street, W1S 3NU
The most comprehensive exhibition of drawings by conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin, this show tracks the development of the artists trademark everyday object artistic vocabulary over 40 years. Including 60 unique works that have never been seen in the public domain before, some of which have been created at the Alan Cristea gallery specifically for this show. Until 4 June
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow
Hidde Van Seggelen, 2 Michael Road, Fullham Broadway, SW6 2AD
An unusual gallery space, the self-contained white cube that is Hidde Van Seggelen plays host to a small, international assortment of works that supposedly revolve around the title’s apocalyptic Biblical connotations. And even though only a few works seem to actually fit this loosely thematic thread, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow is a compelling display of film and other works. Until 28 May.
LGVL
The Wayward Gallery, 47 Mowlem Street, Bethnal Green, E2 9HE
Having found in each other a mutual approach towards photography, Lydia Garnett and Vic Lentaigne formed the collaborative platform LGVL after meeting whilst studying at Brighton University. Exploring fashion and youth culture, their elegantly composed images are on display for one week only. Until 29 May.
The Foul Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart
Matt Roberts Arts, Unit 1, 25 Vyner Street, Cambridge Heath, E2 9DG
Drawing inspiration from craft and cubism Julie Cockburn’s mixed media works reveals dramas of the every day man through a manipulation of found photographic and painted portraits. Retrieving characters from obscurity, Cockburn takes ownership of their fates, cherishing them and creating something monstrously exquisite. Until 28 May.
Mute Shoot
The Print House, 18 Ashwin Street, Dalston, E8 3DL
Anyone who has ever held a camera in order to take someone portrait knows that communication is paramount: to relax the subject, get to know what might reflect their personality and in order to get them to pose in the right manner. Unable to speak, Martin Zähringer latest exhibition explores different means of discourse between artist and model. Until 31 May.
Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape
By Darren Atwater
Joan Miró, ‘The Tilled Field’, 1923/4 – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York ©Successio Miró/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2011
Tate Modern, Bankside, Southwark/London Bridge, SE1 9TG
In his first major retrospective in the UK for over 50 years, The Ladder of Escape brilliantly captures not only the genius and beguiling abstract works of Joan Miró but expertly explores the artist’s ceaseless dedication and progression. Filled with wavering lines, personalised calligraphy and intricate symbolism, his vivid canvases and daring brush strokes are irresistibly captivating and even though blockbuster exhibitions are often hollow events, this is an experience you won’t want to miss. Until 11 September. www.tate.org.uk/modern
Young British Art
By Lauren Down
The Hut Project, ‘Conceptual Beard’, 2011 – Courtesy of the artists and Limoncello, London
Limoncello, 15a Cremer St, Hoxton, E2 8HD
Held in a tiny space, tucked away in the depths of Hoxton, this group show is curated by artist Ryan Gander and exhibits over 30 artists who live and work in the UK. All works chosen for this show hold no overall theme but are all monochromatic black and white pieces, driving the viewers attention from the macrocosm of similarities to the microcosms of their thematic and structural differences. Among the artists showing their work are Ed Cotterill, Alice Browne, Max Hymes and The Hut Project. Until 4 June. www.limoncellogallery.co.uk
Catlin Art Prize
By Lauren Down
Sculpture by Leah Capaldi, Courtesy the artist, Catlin Prize and the gallery
The Tramshed, 32 Rivington Street, Old Street, EC2A 3LX
Celebrating fresh and exciting works by talented artists who have just graduated the Catlin Art Prize finds itself in its fifth year and at a new venue. The Tramshed will be showcasing works by notable alumni such as Sarah Lederman and Brigitte Williams alongside this year’s shortlist: Leah Capaldi, Darren Harvey-Regan, Juliette Losq and Noemie Goudal whose delicate and beautifully composed photographs are quite simply stunning, making her a favourite for prize whose winner will be announced on May 18 at the gallery. A real springboard for talent, this is an absolutely unmissable chance to catch the greats of our generation before they official become the ‘greats’. 19 – 22 May. www.thetramshedevent.co.uk
Practice for Everyday Life
By Lauren Down
The young Russian artists exhibiting at Calvert22 have created works which, unlike their predecessors’, are able to respond free and unfettered to ideas on the contemporary art scene, without fear of reprimand or consequence. It is interesting to assess how far the artists challenge the dominant ‘status quo’ in their works, or conversely, whether their pieces perpetuate universalised ideas about ‘mass’ culture through presenting artworks, which fail to critique normative ideas about the form and content of ‘art’.
Snipe's Weekly Exhibition Guide: 9 – 15 May
By Lauren Down
‘The Kiss’ – Siân Hislop, 2011 (Courtesy French Riviera Gallery and the artist)
Open Studios
Second Floor Studios, Mellish Industrial Estate, Harrington Way, Harrington, Woolwich, SE18 5NR
This weekend Second Floor Studios offers a rare chance to see inside over 130 artists studios, giving an insight into their methods and inspiration. Works on display range from paintings, graphics, illustration, jewellery, ceramics, sculptors, fashion design, sound installations, animation and photography. Opening night 12 May, 5pm-9pm, 14 & 15 May, 11am-6pm.
Siân Hislop: Le Baiser
French Riviera, 309 Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, E2 6AH
The first solo exhibition of UK artist Siân Hislop, ‘Le Baiser’ will feature a series of new paintings based around famous on-screen kisses. With dripping, cascading layers of acrylic ink bursting through the outer layers of oil paint, Hislop’s beautiful vibrant work investigates the space between triumph and decay in Americana. From 13 May.
www.frenchriviera1988.com
Open Friday – Sunday, 12 – 6pm 020 7729 8000
Susan Hiller
Tate Britain, Millbank, Pimlico, SW1P 4RG
This week offers the last chance to check out Tate Britain’s major survey of the influential work of American born artist Susan Hiller. Encompassing her socio-political infused work from the 1970s to more modern explorations of the unconscious mind, menacing video installations such as ‘An Entertainment’ and audio sculpture ‘Witness’ promise to be highlights. Until 15 May.
Definitions
Victoria-Miro, 16 Wharf Rd, Angel, N1 7RW
‘Definitions’ offers a unique chance to see Bahamas born artist Ian Hamilton Finlay’s sculpture works presented alongside his text-based pieces. Exploring the materiality of the written word’s meaning, this exhibition is a reminder that Finlay was a poet at heart whose art was informed by mythology and classicism. Until 1 June.
