Nicholson + Mondrian

Yesterday we went to a new exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery exploring the relationship and mutual influence of Piet Mondrian and Ben Nicholson. Nicholson had visited Mondrian at his studio in Paris - a friendship that grew much closer when Mondrian moved to London from 1938-40.


http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/exhibitions/2012/mondrian-nicholson/index.shtml

For me, these two abstract paintings by Nicholson really stood out. They are both really beautiful studies in colour, proportion and composition.

John Berry - Ladybird

These illustrations by John Berry have been on my pin board for a while now. I really love the muted palette and the extraordinary compositions. They were painted for the Ladybird 'People at Work' series. These are from 'The Postman'.

"His pictures for the 20 books of the Ladybird People at Work series form a complete visual record of British industry in the early 1960s – an age of industrial prosperity where potteries, coalmines and car manufacture were flourishing, while obliging porters carried suitcases at railway stations and the only equipment a smiling customs officer required was a torch to shine into ladies' handbags."

- Cressida Connolly - see link below

These three are from 'The Roadbuilders'.

John Berry died on 10th December 2009 - there is a lovely obituary by Cressida Connolly in the Guardian:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/22/john-berry-obituary

Soldiers and Sailors

These beautiful mosaics are on the WWI war memorial in Ledbury, Herefordshire. I love the accuracy of the details - the insignia on the cuffs, and buckles on the belts.

A bit of mid-winter cheer

In this, the gloomiest, darkest bit of the year, here are a few images to bring some cheer. They are from Carter's Steam Fair - a wonderful fully working Victorian fun fair which turns up every now and then in our neck of the woods.

Kai Samuels-Davies

We have just hung two tiny oils by Kai Samuels-Davies in our little dining room. We first saw them on the Cold Store stand at Tent, and were both really taken with the sensitivity and quality of the marks.

"His portraits focus on moments of solitude and self-reflection. Cinematic themes often arise in his paintings giving them a sense of being fragments of a larger framework of thoughts." - the Cold Store

 http://thecoldpress.com/

Kai is originally from New York, and now lives in Bodega Bay on the West Coast. His website has beautiful images of recent work, and also some very inspiring photos of his studio and environment - it seems a very long way away from East London!

http://kaisamuelsdavis.com/index.html

The painting above is called 'Of the Unconscious'. I really like the dreamy far-away feel...

...although it was actually the little milk glass which first caught our eye - it's so perfect - like a tiny detail from a Dutch still life. 

'So Long As Nothing Happens (i)'

Pont 13

This is my new favourite space - a 1920's ferry, which has been beautifully restored and converted into a wonderful restaurant, out on the docks in Amsterdam.

http://www.pont13.nl/Home.html

The feel is still very industrial, with lots of the fittings left intact. The light quality is wonderful - big wintery skies and views out onto the water. And there is a delicious lingering smell of woodsmoke from the huge stove.

The feel all around is of real working docks - no fancy marinas or designer houseboats here. A really inspiring place.

Constructivist Architecture

We went to the Russian Constructivist Architecture exhibition at the Royal Academy the other day - 

Building the Revolution: Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-1935

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/building-the-revolution/

There were all sorts of extraordinary buildings beautifully photographed by Richard Pare in their various states of crumbling delapidation. The sense of a new architecture for a new order must have been incredibly compelling and exciting for the architects who designed and the people who inhabited the buildings.

For me though, the most magical and ethereal images were of Schukov's towers. This is his radio tower in Moscow, built in 1920-22. It is so extraordinarily delicate and ghostly.

And these twin sentinals (sadly no longer standing) are electricity pylons, overlooking the Oka River, built between 1927 and 1929. They feel almost visionary in their grace and scale.