A La Recherche…

In the transition from Deauville to Caen, we popped into Cabourg which is on the way. We had an excellent and sophisticated (although pricey!) lunch at Le Balbec, the restaurant in the main hotel/casino. We also had a bit of time to spare so we went to the Villa du Temps Retrouvé which is themed … Continue reading A La Recherche… →

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022

Summer Exhibition, back in the Summer! I always love the packed walls of paintings, photos and prints. Very nicely and clearly themed this time around, bright walls, bright colours, for the most part. Previous exhibitions have referenced the environment, of course, but often the focus has been more on politics, gender, that sort of thing. … Continue reading Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022 →

Summer Exhibition 2021

The Royal Academy are maintaining a shifted timetable for the summer exhibition - last year they managed to squeeze it in over the winter, and this year it's just started (normally it runs June-August). I think they're intending that 2022 will be back to normal schedule. Last year was curated by Grayson Perry and was … Continue reading Summer Exhibition 2021 →

Royal Academy Winter Exhibition

I always love going to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. Nothing better than seeing the walls crammed full of art, a bar to obtain a gin & tonic on hand and the prospect (sometimes) of a meal at the Wolseley or a quick dash to Fortnum & Mason for a £6 jar of … Continue reading Royal Academy Winter Exhibition →

Tate Modern, 8th October

Our small office in a WeWork near Waterloo has been available pretty much all through Lockdown - WeWork hasn't closed at all, I think, as that would have meant they'd have needed to refund rent...and they're deep enough in the scheiße as it is. In going to work on the odd occasion, I've either made … Continue reading Tate Modern, 8th October →

William Blake at Tate Britain

I've always been fond of William Blake, from poems like Tyger, Tyger and Jerusalem but also his dramatic, deity (or demon)-infused paintings. So even though I'd planned to visit this exhibition, as always, I left it to pretty much the final day before attending. I have visited the old Tate before via boat, which is … Continue reading William Blake at Tate Britain →

Madrid

I had a work trip straight after Chamonix which had been planned for Tenerife, but given the COVID-19 outbreak about a mile away, it hardly seemed sensible to stick with that idea. Really annoying, given the official advice remained that travel is ok, which limits how much cancellation refund could be obtained, but it's hard … Continue reading Madrid →

Lucian Freud Portraits

I popped along to this exhibition at the Royal Academy. I've seen a fair bit of Lucian Freud over the years, often his stark portraits of others - this exhibition had a lot of his self-portraits, many from private collections. I can't help thinking when looking at Lucian Freud's paintings and back story, "you mad … Continue reading Lucian Freud Portraits →

Leonardo da Vinci

This exhibition was at the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace, which was a first for me, and also my mum, who came along. Leonardo was a heck of a polymath, although one can't help feeling he must have had access to, and cut up, really quite a lot of animals and people, in a way … Continue reading Leonardo da Vinci →

Royal Academy

I've been a member of the Royal Academy for a couple of years, and I find the ability to pop along on spec, indeed on a whim, for the exhibitions there thoroughly agreeable. I've been going to the Summer Exhibition for much longer, and it really is a compelling show - this year as good … Continue reading Royal Academy →