When it comes to Soutine the real attention grabber is his use of paint. One critic described it as trying to “turn the substance of the world into thick, squidgy, excited paint”. Thoroughly modern, but not easily categorised, Soutine is widely influential among artists but lacks public recognition. Hold the art theory suggests the writer, “only look”. More images are here
Catholicism, says an archbishop, is as much about beauty as goodness. This rationale has inspired an immense show tracing the influence of church regalia on contemporary fashion. The show is careful, respectful – “these designers are sometimes rule breakers [but] not apostates”. The current Pope’s aversion to ostentation goes unremarked. A video (5 min) is here.
New York was the centre of the 1950’s art world but a new memoir champions the achievements of post-war London. Francis Bacon was the central figure who “revolutionized how proceeding artists would handle paint”. The legacy of this period is “the survival of the medium of paint itself [which has proven capable of] taking on a multitude of different approaches”.