26 DEC 2022 . M O M A . 11 W 53rd St . New York

'Unsupervised' by Refik Anadol



'To Look Without Fear' - Wolfgang Tillmans

'To Look Without Fear' . Wolfgang Tillmans . (12102022 - 02012023) . MOMA . NY

MOMA has an outstanding collection of modern art from around the world. Paintings on display from their collection include Barnet Newman, Mark Rothko, Pierre Soulages, Franz Kline, Richard Serra, Julie Mehretu, Kazimir Malevich (Suprematism), Bridget Riley - the experience is stunning from the outset. The first installation in the Gund Garden Lobby is a digital artwork using AI and machine learning titled 'Unsupervised' by Refik Anadol. The program has learned from over 200 years of art in the collection and displays renderings made from this information in real time. It is an entirely captivating feast for the eyes.

Moving upstairs to the Marron Family Atrium is Barbara Kruger's installation, a typographical punch in the face entitled 'Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You'. The artist's dramatic statements about truth, belief and power. The large black and white sans serif type on all surfaces has a monumental impact with the scale being larger than the people in the space, a relationship that is unfamiliar and quite disturbing if not overpowering.

The sixth floor is handed over to Wolfgang Tillmans’ for a retrospective of his extensive photographic work. There is a huge range of styles and techniques here which help explain Tillmans’ exploration of what it means to engage with the world through photography. Photographs are hung on bulldog clips or stuck straight on to the wall, the arrangement is logical but also scattered forcing the viewer to glance around making sense of it rather than studying each picture in turn. These curation decisions suit Tillman’s approach and the work itself. They are not precious, they are important because they are observations but it is the images themself that speak and everything else is just the fabric to hold this information. His journey is very honest and the work speaks clearly of his interaction with people. The photographs that are truly inspiring to me are the darkroom experiments. Large vibrant single coloured print with swirling fine black marks, lines and textures forming abstract ghostly images. These unworldly images are fully mysterious in both their creation and meaning. Just beautiful.

27 DEC 2022 . Whitney Museum . 99 Gansevoort St . New York

Edward Hopper's New York



Blythe Bohnen [^] . Katherine Hubbard [^ v]

Edward Hopper's New York . Whitney Museum . New York

A comprehensive exhibition of Hopper's work (1908–67) from the Whitney Museum’s own collection. A better insight into the painter who started as an illustrator with the eye of a graphic designer. His work has always appealed to me with their quiet melancholy and bleakness mixed in with a graphic sensibility of composition and flat simple colours, hinting at screen prints. They are wonderfully attractive images, with their sombre lighting and colour schemes with single characters performing simple ordinary tasks. Each story is as unfathomable as loaded with mystery and the loneliness that exudes is a guilty beauty.

Hopper lived in New York his whole life and attempted to capture the paradoxes of the changing city, the new buildings with the old. This is his vision of the city he knew so well and his legacy shows us how he saw it.

The Whitney Museum is dedicated to showcasing American art and the regular rooms are full of delights including Georgia O’keefe, Blythe Bohnen (1940–2022), Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Calder.

Some extra delights were photographs from Blythe Bohnen made of her drawing four pencil dots on a piece of paper. These are standout prints with their curiously minimal shapes and delicacy. In the same area were some more extraordinary prints by Katherine Hubbard (1981-). The technique here was a plastic box that contained the unexposed film was given a cast concrete support. These were then filled with water from the New York harbour and frozen solid in a freezer. The film was then exposed using light from an enlarger and then left to thaw. Then the film was processed into negative by a lab. The final prints are mysteriously abstract, without knowing the technique there is an eariness attached to the images, how they were made, what are they showing. This world of textures and fractured shapes are trying to tell a story, but give no answers. I find this to be the essence of art, the provided mystery and the unknown wrapped up in shapes that swirl and describe organic movements but equally join in our human figurative world.

28 DEC 2022 . Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum . 1071 Fifth Avenue . New York

Alex Katz . 'Gathering' . Guggenheim . New York

A large retrospective of an American painter whose career starts in the early 20th century. Many figurative images of friends and family produced in a Hockney pop art style of slightly stiff flat coloured painting that is very reminiscent of working from photographs. The very natural compositions afforded to photos rather than a painting and the casual nature of the subjects is inviting to a point but we feel more like a voyeur into their more intimate friendships. The collection is an impressive amount of work filling the complete spiral of the gallery with large canvases and some cut out sculptures.

The paintings that inspired me the most were a couple of dark paintings with just the lit windows of a building across from his studio. The description suggests that this view was just luck out of the window at night while looking for something to paint. Slightly reminiscent of Hopper there is something more thoughtful about these, a story that we feel more invited to join in. At least I think I’ll explore this theme myself, the idea of life out of the darkness. The window, the shapes, the light and the mysteries within. All very intriguing.

28 DEC 2022 . Thomas Heatherwick Studios . Vessel . New York

Heatherwick - Vessel

Mixed opinions arrive with Heatherwick's Studio's Vessel in New York. Agreed it is a large playground sculpture, so what is its function? To be dramatic with is stunning bronze/copper cladding and Escher-esque confusion of staircases, all climbing in an innocent pleasure. Unfortunately the height and access have brought human tragedies that have now closed the structure for the foreseeable future.

As an object of art, it is beautiful and intriguing, which is enough for me to think that it is worth the effort to create.

29 DEC 2022 . sketches . JFK . New York [dk]

Sketches

Quick graphite sketches from hotel window and waiting at JFK.

01 DEC 2022 . Pallant House Gallery . Chichester

Exhibition - Sussex Landscape: Chalk, Wood and Water. (12.11.2022 - 23.04.2023)

Site specific pieces from various artists including Andy Goldworthy and also scenes previously produced by Sussex artists or visitors to the county. A few pieces of particular interest were the Goldworthy's chalk rocks where he had scratch the dark rocks to reveal the white chalk beneath. A significant part of the south downs landscape and the cliffs. Three beautiful linocut prints by Robert Tavener (1920-2004) of scenes around Sussex. These are both delightful representations of the countryside and incredibly stylish with their sophisticated and detailed line work. An instant eye-catching piece is Tania Kovats' reflections in the water painted and referenced using Payne's Grey. Simple and minimal yet completely immersive and the feeling of the light on the waves is sitting there in front of the viewer. An abstract piece by Keith Vaughen (1912-1977) called Coast defences (1959) captures the geology and make up of the land, the sand and boulders and impression left is exactly the palette of the landscape. Always a pleasure to see a Bill Brandt print, a tummy button on the the Sussex coast, classic.

21 NOV 2022 . Open Cut . Grassworks . UCA MA [dk]

Grassworks - lamp black oil and mars black acrylic on cartridge paper - roll. 3.4m x 0.84m.

A new piece for the project space, upscaling to span the far wall. Still using the panaramic format to emphasise the width of the vista and focusing on the crop to add drama and horizontal movement to the view.

15 NOV 2022 . Peta Jacobs . James Hockey Gallery . UCA Farnham

Quantum Light – Beyond a Crisis of Perception - Peta Jacobs . PhD

Peta Jacobs recent artwork in UCA's James Hockey Gallery introduces the complex theories of simultaneous wave/particle duality, light is both a wave and a particle in current thinking. These theories are wonderfully 'tangled' up which is a strong image that can suggest a textile and weaving. The enso pieces were beautiful in their swirling colourful particle soups and I was unsure how they were made (I will see if I can find out - I was lucky enough to meet Peta in the gallery today and we talked about her artworks and how they were made. Interesting discussion on the double slit experiment that reveals light as both a partical and wave. ). Other pieces were interesting crossovers between physics experiments and art pieces. Some pieces were more successful that others but the variety of scale and medium used makes it as scientifically challenging as it is informing.

01 NOV 2022 . open cut . record, repeat, reinvent . UCA MA [dk]

Two panarama photographs with coordinates




dkma 0463 . dkma 0460


Still from 'Grasses' film

Project led by Veronique Chance, involving practice and documentation of an experience. A part of my long term study is the marram grasses on East Head, West Wittering. Work presented for a crit showing a minute long black and white HD film of the grasses moving with a strong sea breeze and sound (not shown here), graphite drawings made on location (note book - not shown), a photograph of my shadow with two panarama photographs including coordinates of the precise location and date and time with words to describe the event (1.5m long digital print), an acrylic drawing on coated paper made in the studio (dkma 0463 A1), landscape made by scraping lamp black oil paint on coated paper (dkma 0460 approx A1), pdf document with OS maps and additional information about the area (not shown).

Air, breeze, salt sea waves crashing in the distance. Thin straight grasses curve as they sway. Tough stems cross each other, overlapping, flowing, touching and erasing each other. The sky, moving silently overhead, passes gracefully, the grass only moves in its breath.

50°47'15.2"N | 0°54'50.6"W | 30.10.2022 . 1400

Link to dk art book PDF (RRR) at bottom of page

31 OCT 2022 . open cut . London gallery trip . UCA MA

Trip to London to visit Cork St, Old Bond St and Savile Row Art Galleries, plus the Tate.

Kirsty M Chan . Harold Cohen . Leo Nataf . Bernar Venet (sculpture and drawing) . Victor Vararely . Tschabalal Self . Amy Sherald . Cecilia Vicuna (Tate) . Raimund Girke .

26 OCT 2022 . open cut . studio practice 04 . UCA MA [dk]

0461

0462

0461 . Ivory and Lamp oil drawing on cartridge paper (1.5m x 1m) made using ink rollers to apply the paint directly onto the surface. Influence from the beautiful prints made by Koichi Yamamoto working with large ink rollers, adding and removing ink from the surface to create imaginary flowing landscapes. Idea here is to experiment with another print process but to create a drawing from the method. The rolled paint has the same texture achieved from plate printing methods. The white area is the figure and left unpainted, the negative space is drawn.

0462 . Acrylic large brush drawing on cartridge paper (1.5m x 1m). The subject is left white again and unpainted and the negative space then marked with Lamp and Mars black acrylic paint. Applied by brush, rags, cotton pads and Nitrile gloves with additional graphite powder blended with the surface paint. The sun is casting shadows over the drawing that change the areas of light and dark, this secondary shift of contrasts adds a layer of the present moment to the picture.

0465 . Oil on shiny coated surface paper. This provides time for blending and removing of paint which in turn allows continuous adjustment as slowly dries. Working from a sketch that has more clean white areas, this interpretation was quite grey and flat. A higher contrast is more evocative of the depicted emotion, where the figures can become more defined from the strong negative space as in 0462 above.

17 OCT 2022 . open cut . Interspace - group crit . UCA MA 02 [dk]

Crit today curated a piece of work for the interspace part of the 'Open Cut' project. A discussion of the work to decide how to curate the pictures so they would work together and also complement the space. A group crit and feedback followed with some really interesting and thoughtful ideas. The artwork was then taken down before lunch, all very speedy and the room returned to its former state. A projector displayed the film sequence of sunshine shadows over the drawing, these were recorded at my parents' house in October 2022.

The artwork interpreted 'interspace' as the period between someone close dying and the eventual acceptance of this which feels like a limbo period of grief and emptiness, the period in between, the interspace.

dkma 0453, dkma 0454 & dkma 0455

Link to dk art book PDF ('interspace') at bottom of page

15 OCT 2022 . Howardena Pindell - A new language . Kettle's Yard . Cambridge

Howardena Pindell's exhibition at Kettle's Yard is exploring language, words and the political repercussions of racism, violence, slavery and exploitation. A video piece contained a warning and was a difficult subject to watch. Other 2D work was a mixture of graphically repeated words creating patterns and textures, white painting on paper with a relief of small discs/circles across the surface. Another room with three large canvases painted with sprayed acrylic through a hole punched template. I found these eye-catching in their size and texture, up close they had the immersive quality of a consistent blurry surface of coloured dots that merged together. Pindell started as figurative and was influenced here by Josef Alber's colour theory on how they work and relate. Also influenced by the abstract artist Larry Poons and his equally immersive colour gestural drawn work.

Pindell's recurring theme was using the circle motif. One reason for this was being frightened by seeing it in her childhood and not knowing what it meant. Her father had introduced her to a red circle device as a method of segregation for 'non white's' utensils. (Referencing Pindell's own words)
https://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/events/howardena-pindell-a-new-language/

15 OCT 2022 . Kettle's Yard - The House . Cambridge

Jim's house (H.S "Jim" Ede and his wife Helen), now part of Kettle's Yard is a delight of artistic decision, collections and living curation. Each room is beautiful, such artistic splendour meets the eye where every element has been carefully acquired and positioned to create a harmonious and delicate insight to the owners' lives. Adorned with antiquities, paintings/drawings, sculptures, furniture, objects and rugs. If ever in Cambridge it should not be missed. I visit every time and imagine that I live in this gorgeous house.

Three black and white pictures - Italo Valenti, Nr.284 Etana Nr.287, Giardino a Mezzogiorno, Nr.286 Pietra 1964 Paper collage on Pavatex hardboard
https://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/collection/the-house/

10 OCT 2022 . open cut - group crit . UCA MA 02 [dk]

Quick show, one piece of current work from each person and curated on the fly. Lots of different pieces including video, sculpture, sound, drawing/painting and mixed media with found objects.

The purpose of the project was to seek the non comfort zone and explore off piste. To try out new areas of creativity and techniques, then evaluating the inevitable unsuccessful pieces with the hopeful serendipitous. My contribution was a 1.5m long x 0.42m drawing made using chimney carbon soot. The subject is the windswept sand dunes of West Wittering, the moving of air and the emptiness of the landscape, but evoked, not literally and without an obvious subject. The intention of providing the ingredients to imagine the feeling and experience of this sensation without portraying it directly. Scale and medium were off piste attempts here.

dkma 0450, dkma 0451 & dkma 0452

10 OCT 2022 . open cut - drawings . UCA MA [dk]

"Who gives a crap..." a box, near my workspace.

03 OCT 2022 . Curatorial Play . UCA MA 01 [dk]

A quick project to look inside our bags. The bag itself became more interesting, the negative space, the vessel for these important items. The darkness of the inside, like a cave, the folds of the material and the sensation of enveloping small possessions.

Pen and biro on found cartridge paper. Found materials included leaves and the skin of fallen fruits, possibly walnut skins. These were rubbed onto the drawing to add tone, which resulted in a brown, umber-like colour to add depth to the interior of the bag and the folds. Three drawings were then hung in a row, tacked to the wall like fragile pieces of litter.

dkma 01.01,02 & 03

01 OCT 2022 . William Kentridge . RA London

Great opportunity to see the fascinating William Kentridge show at the RA this month along with Milton Avery who was an inspiration for the Abstract Expressionists, NY .

Twelve brilliant rooms for Kentridge with large charcoal drawings, some drawn directly onto the walls, sculptures, videos (animations of drawings, some on the pages of books), operatic displays with african singing and an intricate mechanical theatre displaying social political images. All very powerful and emotionally exhausting. Stunning.

Milton Avery's oeuvre was across three rooms but spanned a breadth of styles and exploration. It was difficult to see whether Avery's work inspired others or they inspire him. Certainly some interesting works that were appreciated by the painters Rothko and Newman. (Fourth image)

SEPTEMBER 2022 . Chimney carbon (soot) [dk]

Swept the wood burner chimney today and collected some of the carbon soot. Use the black soot for drawing and suprised with how delicate in tone it was compared to prepared charcoal and also the smell of bonfires.

12 SEPT 2022 . The Wittering Grasses [dk]

A split second can be a starting point for an ongoing narrative. But capturing the movement time and the sensation of air, this can evoke a specific starting point, a precious feeling guided by the viewer.

Long exposures (30 seconds) using 1000ND filter. Weather was bright and dry with a little wind. Will try longer next time.

01 SEPT 2022 . Anne Truitt

Colour fields and sculpture.

www.annetruitt.org

“What is important to me is not geometrical shape per se, or color per se, but to make a relationship between shape and color which feels to me like my experience. To make what feels to me like reality.” Truitt 1965 from www.annetruitt.org/bio.

A stand out Truitt exhibition is in 1967 at the Minami Gallery, Tokyo. This is her second solo show displaying twenty paintings that were created with liquitex acrylic and masking tape to produce crisp edges and flat colours. The gallery's press release states a “collection of paintings which the artist calls drawings.” This is interesting as drawing and painting are both techniques that are fundamentally interchangeable. Both are mark making techniques where a shape or area is described by the medium. Calling a painting a drawing can make it feel like a sketch and not a finished piece like a priliminary drawing. It also suggests a faster process and hints at the experimental nature of the pieces.

AUGUST 2022 . Rome Italy

Frescoes, ceilings and churches around every corner, never tiring of looking up. Beautiful city with such devoted artworks on every surface, a place for serious study and contemplation. Next is the Pantheon with its 'oculus' providing a single spectacular crepuscular ray for a perfect space, probably the most splendid dome ever.

Rome's Museum of Modern Art introduces Alberto Burri and his 'Grande bianco bis' (1968). Earth tones, black and scorched plastic experimentations. Very exciting art in a very exquisite setting (Truly recommend a visit).

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Breathtaking space including more inspired architectural crepuscular ray events to elevate the mortals.

03 AUGUST 2022 . Vivian Maier . MK gallery, Milton Keynes

A large collection of work from the incredible enigmatic street photographer and nanny, Vivian Maier. Beautiful and helplessly moving, this is an amazing show and possibly one of the first in the UK. The MK gallery (Milton Keynes) is the perfect space for these square delights of human observation.