Sunday 29 July 2012

dOCUMENTA 13

I've just got back from Kassel's five-yearly art festival, Documenta. What an extraordinary experience. We spent seven full days there, at least eight hours a day, and still didn't see it all.  I have way too many favourites to write about, I still need to digest everything I have seen, but here are a few images:

Anri Sella's perspective clock

Istvan Csakany, The Sewing Room

Charlotte Salomen, Life? or Theatre?


Adrian Villar Rojas sculptures

Giuseppe Penone's Idee di Pietra

Yan Lei's 360 paintings

Julie Mehretu's drawings

Friday 4 May 2012

I've seen some spectacular exhibitions lately.  In a single day last month I saw Lucien Freud's Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, Jeremy Deller's 'Joy in People' at the Hayward and David Hockney's 'A Bigger Picture' at the RAA. It was the right order, starting with Freud's fabulous technique, but quite dark images, Deller's exhibition was perfectly named - full of joy in the ordinary, and then to finish off the day,  an evening viewing of Hockney's magnificent and exuberant work - what an experience!

This week I went to a much smaller show in a student gallery, by an unknown artist.  But in it's own way it was equally as impressive as those big London shows.

Richard Creme was a well-known character in Manchester - not only did he own a high-end mens fashion boutique, stocking the best designer garments from around the world, but he was also physically a giant of a man. Five years ago he suffered a stroke that left him unable to communicate and out of that frustration, he began to create the most amazing and moving art. It is being shown in a very short exhibition at the Link Gallery at MMU.  Don't miss it.

For a short film about Richard follow this link:

http://vimeo.com/41487787