I love a good gallery visit and you may have noticed (if you are a long time reader) that I love going to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition every year. Last year I was not that impressed as it was starting to feel a bit samey, but this year, thanks in part to an injection of colour from Michael Craig-Martin, they have upped their game!
Also, due to being able to take photos in the gallery spaces, I can share all the joy with you guys. You have never been able to take photographs before and they are now asking you to share, so that's another plus from me!
If you have never been to the Summer show, it is an exhibition made up from artworks that come from well known artists right thru to people who submit the work they do on their kitchen table. Every year there is an artist who takes on the overall curator role, keeping all the other artist rooms in check. This is what makes it so special and so different. So lets take a look at what I saw.
The gallery spaces at the RA flit between the small to the large and so there is always going to be a different hang in each room. This year Michael Craig-Martin had painted some of the walls in these vibrant colours, which many would think compete with the artwork on display, but I love! I think it makes the artwork look great and gives a totally different feel to the gallery spaces.
I love the way some of the artwork is hung, it is never uniform and always interesting, I do wonder how they get away with hanging some pieces quite so high, as I know we couldn't at the place I work. A good example is the way in which the pictures are hung in the middle picture above.
These are some of my favourite artists, from Fiona Rae on the left who I have loved for a long time and a new love from Frank Bowling to this Rainfall stunner from Ermioni Avramidou which is Acrylic ink on paper. It really looks like it is wet. I could sit and look at these for hours. I find it fascinating to see what people love and hate in galleries, it's all about individual taste after all.
I couldn't resist showing a few more of my favourites of the show and all by new artists - to me. Which is another great reason I love going to the show every year, finding new artists I like. I love how this piece by Gordon Cheung is hung with all the other smaller ones around it and the mysterious nature of the painting is great too. This large moon quickly got my attention and Jock McFadyen has done a brilliant job of pulling you into the picture. Lastly but by no means least was the X room which was dedicated to Tom Phillips, A Humument, this was one of my favourite pages.
Talking of Tom, here is a little more about the piece. There was a whole book, individually drawn on pages that had been worked and reworked by the artist. You can find out more about the piece here.
So all in all, I think you could say that I really enjoyed the show. If you get a chance between now and the 16th August to go, I really would check it out. But hopefully if you cannot make it, this has given you a good flavour of what it's all about.
Can't wait for next year!
H
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