The Easel

29th June 2021

Chantal Joffe: Story

Beth Williamson | Studio International | 25th June 2021

Joffe has said “As I get older, only the personal seems to matter”. Portraits of herself and family members thus dominate her output. These works are acclaimed because they describe an emotional landscape, especially the one she shares with her mother, whom she has been painting for over thirty years. Whether childhood memories or images of an aging parent, the writer admits they collectively “create a sensory and emotional landscape I didn’t want to leave.”

Carved into history: the life of Grinling Gibbons

Staff | Antique Collecting | 28th April 2021

No superlative seems too grand for Gibbons, whom some consider the greatest woodcarver in history. Dutch born, he spent his career in England where, for decades up to about 1700, his patrons included a succession of kings. What set his carvings apart was an exuberant but naturalistic style – “cascades of fruit, leaves, flowers, foliage, fish and birds.” Without doubt, he “helped to shape the aesthetic of the British baroque.” A video (4 min) is here.

In the studio with James Barnor: ‘I never thought the world would see my photographs’

David Woode | iNews | 6th April 2021

The teenage Barnor had a choice – basket weaving or photography. Easy! He developed a relaxed, candid style that helped give an energetic face to the newly independent Ghana. Between Accra and London his eclectic practice spanned studio portraiture, photojournalism, fashion and social commentary. In retrospect, Barnor admits he had ambition but not expectation – “I never thought the world would see my photographs”. Images are here.

Elizabeth Peyton’s meditations on fame, friendship and ‘holding onto things’

Alastair Smart | Christie’s | 25th June 2021

Peyton’s portraits feature celebrities so often it makes her work seem, well, celeb focused. As a result critics fret that the work varies “between vapidity and sophistication, bland copying and intent focus”. Perhaps they are put off because her work is pretty – handsome faces, jewel-like colours, angelic light. Peyton asserts that her real interest is entirely different – the passage of time. “With your friends you don’t see it … but you know it’s all going to pass.”

For the Medici, the last great spectacle of images

Staff | Good Word News | 24th June 2021

Florence was a tough town when Cosimo became its Duke in 1537. Just 17, he was thought compliant. Wrong. Besides getting an effective army, he splurged on portraits promoting his greatness and that of his circle. It had a “transformative” effect on late Renaissance portraiture. Says one critic, “the wonder and power of Florentine art came out of the scramble to clarify a [political situation] that was anything but clear.” Images are here.

Eileen Agar

Emily LaBarge | 4Columns | 18th June 2021

Agar’s writings show an interest in life’s big themes. Did her art meaningfully address them? Not every critic is convinced. Collage was her strongest work and, with their unexpected juxtapositions, have a surrealist flavour. Before and after were abstract paintings. Overall, “the work never settles, as if [seeking] the next visual possibility”. One critic notes her early rebelliousness is gone from the late work. “Recanting? Not exactly, but somewhat akin”. Images are here.

22nd June 2021

Want to go deep inside a great artist’s mind? MoMA’s Cézanne exhibition is the one to see this summer

Sebastian Smee | The Washington Post | 15th June 2021

This “staggeringly beautiful” show highlights Cezanne’s “weird” experiments in composition. He wanted a way of using “color and rhythm” to give an image stability and order, qualities he felt the Impressionist’s work lacked. If expressing a “logic of organized sensations” meant sacrificing legibility, then fine. His focus was to “re-create the structure of experience out of the units of that experience”. And the result of these weird, abstract labours … the foundations of modern art.

Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life at the Design Museum

Kate Lawson | Toast | 2nd June 2021

Perriand’s contribution to design reads like modernism’s ‘Top 10’ ideas. Open plan living. Adaptable domestic spaces. The idea of equipping a space rather than decorating it. A flexible relationship between indoor and outdoor areas. On top of all that, she designed or co-designed iconic pieces of furniture, including some modular designs. Says the writer “a visionary who softly changed the world for the better”. Some designs are detailed here.

Could Paris Challenge London as Europe’s Future Art Capital?

Melanie Gerlis | ARTnews | 16th June 2021

For now, New York and London sit atop the art world tree. Might Brexit allow Paris to displace London? The debate allows a glimpse of the inner workings of the art world. Paris has art-hungry billionaires, a surge of new galleries and (perhaps) tax advantages. London, on the other hand, has deep expertise in every conceivable art world specialty, endless institutions and galleries, famous art schools and one’s financier just down the street to conjure up the cash.

The fantastic animals of Lalanne come back to life in the gardens of Versailles

Staff | Numero | 12th May 2021

Les Lalanne were a French husband and wife sculpture duo prominent last century. While they worked separately, both featured nature themes in pieces that were “often figurative, and sometimes functional”. Most notable were their surrealist influenced bestiary such as a hippopotamus sculpture that opened to reveal a bathtub. The linked piece is not great; this short article by their gallery helps. (Blame Google Translate for the gender confusion)

The Brooklyn Museum Tells a Fascinating New Story in Its Decorative Arts Galleries

Ted Loos | 1stdibs | 13th June 2021

In newly renovated galleries the Brooklyn Museum is displaying its decorative arts collection in a “less Eurocentric” way. Not easy when everyone wants to see pieces by Tiffany, Bauhaus, Memphis. The influence of Japan (see the ‘Ginza Robot’ cabinet), China, and women all get more fulsome recognition. There is also an effort to highlight today’s social equity debates. Just as is happening in the painting galleries, it’s a “a stab at rewriting history”.

The Two Frenchmen Behind America’s Leading Symbol

Anne Prah-Perochon | France-Amérique | 15th June 2021

The back story to the Statue of Liberty. An anti-slavery lawyer came up with the idea and a sculptor produced the design. Plans to model the figure on a Delacroix painting were rejected, so the sculptor turned instead to his mother and his girlfriend. At over 100 tons, the serious structural issues were successfully solved by one Alexandre Eiffel, whose ideas were based on bridge pylons. His profile thus enhanced, his next project was a certain tall steel tower.

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