The Painted Hall ceiling tour in Greenwich

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Toothpicker

Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich

I don’t often visit Greenwich, but if I have friends visiting from abroad, this famous World Heritage Site would be one of the must-see spots in London. Known for its maritime history and royal links, Maritime Greenwich has been a royal manor since the early 15th century. The former Palace of Placentia was the birthplace of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. After the palace fell into disrepair during the English Civil War, it got demolished by Charles II in 1660.

Instigate by Queen Mary and inspired by the Palace of Versailles, a group of buildings were rebuilt between 1696 and 1712 and were arranged symmetrically around a ‘Grand Axis’. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor, the buildings were originally constructed to serve as the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich, also known as Greenwich Hospital; and when the hospital closed in 1869, it was eventually converted to the Royal Naval College in 1873.

Painted Hall’s lower hall ceiling before the restoration

Dubbed as London’s Sistine Chapel, The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College is one of the most spectacular and important baroque hall in Europe. I vividly remember visiting this hall for the first time about a decade ago; while I was quite awestruck by what I saw, I was also surprised that I didn’t know of its existence before my visit.

The Painted hall’s splendid 40,000 square feet ceiling and wall decorations were conceived and executed by the British artist Sir James Thornhill between 1707 and 1726 at the pivotal moment when the United Kingdom was created and became a dominant power in Europe. Originally intended as a grand dining room for the Naval pensioners, the Painted Hall soon became a ceremonial space open to paying visitors and reserved for special functions.

The painted hall’s upper hall ceiling and west wall. The wall also features the artist himself, Sir James Thornhill, standing and staring at ‘us’ with his paint brushes and paints behind him (next to the column)

A three-year and £8m conservation work of the Painted Hall started last year, and aims to complete in 2019. Over the last 300 years, smoke and dirt has built up on the surfaces of the painted ceiling, and varnish layers have fractured under the effects of heat and humidity. Since pollution has taken its toll on the painting, a new underground entrance and visitor centre will reduce the amount of pollution from entering into the hall. Visitors will also see the restored King William Undercroft, where the baroque architecture of Wren and Hawksmoor will be revealed for the first time in over a century.

During this conservation period, daily hourly guided tours of the ceiling provide the public the opportunity to see the masterpiece up close. The tour lasts for about an hour, and I found it fascinating to learn about the history of the hall and the stories behind some of the 200 figures featured in the paintings.

The Lower Hall ceiling, executed between 1708 and 1714, celebrates the ‘Triumph of Peace and Liberty over Tyranny’. At the centre of the composition are the figures of King William and Queen Mary surrounded by various mythological and allegorical figures. The king is shown with his foot on a figure representing ‘arbitrary power and tyranny’ – which appears to be a thinly veiled depiction of Louis XIV.

We were told that the restoration work done a few decades back did not match the style of the original painting

Our guide informed us that their work is conservation rather than restoration. They aim to conserve the original painting rather than restoring it. Restoration made a few decades back altered the original painting, and they do not intend to let it happen this time.

You can support this grand project by donating or simply pay a visit to the site. It is really worth a visit, even if you are afraid of heights like one woman in our group! Perhaps this is the true power of art – it can transcend fears into joy (provided you don’t look down when you descend the scaffolding staircase).

Bottom row: the Chapel opposite the Painted Hall

Yorkshire sculpture park

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Toothpicker

Tony Cragg

I have long wanted to visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and my wish finally came true this summer. Like Hepworth Wakefield, the park also won the Museum of the Year award (back in 2014), and deservedly so. Sometimes high expectations may bring disappointments, but not in this case – the park is idyllic, inspiring, and full of wonderful surprises.

Celebrating its 40th birthday this year, the 500-acre park was initially instigated by an art lecturer, Peter Murray at Bretton Hall, a stately home turned further education college with a strong emphasis on fine art (which eventually closed in 2007). Sculpture park was a new idea in Britain at the time, while Storm King in the New York state had already evolved into a major art centre. Having visited both parks (see my blog post from last year here), I think they are both equally impressive, though I am slightly biased towards YSP because of the beguiling Yorkshire landscape and the historic Bretton Estate. And like Storm King, the park has been growing since the 1970s, from 200 acres to over 500 acres. Considering YSP had little funding (£1,000 grant from Yorkshire Arts) and support at the beginning, it was remarkable how it managed to become the leading open-air gallery in Britain, attracting more than 400,000 visitors each year.

Top: Zak Ové’s Black and Blue: The Invisible Men and the Masque of Blackness; 2nd row: Anthony Caro’s Promenade; 3rd row: Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure: Arch Leg; Bottom row: Barbara Hepworth’s The Family of Man

As I didn’t have a car, I had to rely on the infrequent bus service, which meant that my hours at the park was restricted. I could have stayed for longer if I didn’t have to catch the last bus back, so that was a slight letdown. Be prepared to spend at least 4 hours here if you want to see the major outdoor works and temporary indoor exhibitions. I was fortunate enough to see the excellent exhibition ‘Tony Cragg: A Rare Category of Objects‘ (see photos below) before it ended, but a selection of open-air works will be on display until March 2018.

Top: Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads; 2nd row: Dennis Oppenheim: Trees: From Alternative Landscape Components; 3rd row left: Peter Randall-Page: Shapes in the Clouds III; 3rd right: Niki de Saint Phalle: Buddha; 4th row: Sophie Ryder: Crawling; 5th row: Marialuisa Tadei: Octopus; Bottom row: Sol Lewitt: 123454321

I was also very lucky with the weather; as we all know, the British weather is very unpredictable, so when I bought my train tickets a month earlier, I had no idea whether it would be sunny and rainy.

Sculptures aside, the park itself is also full of wonders. The Grade II listed Palladian style Bretton Hall, the pleasure grounds and parkland all date back to the 18th century, and there are several historic structures within the compound: Camellia House, St Bartholomew’s Chapel (now restored as a gallery space), Archway Lodge, the summerhouse, the Cascade Bridge and the Dam Head Bridge.

Top left: Leo Fitzmaurice: Litter; 2nd row: Marc Quinn: Wilder Shores of Desire; 3rd row: Bretton Hall; 4th row: Dam Head bridge; 5th row: Greek temple: Bottom two rows: James Capper: TREAD PAD pair 1

At the far end of the park is the Longside Gallery, a contemporary space designed by Tony Fretton Architects, which hosts temporary indoor exhibitions and offers panoramic views of the park. I took a free shuttle bus from the entrance to the Gallery and then walked back through the woodlands, which enabled me to enjoy some spectacular views of the nearby landscape, as well as seeing some unusual ‘camouflaged’ installation works like David Nash‘s ‘Seventy-one Steps’, Hemali Bhuta‘s ‘Speed Breakers’ and Andy Goldsworthy‘s ‘Hanging Trees’.

Top two rows: Rasheed Araeen’s Zero to Infinity at the Longside Gallery; 3rd row: Occasional Geometries: Rana Begum curates the Arts Council Collection; 4th row left: Jesse Darling’s March of the Valedictorians; 7th row: Andy Goldsworthy: Outclosure; 8th & 9th row left: Andy Goldsworthy: Hanging Trees 9th row right: David Nash: Seventy-one Steps

Sometimes visiting a vast sculpture park feels like a treasure hunt, and it is almost impossible to locate all the sculptures during a visit. But that is part of the fun as well – knowing that you have missed some, which gives you an excuse to return again.

However, having learnt that the Bretton Hall will be converted into a luxury hotel and spa with conference and wedding facilities is causing me some concern – will this be turned into a ‘Disneyland’ type of park? I sincerely hope not. Since the park is one of its kind in Britain, I hope it continue to remain so in the future.

Tony Cragg: A Rare Category of Objects

Art in Yorkshire: Hepworth Wakefield

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Toothpicker

The stunning concrete architecture is designed by David Chipperfield architects

Two years ago, there was a major retrospective exhibition of Barbara Hepworth’s work at Tate Britain, which I found fairly disappointing and felt it did not do justice to the great sculptor. Luckily, there are two museum/art gallery in the U.K. dedicated to the artist: one in Saint Ives (where she lived) and one in Wakefield (where she was born). After Hepworth Wakefield was named the 2017 Art Fund museum of the year, I was more eager to visit this art gallery, especially to see the £35m building designed by David Chipperfield, who happens one of my favourite contemporary architects (I love the Neues Museum in Berlin).

To be honest, Wakefield is not exactly a happening city (unlike the nearby Leeds), and I think that the Hepworth Gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park have probably contributed towards the city’s tourism and profile. A sharp contrast to the slightly rundown city centre, the Hepworth Gallery looks more like a contemporary cathedral than a gallery. As soon as I saw it from across the river, I was quite blown away by the sublime beauty of the architecture, its reflection on the river and its surroundings. This is what I called ‘Picture perfect’.

I think the bright, spacious and airy gallery rooms are apt for Hepworth‘s colossal and organic sculptures. In one of the rooms, visitors can also view the 5.8 metres high aluminium prototype of the Winged Figure, a commission by John Lewis in 1963 which can still be seen outside of the John Lewis store on Oxford Street today.

The gallery is custodian of Wakefield’s art collection, founded in 1923, of more than 5,000 works by artists who include Hepworth, Moore, David Bomberg, Ben Nicholson, David Hockney and Paul Nash. Besides sculptures, the gallery also showcases Hepworth‘s less-known paintings, as well as her studio tools, book collection and photographs.

Howard Hodgkin’s ‘Painting India’ exhibition

Besides the permanent collection, there is also the Howard Hodgkin‘s ‘Painting India’ exhibition (until 8th October). More than 35 works are on display, painted over the last 50 years from the artist’s annual visit to the country since 1964, they reveal the influence of India on Hodgkin’s work. The intense and vivid abstract paintings were inspired by sunsets, sea, rains, landscape and cities. It is astonishing how a few seemingly unintentional brushstrokes could capture the viewers’ imagination and evoke their emotions at the same time; yet Hodgkin‘s work demonstrate that great art could speak to all of us without the need of narrative and forms.

First row: David Hockney’s fantastic early etchings; 2nd row: A room dedicated to Henry Moore

After a visit to the gallery, I realised that there are many outstanding museums and galleries outside of London that are worth traveling to. However, if train travel in the U.K. is not such a nightmare, then perhaps many of us would jump onto the train and travel to different towns and cities to see what they have to offer. Honestly, if the government wants tourists to venture outside of London, then some decent and less costly train services would no doubt help to develop tourism outside of the capital.

Art in Yorkshire: Jiro Takamatsu at the Henry Moore Institute

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Toothpicker

Henry Moore Institute, Leeds

In July, I attended a talk on Japanese conceptual artist Jiro Takamatsu (1936-98), and the talk triggered my interest in the artist’s works. The talk was an introduction to the artist’s first solo exhibition outside of his home country of Japan, and it given by Takamatsu‘s Estate representative Yumiko Chiba and exhibition curator Lisa Le Feuvre.

Takamatsu formed the short-lived postwar avant-garde group Hi-Red Center with two other artists from1963 to 64. Then he became a key member of the movement, Mono-ha (School of Things) from 1968 to 1975. The movement sought to ‘reveal the world as it is,’ and engaged the world through gesture, action, process, and experimentation, rather than formal studio-art methods or finished artworks. Takamatsu is especially renowned for his shadows paintings of human figures on walls.

Slides from the talk on Jiro Takamatsu in London

Since I have long wanted to visit the Hepworth Gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, I decided to make a 2-day art trip up north to visit the three art venues within the Yorkshire sculpture triangle.

Jiro Takamatsu: The Temperature of Sculpture exhibition showcases over seventy sculptures, drawings and documents loaned from collections in Japan, USA and Europe, focusing on works from the early 1960s to the late 1970s.

The exhibition consists of only 4 rooms, and in some ways, I was slightly disappointed by the small scale, the lack of historical context and in-depth information on his works in relation to post-war Japan.

Nonetheless, there are some intriguing works to be found here, including ‘Chairs and the Table in Perspective’ (1966) and ‘Oneness of Cedar‘ (1970). Takamatsu also liked to use found objects, such as bottles, cloth, string, stones to challenge people’s perception of everyday things; and even though he was largely influenced by Western Modernism, Eastern philosophy and Japanese aesthetics (wabi sabi) is quite discernible in his works.

Personally, I found the video (near the stairs outside of the exhibition area) on the artist quite informative, as it reveals his thinking and working processes that the exhibition itself lacks. I think that visitors would benefit more if the exhibition provided more information on the political and economical climate of Japan at that period so that they could understand the pertinence of this artist and his influence on the contemporary Japanese art scene.

Jiro Takamatsu: The Temperature of Sculpture (13 July – 22 October 2017) at the Henry Moore Institute, 74 The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AH.

Franco Grignani: Art as design 1950-1990 at Estorick Collection

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Toothpicker

The tranquil Grade II listed Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art

Reopened earlier this year after 5 months’ of refurbishment, the delightful Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is one of my favourite museums in London. Located in Highbury, the museum is off the beaten track, so it is not touristy nor does it get very busy. The museum is small, but it has a lovely garden and Italian cafe, where you can relax and forget that you are minutes away from the busy Upper Street.

Italian architect, graphic designer and artist Franco Grignani (1908-1999) may not be a household name in the UK, but his iconic swirling ‘Woolmark’ logo design is probably one of the most recognised logos globally. Known for his Op Art, this fantastic ‘Art as design 1950-1990‘ exhibition’ (until 10th September) features around 130 paintings and works on paper, including his graphic design projects many of which are on loan from private collections and from the Manuela Grignani Sirtoli Archive.

Grignani studied both mathematics and architecture between the late 1920s and the early 1930s, and was briefly affiliated with the Futurist movement in the 1920s. But after 1935, he focused solely on geometric abstraction, and established a studio in Milan that specialised in graphics and exhibition design.

Grignani’s fascination with geometric forms and optical effects was not appreciated by the artistic establishment at the time. And his role and importance as one of the first Op Art artists of the period is still to be fully recognised. Yet he was experimenting with Op aesthetic and techniques at least a decade before François Morellet or Bridget Riley.

At the exhibition, Grignani’s most famous Woolmark logo is on display alongside with the rejected ones. The logo was created in 1964 for an international competition hosted by the International Wool Secretariat (IWS). Even though Grignani was on the jury for the competition, he submitted designs under the alias ‘Francesco Saroglia’ due to his disappointment with the standard of Italian entries, and, despite his protests, won the competition.

In the 1950s, Grignani became the Art Director of lifestyle magazine Bellezza d’Italia, and the typographic distortions that he used on the covers brought his dynamic work to a wider audience. He also worked for a number of well-known clients, including Pirelli and Alfieri & Lacroix and Penguin – designing book covers for their science fiction series in the late 1960s.

Can graphic design be viewed as art? Well, I think this Franco Grignani exhibition has the answer to that long-disputed question.

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Monthly Archives: August 2017

The Painted Hall ceiling tour in Greenwich

Yorkshire sculpture park

Art in Yorkshire: Hepworth Wakefield

Art in Yorkshire: Jiro Takamatsu at the Henry Moore Institute

Franco Grignani: Art as design 1950-1990 at Estorick Collection