There are a variety of big names to conjure with in this week's visual arts coverage on The Arts Desk. The one major art prize that always gets people talking is featured, as well as the likes of Vermeer, Burra and Warhol.
The Turner Prize often divides opinion as an arbiter of the best contemporary visual art. 2011 is a sterling year, although there were doubts over the work of George Shaw, which seemed to be a little samey. Martin Boyce's garden-like installation which cleverly riffs on the sculptural works of 1920s Modernists Joel and Jan Martel was more impressive.
Many Dutch masters of the visual arts were included in a rather special exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. 'Vermeer's Women: Secrets and Silence' was augmented with works by artists such as Pieter de Hooch and Nicholaes Maes. The role that middle-class women played in domestic contexts featured heavily as women of course, was the theme of the show.
The exhibition 'The Factory: Warhol and his Circle' are images taken of Andy Warhol and his entourage in and around the Factory throughout 1964-65. A different side to the era-defining artist is shown in these images and reveal the extent to which Warhol was constantly cultivating his own image with the utmost care.
Certainly about the painter rather than the presenter, 'I Never Tell Anybody Anything; The Life and Art of Edward Burra', a BBC Four documentary, delighted audiences. It provided a shrewd exploration of his work, as well as an in-depth and illuminating biography of the man.
Timed to chime in with the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Joseph Steele's site-specific work, BIBLE, was slightly disappointing. During his convalescence from an illness, the artist spent months rewriting the New Testament, inserting his own name whenever Jesus was mentioned. The result is a six-metre manuscript, however it was underwhelming and just not quite radical enough.
The Turner Prize often divides opinion as an arbiter of the best contemporary visual art. 2011 is a sterling year, although there were doubts over the work of George Shaw, which seemed to be a little samey. Martin Boyce's garden-like installation which cleverly riffs on the sculptural works of 1920s Modernists Joel and Jan Martel was more impressive.
Many Dutch masters of the visual arts were included in a rather special exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. 'Vermeer's Women: Secrets and Silence' was augmented with works by artists such as Pieter de Hooch and Nicholaes Maes. The role that middle-class women played in domestic contexts featured heavily as women of course, was the theme of the show.
The exhibition 'The Factory: Warhol and his Circle' are images taken of Andy Warhol and his entourage in and around the Factory throughout 1964-65. A different side to the era-defining artist is shown in these images and reveal the extent to which Warhol was constantly cultivating his own image with the utmost care.
Certainly about the painter rather than the presenter, 'I Never Tell Anybody Anything; The Life and Art of Edward Burra', a BBC Four documentary, delighted audiences. It provided a shrewd exploration of his work, as well as an in-depth and illuminating biography of the man.
Timed to chime in with the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Joseph Steele's site-specific work, BIBLE, was slightly disappointing. During his convalescence from an illness, the artist spent months rewriting the New Testament, inserting his own name whenever Jesus was mentioned. The result is a six-metre manuscript, however it was underwhelming and just not quite radical enough.
About the Author:
Steve Alexander writes about the visual arts world. For more information and the latest visual art reviews, visit theartsdesk.com.
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