Lisa Brice is no spring chicken. She’s 56. Yet only in the past few years has she managed to transform herself from “promising female painter with complex ideas about the role of women in art” to “ubiquitous art star”. These days you need a few million in the bank to buy a hefty Brice. What’s […]
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The forty million dollar man who made painting fashionable again
Peter Doig. Whenever I see the name I hear the rustle of dollar bills and the jingle jangle of a big win on the slot machines. To my mind, Doig’s art — which fetches up to $40 million a painting — has become synonymous with fiscal success, and even interchangeable with it. However, his new […]
Gilbert & George? It’s like being stuck with a pub bore
Two veteran artistic presences have appeared in London simultaneously. Both have been around the block many times. One remains fresh, active, naughty. The other has grown tired, repetitive, boring. Let’s deal with the tedious one first. Let’s deal with Gilbert & George. In the Sixties, when they were in their twenties, the two Gs were messing […]
Kate Moss and Lucian Freud — the supermodel reveals her side of the story
Why do people make tremulous films about artists? It’s a question I was close to screaming when I exited James Lucas’s film of the brief encounter between the supermodel Kate Moss and the super-duper painter Lucian Freud in the coke-stoked naughty Noughties. Moss & Freud is well short of being the worst example of this failed […]
The truth about Lee Miller is darker than Tate Britain would have us believe
The first thing to say about Lee Miller at Tate Britain is that it is a marvellous exhibition, full of riveting photography and powerful moments. The second thing to say about it is that it is dense with sexual complications and psychological darknesses that are more problematic than the show wants to admit. It’s not a cover-up. […]
The Turner prize is the cockroach of art
However many times the Turner prize gets stamped on, however fiercely we wish to dispose of it, however bad it gets, it survives the hammering and comes back for more. It is the cockroach of art and its resilience over four testing decades is almost heroic. This year’s effort has travelled to Bradford, Britain’s City […]
At last, the Turner prize finds artists with a rare quality — talent
A few will take notice when the winner of the 2023 Turner prize is announced on Tuesday. Most won’t. It’s been many a season since the once fierce Turner battled its way on to the nation’s front pages and forced Britain to take an interest in contemporary art. This year’s version takes place at the […]
Black Venus at Somerset House is riveting
Having read Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge, I did not expect the Black Venus show at Somerset House to be an uplifting experience. When it comes to guilt in these sensitive matters, I am the full package: white, middle class, middle-aged (going on old) and, to top it all, an art […]
Zanele Muholi, Tate Modern
Zanele Muholi’s self-portraits are magical
London Grads Now, Saatchi Gallery, London SW3
A lucky few graduates seize the moment — with work that questions nature and identity