Louise Bourgeois at the Switch House, Tate Modern.....

Happy New Year to you all. Lots of people say how bad 2016 was but I had a great year finished off with a great Christmas. 

One highlight was going to a very posh Christmas do. Paul, the OH, works for a company who likes to treat it's staff and luckily for us we got to go to the Grange hotel next to St.Paul's Cathedral. Here's us being posh for the night.....

Being child free we took full advantage and had a lie in until check out time, such a luxury! I'd been meaning to check out the Tate's new building, The Switch House by Herzog & de Meuron, since it opened so we headed straight over. 

The tanks are an amazing space and almost seem an artwork in their own right especially as they've left original details and ghostly features of its past use, lonely doors and stairs lead eerily into concrete walls. 

I really wanted to see Louise Bourgeois's work. Years ago I dragged my sister to see the spider sculpture that was sat outside the Tate Modern which I loved. The contrast between the dark, hard spider structure compared to the delicate eggs it held close to its body was beguiling and I couldnt wait to see more. I wasn't let down, although I think there's a disturbing element to her work there's also something really soft and beautiful about it.

For more info on the room check out her page here. It's definitely worth a visit. 

Here's the view going across the turbine hall and into the original side of the Tate modern, not for the faint hearted : )

If you havent already definitely go and check it out, the space is amazing there's such a wide range of work so something for everyone plus it's free what more could you ask for.

Here's to an amazing 2017.

A little burst of printing inspiration....

I was lucky enough to have a child free day on Saturday so I took full advantage and made a much needed and well overdue visit to an exhibition. 

After a quick search I decided to check out the East London Printmakers exhibition at Embassy Tea Gallery on Union Street and I was so glad I did. Being just off the beaten track it was lovely and quiet, the sun even shone which makes all the difference in London! 

The exhibition is amazing and it was lovely to see so many printmakers exhibiting together. It's running until the 27th September so you still have time to check it out.

Here's a few of my favourites..... I'm attracted to the lino prints and screen prints as I love the style they produce but there were very clever things such as mono-prints on leather and ethereal etchings.

Some clever printing onto a plaster slate and bowl.....

Mixed media with etching and stitch.....

I loved this collection of drypoint prints made from people's broken phones complete with very funny personal stories.....

Giving printing a magical and whimsical edge. 

For the full catalogue of the exhibition click here.

I then headed over to the Tate modern after stopping off at Intaglio print shop to treat myself to some more lino and a much desired soft rubber roller (can not wait to start using it after admiring it for so long : )

Loving the construction work on the side of the Tate modern and cant wait for its completion. The scaffolding is a work of art on its own!

I made a bee line for the war posters in the Tate as I love their style, passion and how easily they portray movement, these were my favourites.....
 

Then with some weary legs homeward bound I went, inspired to get working on some new prints! Hope they provide a little inspiration your way too.

Kirsten

Malevich at the Tate Modern.....

A friend of mine offered me a free ticket to the Malevich exhibition at the Tate Modern so we packed up the kiddies, jumped on a train on a very wet Monday and headed on down to check it out. I wasn't too familiar with his work only knowing that he was a revolutionary Russian painter but on first entering there were familiar signs and similarities to the Russian Constructivist's.

I found it one of the most inspiring exhibitions I've been to in a long time. His images made from pure geometric forms reminded me of Marcel Duchamp's work but more vibrant and seemed to shout from the walls. These were also a great hit with the kids especially trying to work out what we could see in the pictures, Eloise thought she could see firemen everywhere!

He is probably most famous for his black square, above, which I thought sounded a bit ridiculous but it was incredibly moving and emotional.

 

His suprematism room was also incredibly powerful as each painting seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapse.

"Art should remain a spiritual activity"

After an emotional roller coaster from the exhibition we then went to Tas Pide, near Shakespeare's Globe, for some lovely meze where my little ones created their own work of art on the table cloths with the food!

Balka at the Tate Modern

I managed to scrape myself out of my nice warm flat on Sunday to visit the Tate for some design inspiration. It was quite blustery on the old Millenium bridge, and Chloe nearly froze as I insisted on taking some pictures (I've become very snap happy with my new camera).


Once inside we unwrapped our layers and took a wander. Luckily, there was an installation in the turbine hall, 'How It Is' by Miroslaw Balka, which is the most surreal experience I've encountered with interactive art in a long time. It reminded me of a huge cattle transporting box, the scale is so big it almost reaches the ceiling of the hall, you can just make it out in one of the pictures below. As you walk into the pitch blackness you feel as though everything around you is going to cave in, especially the floor, but then you turn around to the light and the comfort comes flooding back and makes everyone's silhouettes look amazing against the backdrop of the industrial walls. Although it was very creepy i'd definitely recommend going, if only to scare yourself for a split second!

To read more about the installation click here.