The Easel

4th December 2018

Who was Su Shi, and why is he so revered within Chinese culture?

China’s Song dynasty was a period of great artistic achievement and some think Su Shi was its “pre-eminent personality of the 11th century”. A master of poetry, painting and calligraphy, he was also a senior scholar in the imperial court – a “proto Renaissance man”. His “gift to art history — the sense of an artist’s inner psychology being appropriate subject matter for art.”

27th November 2018

Has the Art Market Reached a Stage of End-Game Nihilism? Kenny Schachter on New York’s $2 Billion Auctions

New York’s November art auctions raised a phenomenal $2bn. This knowledgeable writer details some goings-on. He admits that the huge numbers, the high octane gossip, the sheer excess, can be depressing. “The spiritual content of art is veering to the calibre of profundity of the local brand of toilet paper. Maybe a backlash will soon be underway—I can only hope.”