The Easel

5th March 2019

Phyllida Barlow interview: ‘A cul-de-sac has the claustrophobia of suburbia’

Barlow’s sculptures are without aspiration to beauty. Tilting timber objects, ungainly slabs of building materials, draped fabrics, they all manipulate the space around them in a humorous, gentle way. “My work has always been an enjoyment of the absurdity of the made object that isn’t going to have any useful function in the world other than for itself.” A good bio piece is here.

Marina Abramović – The Life, Serpentine Gallery: ‘a slow, minimal, intimate encounter with a virtual Abramović

You can see the attraction of 3D imaging for Abramović. Such technology may allow her to “perform” in virtual reality without being present. A first-ever such “mixed-reality art experience” has just finished in London, to mixed results. One critic complains “The tech overshadows the art”. Responds Abramović, the technology makes her feel like “the first woman on the moon”.

From Charcoal to Lipstick, Drawing’s Potential for Experimentation and Rebellion

New York and London both have institutions dedicated to drawing, as if the art form needs special support. Some see it as just a working tool, more bridesmaid than bride. London’s Drawing Biennial 2019 suggests it reigns supreme as a means of experimentation and caricature. Says one artist, it’s “a space of reflection and speculation … the fulcrum of [my] practice”.

26th February 2019

Don McCullin talks war and peace

Few exhibitions get called ‘magnificent’. McCullin modestly doesn’t think himself an artist, even though Henri Cartier-Bresson likened his work to Goya.  The curator has no doubt. “[McCullin] was always doing things that you wouldn’t consider photojournalism. If you take the most historic notion of genres in art, [portraiture, landscapes] he was always engaged in that”. A good video (4 min) is here.

Sarah Lucas discusses the work of revolutionary sculptor Franz West

West’s art might look simple but explanations don’t come easily. He grew up in fraught, post-war Austria and saw the nihilistic work of the Viennese Actionists. So serious! In contrast his work is “ludicrously playful”, joyous, the antithesis of pompous. Still, it does convey a serious endeavor – perhaps to capture “where clumsiness becomes elegance”. A short intro video (3 min) here.