Gallery visits

Josephine bacon exibition- Essere Umana: To Be Human

This exhibition contrasts the eroticised female body with structures of isolation and abandonment. Bacon juxtaposes images of pornstars and fashion models with neglected barns, war bunkers and derelict buildings. She moved away from representations/depictions of human flesh to explore these themes of isolation and abandonment. I particularly liked her piece (top left) because she painted the portrait on top in just a red line which makes it seem ‘ghost like’ and causes the background landscape to really stand out. It seems almost nostalgic like it could be a memory, perhaps an unclear one given the colours and tones she’s used in her painting. The figure doesn’t really seem present, she is distracted and perhaps lost deep in thought. The monochromatic colours with the hint of red is very visually effective, it makes the painting appear almost lifeless which coincides with feelings of loneliness, isolation and abandonment.

The Cello Factory- We Are Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On:

I really enjoyed this exhibition because there seemed to be a running theme of visions/dreams/ memory in the works and this concept really appeals to me. During the exhibition, we discussed as a group the different surfaces, lighting application as well as considering the space the works were put in. We noticed that some of the works were ‘luminous’ due to the surface they had been painted on whereas with some the light bounced off the surface due to heavy paint application/ surface material.

Forest- Helen Brough

I love this piece because it has a very dreamy, nostalgic feel too it. I find it interesting how colours have been used in the background and the flowers are painted on in black like a silhouette. The artist used oil paint which looks as if it has been thinned using mediums as the colours ‘bleed’ into each other and run down the surface. The surface is aluminium which tends to give a smoother and glossier finish than when painting on canvas, in this piece the paint has been applied in very thin layers with an added thinner such as linseed oil which makes the painting very flat and the light reflects off it giving it a shiny surface appearance.

Green fly- Paul Newman

I took an interest in this piece because it seems like an ordinary kind of home scene but then your eye is drawn to this giant, human- like fly figure in the centre of the piece. When looking at it i started to think that the fly could be a metaphor for old memories as flies are insects that linger around old matter, the ‘fly’ could be revisiting a place in its memory. I like the colour pallet in this piece because although there are several colours used, the same colours have been used next to each other consistently throughout the painting so it all ties in harmoniously together. Newman uses a bright almost neon colour pallet which makes the piece seem dream like because we often see things in altered perspectives when looking back into our memories or in our dreams.

Part 2: fine art painting specialism

Part 2: fine art painting specialism

Gallery visits white cube, cello factory, Josephine bacon exhibit

Confirm copying

Restore backup