An Easter offering: Grinling Gibbons

I had been struggling to think of a little Easter appropriate offering for my blog. Of course the walls and store rooms of London's galleries are filled with paintings meditating on the theme of the passion of Christ and his subsequent Resurrection which would all be appropriate. So it is really a case of being spoilt for choice.

Luckily this morning in the attempt to do something constructive with my weekend off work I watched the second part of BBC Fours Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork documentary series available on BBC iPlayer. This episode (the second of three) focused upon the life and work of the eminent wood carver and sculptor Grinling Gibbons.

It included this crucifixion which was the work that legend has it helped kick start his phenomenal career. It threw him in the way of the influential diarist Evelyn who wrote… "I saw the young man at his carving, by the light of a candle. I saw him to be engaged on a carved representation of Tintoretto's "Crucifixion", which he had in a frame of his own making." Evelyn in turn helped introduce him into the circles where his work could receive prestigious commissions.

 Crucifixion by Grinling Gibbons

The crucifixion wood carving is currently housed in Dunham Massey Cheshire and was completed by the artist at the tender age of 19. As Evelyn points out it is based upon this work by Jacopo Tintoretto in la Scuola di San Rocco in Venice. Both artists have attempted to represent chaotic scene of the crucifixion with the Vigin mary swooning in the foreground clouds darkening the sky in the background and the bodies of the two other men crucified alongside Christ being taken down amidst soldiers, onlookers, tools and horses.

Jacopo Tintoretto Crucifixion

Gibbons entire work is carved from a single piece of limewood. Unusual as the sculptor became particularly famous for his ability to create large scale works formed by the joining of lots of small pieces, a technique that allowed him to create some of his most spectacular and breath takingly detailed works.

Redos at St James Piccadilly by Grinling Gibbons

Some of which are even located in London such as the incredible work in St Pauls Cathedral, his carvings at Windsor Castle, the Orangery in Kensington and the church of St James Piccadilly. To name but a few.

Tonight the third part of this series will be shown on BBC four from 8 o’clock until 9 o’clock.

Big Egg Hunt 2013: The Auction

Unfortunately I have been pretty busy this week and have been unable to volunteer for Action for Children at the Big Egg Hunt this time around. Hopefully I will be able to slip a couple of days in before it finishes on the 7th. However, I have been following its progress with interest since week one and can wholeheartedly recommend taking a trip to Covent Garden to join in the hunt. At a donation of £3 per hunt pack it's a great way to spend the Easter weekend.

If you have decided to hibernate until warmer weather reaches these shores (and frankly who could blame you) but you are feeling mightily generous then why not take a look at the online egg auction. The action is begining to hot up!

Currently only one egg has sold and it is this stunning egg by Yuki Aruga. On its first visit to London's Covent Garden it was hidden away in Links as you can see in the image. I saw it again today in its new home in the Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden. A little post about spas and art will follow soon.....

This egg went for a whopping £7000 which is fantastic as it will make an incredible difference to lots of lives.

So all the rest are still up for grabs. To be honest some of my favourite eggs have yet to be bid for so still lots of gems to be snapped up.

The top 15 most popular at 7.30pm on 28th March are:

1. Yoni (ova 1) Michael Petry – £2500

2. Lindor by Lindt – £1500 

3. Ben 10 “Inside the Omnitrix” by Cartoon Network – £1500

4. Adventure Time “Bro Hug” by Cartoon Network – £1500

5. Humpty Dumpty £1500

6. Anticipation of a Thousand Moments Anna Barlow – £1300

7. Dora the Explorer by Nick Jr - £900

8. Golden James Joyce – £800

9. Peter Rabbit by Penguin - £800

10. Thomas &Friends by HIT Entertainment Limited - £800

11. Lion Estate Frank Laws – £700

12. A Thousand Forests Matthew Dent – £700

13. Spongebob SquarePants by Nicktoons - £700

14. Tie Dye Egg Lindsey Bull – £600

15. All Aboard by Network Rail – £600

But with 10 days to go on the auction and lots of eggs yet to get off the starting blocks I'm sure this will all change soon.

Southbank Centre Refurbishment

Over the past couple of decades the popularity of the southbank centre has gone through the roof. Therefore it should come as no surprise that they are now planning to carry out a dramatic £120 million referbishment which will include the Purcell Room the Hayward Gallery and the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Image of the proposal - image from MayorWatch website

The plans, which were released today (6.6.13), look spectacular and the dated buildings and at times cramped spaces could certainly do with a revamp. I recently went to the stunning Light Show exhibition which I hope to have time to put pen to paper and review shortly. The show was phenomenal and any gallery that can put together such an unusual and eclectic show deserves to have the best environment possible.

Image from Evening Standard

This being said I was sad to see that all three locations will have to be shut for three years during the building work. Also personally I think one of the most interesting things about wandering along the river side is watching the skateboarders doing their thing in the intricately graffitied space outside the centre. It appears that this space is set to be demolished and replaced with restaurants and shops. The skateboarders and graffiti artist will be offered an alternate location so hopefully they will be given a prominent space with the new complex as that aspect of the southbank is so much a part of the experience.

The plans will go on show on the Southbank centre's website and in the Royal Festival Hall in due course so that everyone can see what the changes will mean for the space. So do take a look and have your say as remember the changes are for the good of the public as much as anything else.

For more info head to the Evening Standard, MayorWatch,

13 Reasons to see ART13

1. Set in the iconic Olympia exhibition centre the event couldn't look more spectacular. Also the scale of the building has given the organisers plenty of space to set up so although the exhibition is proving popular there are no worries about not being able to have an unobstructed view of the pieces.

2. Getting mathsie 70% of the galleries present haven't exhibited in London before so it is a chance to discover some incredible galleries.

3. You can walk through the awe inspiring 'Boat' by Zhu Jinshi. This is an incredibly installation piece made from bamboo, cotton and 8000 sheets of rice paper brought to Art13 by Pearl Lam Galleries. Walking through it the buzz of noise from the exhibition centre is dulled and it has an almost timeless and otherworldly feeling.

Taking a stroll through the 'Boat'

4. Take a friend and it is a truly lovely day out.

5. It is incredibly easy to get to, just a hop skip and a jump away from Kensington Olympia station and at the weekend you can even get there via the district line.

6. It includes a truly diverse range of art from across the world. It was particularly interesting to see so many Asian and Middle Eastern artist being represented.

7. If your strength is waning then Champagne and afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason's champagne bar is always a very pleasant option. It was the final cherry on the top of my truly fantastic day. A little bit of luxury never hurt anyone and our lovely waitress Fiona was very welcoming.

8. If you head to the publications section you can sign up for the art newsletter free trial. You get the current issue on the spot and the next one sent to your home. Considering they are usually £8. 50 a pop this more then covers the very reasonable £11 ticket price.

9. With a price range of £100- £500 000 it would be a great opportunity to invest in some of the worlds up and coming artists. Of course there is no pressure to buy anything so if this isn't your intention then just enjoy looking around and taking note of some names.

10. Not only can you take a look at the work of some of the artists of today you can look at some of the Young galleries. A section of the exhibition has been dedicated to 18 galleries which have only been around for six years.

11. I would recommend taking a notebook and a pen as it is nice to be able to look up a couple of your favourite exhibitors once you are home and it would be a shame to forget the names. A couple that really stood out for me were Lee Jaehyo, Jonathan Yeo, the spine tingling (literally) sculptures of Alessandro Brighetti exhibited by the Scaramouche gallery

Alessandro Brighetti

Halim al Karim's haunting eyes and Eternal Love pieces, Hadieh Shafie's striking and poetic pieces which include repeated rolls of paper all printed or hand-written with the Farsi text Eshege "Love" exhibited by the Galerie Kashya Hilebrand, 

Yi Hwan-Kwon's incredible sculptures that play with our perception of dimensions and Chris Andrew Jones' The Visible Index with its dolls house like construction which you could look at for hours. 

Detail Chris Andrew Jones The Visible Index

Frankly this is just the tip of the enormous iceberg.

12. There are a couple of performance pieces going on throughout the day in the performance booth. When we went there was a mock seance with two ladies seated at a table pushing something backwards and forth. There was a pencil or pen attached to the item they were both moving around so a mark was being left on the paper draped over the table.

13. There is the lovely Saatchi book shop and a £5 catalogue if you are looking for a memento of your day.

For more information and to book tickets for this weekend click here.

A cultural evening at La bohème

One of my favourite things to do of an evening is to take a little trip to the Royal Opera House and sit captivated for a couple of hours watching some incredible performances.

This year I have already been lucky enough to see the ballet adaptation of Pushkin's verse-novel Eugene Ongin. Even though the ballet itself was not as strong as others I have seen at the Opera House the atmosphere there is always unbeatable and the music was fantastic.

So when a friend had a spare ticket to La Bohème I jumped at the opportunity. 

Being a little short of cash these days we are constantly keeping an eye on the website where it is possible to get incredibly good value tickets. The ones for this were only £5. Admittedly they were firmly in the nose-bleed seats but even from such great heights you can still see almost half of the action and of course you can hear the singers and have a fantastic view of the orchestra.

La bohème is a four act opera in Italian written by Puccini and based upon the popular novel of Henri Muger. But don't panic if your Italian isn't fluent everything is clearly subtitled. As I am currently teaching myself Italian (slowly I might add) I enjoyed trying to catch words and sentences here and there.

The plot revolves around  4 bohemian men and their loves Mimi and Muretta. There is a strong note of humour in the first two act although this morphs to tragedy in the final two. The final act had tears welling in my eyes, despite the fact that I could not see the main focus of the action. 

The set design was beautiful and was carefully researched by Julia Trevelyan Oman who based it upon Parisian life from the mid 19th century. The second act shows the characters meeting to enjoy an evening at Café Momus. The Café set which included two storeys is shown on the right of the stage while we have a view into the bustling Parisian streets on the left. It sets up the atmospheric conditions wonderfully with the cafe bathed in a warm orange light while the cold blue lighting of the outdoors scene creates a  impression of a frosty winters day.

The singer who played Musetta was outstanding she had an incredible voice and hit exactly the right tone of amusing and serious depending upon the situation.

I think that my favorite line had to be 'E come vivo? Vivo!' or 'How do I live. I Live!' and I hope to take this thought forwards into march with me.

For more information about the plot which I didn't want to give away in too much detail click here.
And get scanning the Royal Opera House website for some cheap tickets to this or any other Opera or Ballet.

Yinka Shonibare: Globe Head Ballerina

In 2012 the Royal Opera House commissioned this work of art by the artist Yinka Shonibare best known for his Ship in a Bottle on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. I am ashamed to say that despite several visits to Covent Garden and the Opera House I have missed it. It is located on the Russell Street side of the building and is positioned quite high up.

Since its instillation the sculpture has received mixed reviews from the public which is understandable. The concept is a little confusing as there are so many different things going on simultaneously. It is inspired by a photograph of Margot Fonteyn but the figure is based upon the ballerina Melissa Hamilton.

 Melissa Hamilton photographed by Andrej Uspenski

 It is supposed to evoke childhood memories of those musical jewellery boxes which I think it does marvelously giving it a lovely modern twist. 

 I used to have one just like this

Although the inclusion of the admittedly slightly bizarre Victorian globe as the dancers head and the vividly colored African-inspired fabrics for the costume does seem strange.

However when examined within the context of Yinka Shonibare's work some light can be shed upon this complex web of inspirations. Yinka Shonibare was born in London, grew up in Nigeria and studied in England and now works in the East End of London. Unsurprisingly his work often focuses upon the issues of colonialism, identity, globalisation, race and class to name but a few. 

Ballet is and always has been tied up with all of these issues. It is to this day considered to be a realm reserved for the upper classes. Yet as Degas' work famously shows it involved some the poorest members of society the 'Petit rats' the young dancers who had to seek rich protectors. Furthermore nowadays you can buy seats at the Royal Opera House to see the ballet from as little as £3 considerably less then the cinema which no one would consider upper class. 

Degas, Dancers in Blue 1895 Musee d'Orsay Paris

Suddenly the inclusion of a Victorian globe seems appropriate as Ballet is so strongly linked with this era. But in the Victorian period it was only foreign European ballet troupes that performed in London. There was not a school of British Ballet until the 1920's. This illuminates how complex identity can be and Shonibare's work forces us to examine how these identities are constructed.

Personally I love it and having discovered it's existence can not help but walk the long way to Covent garden every time to see it again. I think it is so appealing not only because it forces you to question what you think you know but also because visually the work is impressive. Scratch that it's beautiful particularly at night when the lighting works to marvelous effect. So next time you are passing don't forget to look up.

I can't wait to see more work from this artist and will be heading to his solo exhibition at the Stephen Friedman Gallery as soon as I can after it opens on the 16th March.

For more information on Yinka Shonibare's work click here and enjoy.

The Big Egg Hunt 2013: Day 6

Today was my final day volunteering for Action for Children and indeed the Big Egg Hunt's last day in London. 

The Beatles, Lady Gaga, One Direction, Kylie, Temper Trap, The Maccabee's have all been on tour and now the world famous eggs will be joining this illustrious group. As of today the Big Egg Hunt tour of England has begun. 

The cities lucky enough to receive a live show are Birmingham (19th - 25th Feb), Liverpool (27th - 5th), Manchester (7th - 13th) and Glasgow (15th - 20th).
 
The eggs are now being packed up in preparation for their short journey to Birmingham. But don't panic if you didn't get down to Covent Garden in time to see them as they will be returning to London on the 22nd March and will be staying until the 1st April.

 The eggs tucked up safely for their trip

So this week volunteering has taught me a couple of things. Firstly people, even in the hectic city of London, really do want to talk and engage with each other even if we sometimes need a little push to do it. Secondly that if you hold one of the delicious Lindt Lindors or the Lindt chocolate eggs in your hand for a little while before you eat it the inside will melt perfectly. Although it does take some self-restraint to wait.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly volunteering for such a worthwhile charity is possibly the most rewarding thing that I have ever done. I genuinely had a ball doing it, meeting some fantastic and very generous individuals. I hope to do many more things like it in the future maybe even when the egg hunt returns on the 22nd and I wholeheartedly suggest that if you can spare the time and energy you consider it. I'm sure even a half day shift would be appreciated.

Today's Egg of the Day:

Cassie Howard's egg is very typical of her work. Her paintings usually show people or objects painted isolated from their context on a blank background. This egg, with it's cluster off people facing away from the viewer, is perfect for it's position within the covent garden piazza. It is placed next to the large crowds that group around the magicians at magic corner so when you stand in front of the egg you see the backs of the painted group and when you turn around you see the live equivalent.

Check out her website to see more of her work.

Have a look at the weeks story Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5