The Easel

27th June 2023

Banksy’s art is political drivel for the smug, right-thinking classes

Francesca Peacock | The Telegraph | 16th June 2023

How should you review a Banksy exhibition? Many critics, seemingly aware of his huge popularity, offer noncommittal, anodyne commentary – for example, here. The above writer shows no such restraint. Emerging from Britain’s 1990’s rave scene, Banksy was, from the start, “glib”. Although his reputation has grown, his work has not become any more interesting. “None of his works are, in any meaningful way, original … this is a publicity stunt, with little substance underneath”.

Shapeshifting show finds optimism in bleakness

Florence Hallett | iNews | 26th June 2023

One critic deftly characterizes Weems as imagining “the kitchen table as a place of political upheaval”. Kitchen tables are relevant because a photo series shot around such tables first made her name. She has since proved to have “chameleon” qualities, working in film, dance and installation. While her early interest was expressing the black female experience, she says she now has a broader focus – “the dismantling of power.” An interview with Weems is here.

The new National Portrait Gallery review – ‘It’s the same old cocktail party’

Jonathan Jones | The Guardian | 21st June 2023

London’s National Portrait Gallery has re-opened after a long renovation. Yes, the money has been well spent, and yes, the re-hang is more inclusive. But should a portrait gallery be showing exemplary lives or exemplary art? One critic says, coyly, that the balance is “judicious”. Others disagree. “It’s still the same shoddy chaos. You can argue that representation is more important than artistic quality – but that leaves the NPG [as] a collection of notable faces with no regard for artistic depth.”

20th June 2023

The artist who worships stained glass, but detests the modern Church

Isabella Smith | Apollo | 9th June 2023

Clarke apparently faces a “permafreeze of institutional apathy” from British museums. Given his reputation as the world’s preeminent stained glass artist, that’s a shame. He has an illustrious record of architecture-scale commissions and technical innovation and is excited about the medium’s future. That future, he thinks, is not in cathedrals. Despairing of aesthetic interest from the church, the future of stained glass belongs in “the secular urban fabric”. Images are here.

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