The Easel

8th June 2021

Epic Iran at the V&A review: five millennia of glittering culture

Nancy Durrant | Evening Standard | 26th May 2021

An ambitious show on Iran’s artistic heritage somewhat obscured by writers and critics trying oh-so-hard to not cause offence. Iran’s culture is just as accomplished as that of Egypt – the first written records around 5000 years ago, political unification in 550BC, a flowering of Persian art around 1000AD. The writer’s summation is very clear– “The stuff is incredible … [contemporary works are] as vivid as the rest” A potted history of Iranian heritage is here.

David Smith: Follow My Path

Phyllis Tuchman | The Brooklyn Rail | 1st June 2021

Iron and steel are quintessentially modern materials and Smith was the master of their use in sculpture. His works tended to be modest rather than monumental, and often were painted to achieve a desired effect. Welded steel can seem old hat, now that assemblages predominate. That doesn’t diminish Smith’s development of 20th century modernism, something he achieved with nothing more than “manual labour, grit and a bit of magic”.

1st June 2021

Barbara Hepworth: Art and Life review – a blockbuster of diminishing returns

Rachael Cooke | The Guardian | 30th June 2021

Hepworth vies with Henry Moore as Britain’s pre-eminent modernist sculptor. A new biography documents how her career was hampered by being a penniless single parent with four children. Hepworth thought it a “miracle” that she produced any work. After those years, she was prolific. The verdict on a major retrospective is mixed: “Its sheer, dogged tastefulness makes it easy to like … difficult to love … [but] undeniably imposing.”

Two Paths for Erotic Sculpture

Sophie Madeline Dess | The New Republic | 18th June 2021

Eva Hesse and Hannah Wilke entered the art world in the 1960’s when minimalism was under challenge. In different ways they sought to break away from its “rigid, inorganic geometric forms”. Both used unconventional materials – latex, fiberglass, plastics – to achieve a more organic and textured aesthetic. Critics point to the eroticism of their work but is it any more noteworthy than the “phallo-centricism” of their male contemporaries? More images are here.

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