Between Edinburgh and London there are exhibitions of two artists who had a fascination with Spain. We are used to British artists being fascinated with Venice, but Spain too exerted an influence, which continues today. London artist Anthony Wishaw (born 1930) was inspired by the work of Spanish artists such as Velázquez and Goya, as was […]
The Royal Academy Dorfman Award celebrates new international architectural talent with four finalists – AAU Anastas Architects based in Palestine and France, AOR Architects from Finland, BCKJ Architects from China and WHBC Architects from Malaysia. These relatively small architectural practices demonstrate a focus on context, natural environment and local materials, with their projects enhancing and […]
You would think that, as Picasso was such a giant of the 20th century, everything that could have been written about him had been written. Whoever decided to focus the new exhibition at the Royal Academy on Picasso and his use of paper was a genius. With other artists, we might have had a few […]
One of the joys of the recent Royal Academy project designed by Chris Wilkinson which connects the two buildings in Piccadilly and Burlington Gardens together, is the creation of new spaces, over-large for circulation, but great for small art displays such as the Weston Studio, which was previously an art studio in the RA Schools, […]
Although there are still lives and architectural scenes included, this exhibition really starts and ends with Schjerfbeck’s portraits, into which you have to look as if trying to see into their eyes and into their very soul. It is through those that you can see and feel Schjerfbeck’s life and her pain, with self-portraits and […]
Have you ever heard of Felix Vallotton? I except not. I might also ask if you have heard of the Scottish Colourists – artists such as Francis Cadell, John Duncan Fergusson, Leslie Hunter and Samuel Peploe? There may be a few more positive responses, but I expect not too many of you are fully aware […]
Spencer de Grey has taken charge of the Architecture Room at the Royal Academy this summer. With a theme of sustainability in its widest sense – societal, environmental, economic and creating great buildings that enhance the urban environment and create great spaces – the Weston Room is piled high with projects. At one end are […]
Spooky alien creatures made from a variety of strange materials announce your arrival in the Courtyard for this year’s Summer Show at the Royal Academy. Los-Angeles based British-born artist Thomas Houseago has surrounded Joshua Reynolds with his jagged, sinister figures’ watching your every movement as you arrive and walk through the courtyard. Inside, you will, […]
The Burlington Gardens wing of the Royal Academy was originally built for the University of London between 1867 and 1870 by Sir James Pennythorne. Long isolated from the main building of the Academy, the recent refurbishment has joined the two buildings together, but its classical interiors have now been disrupted by an architectural installation and […]
We are so used to the nude being part of mainstream art that we forget that there was a period when this was not the case. The nude was celebrated in classical Greece and Rome but in the Celtic, Gothic and Medieval worlds, bodies were clothed and covered up. Nudity was kept for depictions of […]
"The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul."
(Thomas Moore)
To be an architect means having a wide range of interests - architecture, art and creativity in all its variety of forms, sustainability, science and innovation. The greatest interest is often where these different worlds overlap and collide - that is when something imaginative often occurs that pushes us all forward to another place
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