War damage
Becoming the Story KK Outlet, London, until November 26th. This past February, while on patrol in Afghanistan with the 75th Cavalry of the American army, Giles Duley (pictured), a British photographer, stepped on a bomb and instantly lost three of his limbs. After nearly 20 operations and nine months of intensive rehabilitation, Duley is getting […]
PoMo, not po-faced
Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990 V&A, London, September 24th to January 8th. Postmodernism has more in common with modernism than it might like to admit: they both divide people. Hard to take in large doses and contentious by nature, it’s a risky subject. But beneath the brash exterior is something worth exploring – a blend […]
An odd couple in Dulwich
Twombly and Poussin: Arcadian Painters Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, until September 25th. It has become a trend for big exhibitions to feature more than one artist, so they sound like arty advertising agencies—”Matisse Picasso”, “Turner Whistler Monet”, “Duchamp Man Ray Picabia”. Mostly the artists shared techniques or palettes, schools or circles. Not so the latest […]
The enigma who may have invented modern art
Manet, the Man who Invented Modern Art Musée d’Orsay, Paris, April 5th to July 3rd. In the Oscars of the art world, Manet would prove an ideal nominee for Artist in a Leading Role. Like many Hollywood hotshots, he led a theatrical private life fuelled by outlandish affairs. His colleagues admired him but they were […]
Riddled with opposites
Modern British Sculpture Royal Academy, London, January 22nd to April 7th. In a world full of questions, the Royal Academy is about to pose three more. What is modern? What is British? And what is sculpture? The answer is a blockbuster exhibition—the first in 30 years to examine the peaks (and troughs) of 20th-century British sculpture, […]