February 29, 2012

Hauser & Wirth London, Piccadilly
The Last paintings of Joan Mitchell.

The abstract expressionist works of Mitchell are all about the visual experience; the paintings are made on large canvases and sometimes 2 large canvases are joined together to form 1 full painting. After having seen this exhibition, I do feel that scale has a lot of importance in abstract art, or in any other art form for that matter. Large scale paintings, like the ones of Mitchell, really allow us to appreciate from far and the overall impact is thence strong and imposing. 

Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), The Mall, London
In Numbers

This exhibition features the serial publications of artists since 1955 and includes within its web the notion of mail art, using the format of magazines and postcards as the basis for a new kind of art. The works were conceptual and of a higher level of understanding. Recording information is a prerequisite for learning new things and broadening the mind. To this aim, the following pictures were taken and are presented herein.

The Barbican, London
Song Dong: Waste Not


Waste Not at the Barbican: the exhibition space is a winding, serpentine corridor and as such, the viewer has no idea what to expect next and has no choice but to simply discover further and further, at each turn, what the artist has in store for us. The setting turns out to be of an utmost importance in the experience of this work.

The Barbican is currently housing the monumental installation artwork of the internationally known Chinese artist Song Dong. Waste Not, the name of the work, is very personal and conceptual. It is basically a collection and this struck me as I have been so far interested in the idea of a 'collection' when it comes to my own work. Though his collection is that of objects, this work was primarily a kind of therapy to help the artist's mother get over the emotional deluge caused by his father's death. And my ongoing interest is in a collection of handmade portraits of those people who are linked to me emotionally. So we see that there is this 'relationship' element present in both ideas. The work is also deep in terms of its portrayal of the Chinese culture and the richness of personal history. The explanatory banner was photographed as a way of recording the details and ideas surrounding Waste Not.