This week, in an attempt to continue my cultural education, I attended the 244th Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. An open exhibition that aims to showcase young artists alongside established ones. This year the exhibition had 12,000 entries of which only the best were selected for the show. I have to say I was disappointed that I had not entered myself, judging by some of the entries, but I fully intend to try next year. To fill the gap, I have decided to try my luck at the Vision and Reality open Art Exhibition at Norwich Castle. I confess that I thought briefly about talking to Pierre to find out if anyone he knew had entered, but then I remembered our argument and decided against it; he’s clearly an idiot.
The exhibition space itself was stunning, taking over the main galleries in the Royal Academy, and expertly curated by Tess Jaray RA. Obviously the art itself was a mixed bag, not literally of course, it's mostly painting, print and sculpture, wholly lacking in bags. However, I have found there is little point in discussing taste, since we are fortunately all so very different. One man’s masterpiece is another man’s rubbish.
The first room you enter, the Red Studio, pays homage to Matisse and includes some vibrant abstract pieces by celebrated Royal Academy artist John Hoyland who died this year. The second room has been dedicated to smaller pieces and contains over 450 works arranged in a viewer friendly curve: an installation in itself. Particular favourites in this room included Valerie McLean's Figure I and Drinking Water by The Baron, a stunning oil and acrylic mix of watery light and darkness. This room also contains pieces from young Afghanistani artists, which Tess was particularly proud to be exhibiting; she said ‘it’s a most marvellous thing, a celebration of life amidst all that horror.’ If you get a chance to check it out, I would highly recommend it. Some of the smaller pieces are very reasonably priced, so perfect for burgeoning art collectors.
Unfortunately by mid-week the weather seemed to be turning, a fairly strong wind made it almost impossible for me to get a decent picture of myself, as you can see from the results below! On a lighter note, I am hoping to pick up a few weeks freelance carrying soon, as I have recently found that I am now able to carry light loads. Great news!
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
June 4 – August 12 2012
Adult ticket £11.50, Student ticket £8.50 and under 7’s go free
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