I am really pleased that I managed to catch the Masterpieces of Chinese Painting show at the V&A. Although it was a wide-ranging survey, organised chronologically from 700-1900, it never felt overwhelming as the number of works had been kept to only 70. The emphasis of the exhibition was on the political context of the paintings and on the individuality of the painters and the labelling was well done.
Having seen the Mira Schendel show at Tate earlier in the month and her use of transparent rice paper, in particular, I got very excited at this show by the Bodhisattva in Monastic Dress Standing at Prayer (c.950), painted on both sides and using to the full the transparency of the silk on which it is painted in gold and red hues. I love it when these connections accross cultures and art forms present themselves to the eye, mind and heart.
A contemporary response by Xu Bing to a traditional Chinese fable can be seen in the John Madejski Garden: Travelling to the Wonderland, trailing cables and all – apparently intended to remind the viewer of the work’s unreality. For me the cables, machines and artificial flowers seemed more intended to contextualise the piece as art, rather than traditional Chinese garden craft.
Happy Christmas everyone and hope 2014 is a creative one.
I never knew at the time how useful learning French would be. It was of course very useful to be able to speak it in Luxembourg, where I lived for 15 years, and eventually ended up translating French for banks (had to get myself up to speed on financial vocabulary very fast). But when I came back to the UK to do my fine art degree, I had no idea I would ever need French professionally as part of my art practice! In fact I found myself having to speak French from time to time with project partners and on Tuesday was interviewed, with Joanna, for a French internet TV station associated with La Voix du Nord. I think it will be broadcast in January – wonder what it will be like. The original plan was to film in both our studios, but unsurprisingly they didn’t have time so I made a temporary studio in Joanna’s house.
So excited to be part of this show http://w0budong.wordpress.com/about-2/ with some fellow a-n bloggers, in Manchester next year. The exhibition will explore, writing, drawing and gesture “bringing together works that are influenced by the actions, traces and aesthetics of handwriting or its ephemera” (Jayne Lloyd)
Getting turned down for something can just be a spur to get on and either do the thing anyway or funnily enough it can turn out that you didn’t need the help anyway.
With this in mind my planned collaboration with Rosie James is going ahead, a-n grant regardless, and a meeting with another artist recently as part of a show and tell in the studio looks like it is the start of an exhibition proposal for end 2014.
Woohoo!
