London...Finland!!!

27 May 2011

Back in London with my feet on the ground.

London...Finland!!!
I run to the Other Criteria for some some Jim Lambie retail therapy.
London...Finland!!!
Then girls’ night out with the exception of our hosts. Nasser and Stan Stalnaker from Hub Culture also our DJ replacing Simon De Pury. Joining in on the fun was Lizzie, Hilary Crisp and Maia Morgenztern.
London...Finland!!!
The next morning we were on the plane to the Israel Museum where James Snyder paid homage to Jay’s father with a beautiful Roxy Paine tree overlooking the hills of Jerusalem. Jill, Jay and James on the podium.
London...Finland!!!
Back at home we gave a special lunch for Mathew Day Jackson. Picture of him with Tanya and Ellen from USA.
London...Finland!!!
Then it was off to Tracey Emin’s amazing opening at the Hayward, what a girl! What an achievement! We were out in full force to cheer her on and she, Jay Jopling and Richard Caring gave us a wonderful dinner at Shoreditch House. After a sumptuous dinner we were entertained by mermaids and then entered a grotto of glittery lights, blankets, lovely beds and heaters and authentic green grass to dance the night away. It was all a bit of a fantasy and I was, like everyone else, gone with the fairies.
London...Finland!!!
Hanging out: Johnnie Shand Kydd, Gregor Muir and beautiful Anastasia Webster adorned in Jim Lambie who had also been shopping in Other Criteria.
London...Finland!!!
Sharing a sunbed with Jake Miller and Laura K Jones.
London...Finland!!!
Then it was the Catlin art prize. I could not stay to see the three hour performance of this amazing beast flying from cage to cage.
London...Finland!!!
I managed to catch the work of English Paul Greenleaf and bought a beautiful edition book ‘News from Nowhere’. I also liked the work of Noemie Goudal and Darren Harvey Regan.
London...Finland!!!
Then it was the big night for Mathew Day Jackson and Hauser and Wirth. The works were magnificent. The huge B29 bomber once used as a simulator, representing complete Holocaustic destruction sat itself comfortably amongst its guests fully installed with an old fashion barberesque type of chair, surrounded by so many human like skeletal artefacts lit above from a beautiful glass ceiling, it looked to me a cross between Jules Verne and Sweeney Todd. Very Very Creepy. In contrast there was the layered moon surface spread out in front of me exactly like the Monet Water Lilies, I thought this work was brilliant and definitely a work to go down in Art History.
London...Finland!!!
For light relief Ellen and I met up with Martin Eder.
London...Finland!!!
Manuela Wirth was deep in conversation with Karen Russo, who announces to me a little Fish will be Born in a few months...
London...Finland!!!
On the way to the after party we came across a challenging art work by Paul Mcarthy.
London...Finland!!!
Putting us in the mood for the evening we indulge ourselves and ate into Matthew’s body moulded into a delicious desert. His meat mould is decaying away in a warehouse somewhere in London, this takes me back to my Peter Greenaway days, my favourite filmmaker of the 80s.
London...Finland!!!
Then it was beautiful sunny Finland. We had a wonderful dinner for all the artists in residence and we had some lovely guests including Pirkko Siitari and Arja Miller from Kiasma, Janne Siren and his wife Sonja Lende from the Helsinki Art Museum, Rafaela Seppala and Kai Forsblum.
London...Finland!!!
Richard Woods showed us his wonderful new installation nick named “The Woody House”.
London...Finland!!!
Stella Hamberg's sculpture in situ.
London...Finland!!!
James Ireland installed his brilliant work at last.
London...Finland!!!
And we started to install the Jeppe Hein Benches.
London...Finland!!!
We headed back to Suvikunta and checked out the Franz West Installation
London...Finland!!!
And then ate a hearty Finnish Feast.
London...Finland!!!
London...Finland!!!
London...Finland!!!
Rachael Champion deep in conversation with James Ireland
London...Finland!!!
Roy and Fanny Diehl who is just about to curate her own show, hanging out with Roy after a few hard days of labour helping with all the installations.
London...Finland!!!
Tiffany the new arrival on the scene hanging with Fanny.
London...Finland!!!
Richard Woods and his boys Jacob Wolff, Michael Iveson and Neb Poulton.
London...Finland!!!
For light relief before camp fire time, a game of boules. Ed Atkins leading the way.
London...Finland!!!
Two of the collection’s garden gnomes by Jim Drain taking a break.
London...Finland!!!
The next day before departure Richard Woods and Giorgio Sadotti in an intense game of ping pong.