Tag Archives: watercolours

The Power of Imagery

Kathy Prendergast – Atlas: A Reverie, 12 Star Gallery, 32 Smith Square, London SW1, until 9th September 2016

Installation View: Kathy Prendergast - Atlas: A Reverie Courtesy of 12 Star Gallery.

Installation View: Kathy Prendergast – Atlas: A Reverie
Courtesy of 12 Star Gallery.

This exhibition features thirty-eight wall-hung images and a freestanding work.  Using the AA Road Atlas of Europe the artist has transformed the maps into what may almost be thought to be charts of the stars but in fact using white and grey dots she denotes villages, towns and cities. In doing it in this manner she raises the question of migration and settlement in both a historical and contemporary way.

 

ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/

 

A New Childhood: Picture Books from Soviet Russia, House of Illustration 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London N1, until 11th September 2016

Image by Galina and Olga Chichagova. Courtesy of Sasha Lurye

Image by Galina and Olga Chichagova.
Courtesy of Sasha Lurye

This is a wonderful voyage of discovery into the world of Russian children’s books in the post-revolutionary period of the 20s and 30s with these works from the Sasha Lurye Collection. Much of the artwork has not been seen before and includes rare early 20th century Jewish books and hand-printed books made by the Segodnya Collective.  It is fascinating to learn that these books which told about contemporary life or traditional folk tales were influential on book design in Europe, including the UK.

www.houseofillustration.org.uk

 

Georgiana Houghton: Spirit Drawings, Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2, until 11th September 2016

Georgiana Houghton (1814 –1884) The Eye of God c. 1862 Watercolour on paper, 54 x 44 cm Victorian Spiritualists' Union Melbourne, Australia (The inscription on the reverse names Correggio as Houghton’s spirit guide)

Georgiana Houghton (1814 –1884)
The Eye of God
c. 1862
Watercolour on paper, 54 x 44 cm
Victorian Spiritualists’ Union
Melbourne, Australia
(The inscription on the reverse names Correggio as Houghton’s spirit guide)

Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884) was a spiritualist and medium whose drawings were part of her communications with the spirit world.  Her colourful, abstract watercolours are now considered to be a precursor of abstract art.  She believed that when executing the drawings she was being guided by spirits, including Titian, Correggio and St Luke and she duly noted on the reverse of the works whose help she had received. An intriguing show indeed.

http://courtauld.ac.uk/gallery

20|21

20|21 International Art Fair, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7, 14th – 17th May 2015

Iain Nutting ‘Galloping Horse’, 2014, reclaimed scrap metal, 212 (h) x 322 x 70 cm. Rebecca Hossack Gallery.

Iain Nutting
‘Galloping Horse’, 2014,
reclaimed scrap metal,
212 (h) x 322 x 70 cm.
Rebecca Hossack Gallery.

Now in its ninth year this popular fair offers a wide diversity of art from sixty galleries, many of which are based in the UK. The art however comes from a variety of different countries, including Japan, Russia, Serbia and South Africa with prices from a few hundred pounds upwards.

Olga Lehmann (1912 - 2001) ‘ St Johns Wood Church Xmas Party’, 1940. Ink & watercolour, signed, dated and inscribed. The Boundary Gallery

Olga Lehmann (1912 – 2001) ‘
St Johns Wood Church Xmas Party’, 1940.
Ink & watercolour, signed, dated and inscribed.
The Boundary Gallery

Some twenty-three years ago Agi Katz of the Boundary Gallery bought a portfolio at auction in which were watercolours by an artist she had not come across before called Olga Lehmann (1912-2001). Agi fell in love with the watercolours which dated from 1940 and depicted scenes of life during the Blitz, so much so that she tracked down the artist and they became friends and she was also able to acquire more of these distinctive works. There is appropriately enough a special display of them to mark the 75th anniversary of the Blitz.

Chung Shek (b. 1980) ‘A Touch of Passion’, 2015, oil on canvas, 76 x 101 cm. The Contemporary Fine Art Gallery Eton.

Chung Shek (b. 1980)
‘A Touch of Passion’, 2015,
oil on canvas, 76 x 101 cm.
The Contemporary Fine Art Gallery Eton.

http://www.20-21intartfair.com

Sir Jacob Epstein (1880 – 1959) ‘Roses’, gouache on paper. Babbington Fine Art.

Sir Jacob Epstein (1880 – 1959)
‘Roses’, gouache on paper.
Babbington Fine Art.

Sir John Soane and others

Building a Dialogue: the Architect and the Client, Sir John Soane’s Museum, 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2, until 9th May 2015

Joseph Michael Gandy Perspective of eight designs for churches, with plan 1834, Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour, 745 x 1320mm Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

Joseph Michael Gandy
Perspective of eight designs for churches, with plan
1834, Pencil, pen and ink and watercolour, 745 x 1320mm
Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

As the title suggests this exhibition examines the relationship between client (state or private) and architect over several centuries, although as one would expect it concentrates on some of Soane’s commissions including the Dulwich Picture Gallery and Marylebone’s Holy Trinity Church, which is now known as the venue One Marylebone.

Sir John Soane Perspective of the East Front of Dulwich Picture Gallery 1812, Pen and ink, and wash, 278 x 440mm Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

Sir John Soane
Perspective of the East Front of Dulwich Picture Gallery
1812, Pen and ink, and wash, 278 x 440mm
Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

While not all relationships were fraught the visitor learns how Sir Christopher Wren’s original plans for the Royal Naval Hospital were vetoed by the King as it would have meant the loss of Inigo Jones’ Queens House and of the problems Soane faced with his plans for Holy Trinity Church from both the Commissioners and the Parish.

Joseph Michael Gandy RA Lecture Drawing, Privy Council Chamber c. 1827, Pencil, pen and ink, and watercolour, 950 x 720mm Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

Joseph Michael Gandy
RA Lecture Drawing, Privy Council Chamber
c. 1827, Pencil, pen and ink, and watercolour, 950 x 720mm
Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

The exhibition also looks at how architects could “promote” their ability though published works such as The Thorpe Album from the late 16th century or The Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam (1778). The Museum’s director Abraham Thomas says of this enjoyable show: “Architectural drawings have a profound ability to record and articulate the various design discussions that occur within an office or between an architect and a client. I’m delighted that this exhibition not only draws upon gems from the Museum’s collection of over 30,000 architectural drawings, but also reminds us that Sir John Soane’s home was the site of a busy architectural practice, embedded in the heart of the building, where such conversations happened every day. The exhibition also makes a connection between historical and contemporary contexts, by exploring the multi-faceted ways in which architects, especially Soane himself, have always engaged with, and re-defined, the notion of a ‘client’ – showing us how design ideas have continued to express themselves through the drawing process, from Soane’s time through to the present day.”

John Thorpe ‘IT’ House from the Thorpe Album c. 1580, Pen and ink, 4310 x 280mm Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

John Thorpe
‘IT’ House from the Thorpe Album
c. 1580, Pen and ink, 4310 x 280mm
Courtesy of Sir John Soane’s Museum

http://www.soane.org