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Pre-Chrismukkah art excursions...but not to Miami!
29 January 2025
Is it a dream? I find myself in London talking with Ronnie Wood, his stories and how he became an artist were fabulous. We were hosted by in the heart of Knightsbridge by Andrew Martin and BFAMI
Not an artist to be ignored, his work was full of themes power and energy
We had a great audience. Everyone wanted to learn about Ronnie’s art
His stories were so interesting to listen to. He would paint - all night long - between his tours and base many of his art works on Old Masters
Meanwhile - and for the first time ever - I missed Art Basel Miami. Tif and Olivia were my eyes and ears which was very helpful. Marguerite Humeau was staying at the ICA Miami
As was Ding Shilun, his intricate paintings draw from a wide range of reference images, traditions, and techniques.
The works' pageantry as well as their supernatural and satirical themes are influenced by Nuoist Chinese folk religion opera-performances and Chinese folklore
There was an incredible large-scale work by Hurvin Anderson at the Perez Museum
Great to see Josh Kline at the Rubell Museum
Also Juanita McNeely whose work I first saw in their Washington DC space
Was wonderful to see that Vanessa Raw is also showing she has a Studio in with Tracey Emin’s place in Margate
Then I headed to Paris with the Luxe Feminae team: Lilly Cohen and Olivia, to visit artist Daniele Toneatti’s studio – we all felt that he is a very interesting artist
They were prepping for their art show end of February, we visited Rafik Greiss at Balice Hertling
Rafik’s moving image work was haunting. His photographs are honest and raw
At Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve, Mari Katayama's creative process begins with intricately hand-sewn fabric objects, followed by self-portraiture. This year she crafted her most ambitious hand-sewn piece to date, which will debut in 2025 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
The seasonal decorations of Paris were spectacular, Christian Dior was my favourite
Meanwhile back in London we had a lovely evening at the new MOCO in London. There were many favourites, like this Banksy
Banksy and Steve Jobs are not the only two fond of this expression. History has a funny way of repeating itself, and this quote is no exception. Composers, poets, and artists long before have written variations on this witty phrase
To Kaws ‘Chum’, a character created by the artist, is an imaginative reinterpretation of the iconic Michelin Man, transformed into a distinctively playful yet introspective figure
Tate Modern’s Mike Kelley show is quite a showstopper. There were many versions of Kandor, Superman’s hometown. Kelley was interested in how cartoonists over the decades had depicted Kandor in a multitude of different ways. He said: “To tell you the truth, I'm not interested in the story; I'm not a fan of Superman comics. I just like the idea of being burdened with one's past”
Was happy to see Rebecca Allen’s 1985 computer simulation ‘Creation Myth’. To create the tree sequences in this video, Allen used a custom software based on fractal mathematics. This gave form both to the tree and to the sequence of its movements. It is one of the earliest animated generative artworks where an algorithm imitates organic growth
I dropped into the Roundhouse to celebrate ‘Notting Hill Carnival’ and 90 years of the British Council - they have so many exciting projects for 2025, we cannot wait to see them all
And of course, as you know, the Number One show in town is at the Van Gogh Poets and Lovers at the National Gallery. I simply loved the ‘Garden of the Asylum at Saint-Rémy 1889’
I was lucky to be celebrating the birthday of Berlin based collector Christian Boros o(f the Boros Collection) by visiting the show together. It was a dream to see two years of Van Gogh’s work in depth in such a fantastic exhibition
All the way from the Art Institute Chicago was for me one of the most iconic paintings ‘The Bedroom’ 1889
The walls were adorned in mesmerising colours to compliment the paintings