Three London art shows in November

November 2015.  London exhibitions.  My top three picks:


•  Ai Wei Wei at the Royal Academy.
Ends 13 Dec 2015.

•  Artist & Empire at Tate Britain.
Starts 25 Nov.  Ends 10 April 2016.

George Stubbs, Cheetah, Stag and Two Indians, 1770-80, Manchester Art Gallery

•  Lee Miller: A Woman's War, at the Imperial War Museum.
Ends 24 April 2016.

© Lee Miller Archives

Enjoy!

Blog holiday

 Dear faithful readers

I felt that I owed you just a quick  post to explain my recent absence from the wonderful pages of this blog.  I'm taking a little blog holiday to devote myself to other parts of my life. Currently, these are 1.  my scholarly book on visual narrative in nineteenth-century European painting (which I hope to have ready for publication in the summer of 2014); and 2.  nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) which is consuming my spare hours this November (you write 50,000 of the first draft of a novel in one month - that's 1667 words a day).

Thank you for your patience!  I miss you, and I miss my blog but it's not going anywhere and will still be here when I'm ready to join the arty fray again.  Happy art discovering!

Have some autumnal pictures.  :-)

See you all around very soon.










Cambridge in autumn:  Bridge over the river Cam.  Sticky Beaks, Hobson St. Urban view.  Cherry Hinton Park. Jesus Green.

Snow in a winter wood

Today, the first snow fell in Cambridge, and that seems a good day to post a picture of winter in Russia.  I saw this painting back in November at the Turbulent Calm exhibition.

We look into a wooded landscape in winter.  The world is covered in snow.  The snow is pastel blue and pinkish and grey, with butter-white highlights where the sun hits it.  Three pine trees droop with the snow's heaviness, and leafless shrubs straggle through the snow.  A creek forms a dark.diagonal.  The shaded foreground contrasts with the brighter sky and the sunlit glade in the background.

No human being is present here, only us in front of the scene.  The atmosphere is  hushed and tranquil.  The brush strokes (when you look closely) seem almost unfinished and sketchy; they are as thick and woolly as the snow itself.

Detail.

I know nothing about the painter (Alexei Urvanov); he has no web presence.  But there was his painting, all the way from Russia to visit us in Cambridge for a day or two.

The winter painting hangs at right, on the bottom.

I spent quite some time meandering about the show.  It was on for only one day and in such an unusual location (a modern office space).  There were quite a few landscapes -- two snowy ones and also beach scenes, meadows in spring, a river bank -- plus some still lifes and a few figure groups.

Can't you just hear the brook gurgle and the snow thud softly from the branches?


What:  Winter Stream in the Forest, by Alexei Urvanov.  60 x 80 cm.
Where:  Turbulent Calm exhibition, ArtSpace 57, 11 Nov. 2012

Permalink:  http://artincambridge.blogspot.com/2012/12/snow-in-winter-wood.html

Five exhibitions to visit in November 2012

Exhibitions, displays and events I plan to visit this November in Cambridge:

1.  Gumeniuk

Paintings by the Ukrainian painter Ulyana Gumeniuk and her father Feodosii Humeniuk (yes, they seem to have different surnames -- but this is only because of different transliteration conventions from the Cyrillic alphabet).

Ulyana Gumeniuk is currently my favourite artist on show in Cambridge.  Whatever you do, don't miss her extraordinary paintings of pipes, nudes and industrial interiors.  I saw Ulyana's extraordinary painting Family a few weeks ago. 

Ulyana Gumeniuk, Pipes
Source:  University Library

When:  Until Jan 2013.

Where:  University Library entrance hall (West Road)

2.  The Search for Immortality:  Tomb Treasures of Han China

Last chance to see this absolutely wonderful exhibition.  My favourite exhibit:  the little graceful female clay figurine, playing a cither.

Chinese figurine
Source:  Fitzwilliam website

When:  Ends on Sunday, 11 Nov 2012!

Where:  Fitzwilliam Museum 

3.  Turbulent Calm:  Paintings by Russian artistst

Paintings by Russian artists, winners of the 2012 competition of Russian Arts Help.  An unusual exhibition at an unusual venue that is normally an office space.

Source:  Alexey Spirenko, At the Lake 

When:  Open to the public on Sunday, 11 November 2012, 12-6 pm only!

Where:  At artspace57 (Portugal Place)

4.  Grace:  Atta Kwami and Pamela Clarkson 

Abstract paintings by a Ghanaian artist Atta Kwami and an English painter, Pamela Clarkson.  I also like the Alison Richard Building, home to the Centre for African Studies and other humanities research centres.

I may even make it to the artists' talk tomorrow (fingers crossed).

Atta Kwami

Source: http://thelastknight.tumblr.com/

When:  Ends 15 March 2013.
Where:  Alison Richard Building (Sidgwick Site, off West Road)
Talk:  Mon, 29 Oct 2012, 5 pm; Alison Richard Building, Room S1

While I'm there, I also really want to inspect  the potter Edmund de Waal's installation of shards in front of the Alison Richard Building.  (De Waal may be known to some of you as the author of the bestselling book The Hare with Amber Eyes, a book I have not myself read.  Is it any good?)

5.  Trans|figurations:  Helene Fesenmaier, Trinity Hall (Trinity Lane)

Paintings and sculptures by an American artist I know nothing about so I'm curious to see what this show is like.  I've also booked to hear the artist talk on Tues 13 Nov at 5.45 (everyone welcome).

Fesenmaier, Patrick

Source:  Redfern Gallery, Cork St, London

Ends Sun 2 December 2012.  Open Saturdays 9.30-12.30; Sundays 2-5.

Any shows you'd like to add?

Happy art hunting this November, in Cambridge or wherever you may live!

Permalink:  http://artincambridge.blogspot.com/2012/10/five-exhibitions-to-visit-in-november.html