The Easel

11th July 2023

Reassessing European Decorative Arts

Delia Cruz Kelly and Daniëlle Kisluk-Grosheide | Perspectives | 5th July 2023

Why, asks a curator of decorative arts, do we distinguish between a painting on canvas and one on a silk fan or porcelain? Similarly, why distinguish between a silversmith and a sculptor? Decorative objects are often unsigned, sometimes because the artisans were women (usually not members of craft guilds). “Decorative art designs [often come from] fine artists, so the fields very often overlap. [They spark] joy and pleasure in different ways”.

Giorgio de Chirico: Horses: The Death of a Rider

Rob Horning | The Brooklyn Rail | 1st July 2023

Together with cubism, de Chirico’s early deserted cityscapes define “the mental landscape of modernism”. After WW1 his work became more classical – gladiators, temples, horses – and was widely criticised. De Chirico defended it as being not so different and a small show of later works does indeed contain symbols from his earlier period. The art market may have an adverse view but, says the writer, these later works are “marvelous and action packed”.

“Be Original Or Die”: Yevonde’s ’30s Portraits Of High-Society Beauties And Hollywood Stars Are Finally Getting The Attention They Deserve

Rosalind Jana | British Vogue | 22nd June 2023

Colour photography arrived in the 1920’s but its acceptance as art photography took decades. Yevonde was an early exponent, rejecting “wishy washy hand-tinted effects” in favour of vibrant colour. Given the difficulty of colour printing, that was a brave choice and it won her a “glamourous” client list. While some portraits now look stilted and lacking psychological insight, she was among the first to understood that “colour was a potent avenue into the realm of feminine fantasy.”

4th July 2023

The Unsettled Life and Art of Jimmie Durham

Barry Schwabsky | The Nation | 21st June 2023

Durham left a trail of unanswered questions. As a sculptor, there was seemingly no material he wouldn’t use, including boulders (for dropping on cars). Increasingly, he showed his art in places other than his native USA. He claimed Cherokee heritage, but later cast doubt on this. Not only does that run counter to our identity obsessed present but it also creates ambiguity about his art. Unsettled he may have been but was still “one of the most remarkable sculptors of our time”.

Le Corbusier’s Enduring Spirit: Celebrating 100 Years of Architectural Influence

Maria-Cristina Florian | Archdaily | 27th June 2023

Le Corbusier published Towards an Architecture 100 years ago. Its credo – functional, unfussy design – remains hugely influential and underpins his statement “a house is a machine for living in”. He also advocated for cheap, adaptable concrete and the use of natural light indoors. Ideas on urban planning were a rare misstep. A measure of his influence is seen in a recent survey of “important” 20th century buildings – more Le Corbusier designs were voted in than from any other architect.

Peter Howson: new retrospective reveals how Scots painter found redemption after Bosnian war

Blane Savage | The Conversation | 26th May 2023

Is the stern tone in Howson’s works due to the “joyless culture” of Scottish Calvinism? Perhaps, but surely it also reflects his youth in working class Glasgow, a world of “rough, masculine men” who he portrayed as having sense of “nobility”. An engagement as official artist in the Bosnian War confirmed his view that life, in essence, is “violence and confrontation”. These works have an “epic” quality and mark him as “one of the greatest contemporary British artists”.

After 25 years and $185m, Spain’s new Royal Collections Museum is finally opening

Al Goodman | CNN | 23rd June 2023

Your bucket list just got a bit longer. Spain’s 16th and 17th century monarchs bought their favourites – Bosch, Titian, El Greco, Rubens, Velázquez and Goya, and others – in quantity. Scattered across 19 palaces, this collection had little impact so a project to centralise it commenced in 1998. At long last, a “spectacular” new building has opened next to Madrid’s Royal Palace. One critic has called it a “mecca for old-world art lovers”. Indeed!

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm review – Macca’s remarkable snaps capture the buzz of Beatlemania

Mark Hudson | The Independent | 27th June 2023

Catnip for baby boomers, perhaps an eye roll for others. It’s a given that nothing new can possibly be said about the Beatles, but this show of McCartney’s photography hangs its hat elsewhere. It offers, says the curator, intimate, off-guard moments of someone looking out from “the eye of a [cultural] storm”. Further, even now, it is “hard to find a more unifying embodiment of British identity”. Images are here.

On Karl Lagerfeld

Tadeo Ando | Perspectives | 29th June 2023

Merely an elegant reminiscence. Lagerfeld asked Ando to design him a house. When he visited, Ando was surprised to find Lagerfeld living in a “grand stone mansion”, a far cry from Ando’s Japanese inflected international modernism. Lagerfeld responded that “as an artist I am better at creating what is ephemeral. That may be why I like architecture that lasts for eternity.” The project was never realized, though both men continued to refer to it as if it were underway.

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