TASV Reviews No. 15 (September/October/November 2024)
It’s been ages since my last Critic’s Corner, for which many apologies! I have been busy seeing all sorts of exhibitions and shows. However, many of them have now finished, so those will receive somewhat abbreviated reviews.
First of all, the biggies:
Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
(The exhibition is on the First Floor in Galleries 1–8)
Wow, wow, wow! This “once-in-a-century” exhibition was at the top of my must-do list this autumn, along with Monet and London. Press reviews promised huge popularity, and indeed it is sold out until mid-December. As a Member plus one guest I hoped I might get in soon after the 14 September opening. On Thursday 19 September I went to Trafalgar Square and was directed straight in to the first floor entrance—what a wonderful surprise! There were lots of people but still room to see all 61 works, a mix of oils and pen-and-ink drawings, in six rooms.
Many loans come from private and major overseas collections: Philadelphia (one of the two Sunflowers), New York (MoMA’s Olive Trees), Chicago, Washington DC, Paris (Musée d’Orsay’s Starry Night Over the Rhone), Amsterdam (the Van Gogh Museum), Athens (two from the Goulandris Collection), Zurich, Ottawa (Irises), Tokyo (a small but stunning Roses) and of course the National’s own Van Goghs in Gallery 43, including the new loan Portrait of Adeline Ravoux.
Framed around the Poets and Lovers theme, the show explores Van Gogh’s two years in Arles and at Saint-Rémy Hospital in 1888–1889. It is not the usual troubled-genius narrative but a study of his focus on colour, simplifying his approach, and sometimes including tiny figures against vast skies or trees. The final room, Variations on a Theme, contains breathtaking works.
The pen-and-ink drawings, especially the Montmajour series in Room 4, reveal Van Gogh’s extraordinary draftsmanship. In black and white he creates depth, atmosphere and evocative imagery comparable to his vivid oil palette.
This superb exhibition is sponsored by Kenneth C. Griffin’s Griffin Catalyst, Christie’s, White & Case, David Molly Lowell Borthwick and Adrian Sassoon and Edmund Burke. Curators Christopher Riopelle and Cornelia Homburg deserve high praise. I’ve returned twice with friends and will go again.
Runs until Sunday 19 January 2025. Open daily 10.00 am–6.00 pm, until 9.00 pm Fridays. Tickets £24–31 including a £2 donation. Members enter free and get 10 per cent off merchandise. Sold out until 8 December; more tickets release on 19 November.
Monet and London at The Courtauld, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
This is the other must-see autumn show alongside Van Gogh. In late September I learned The Courtauld holds back tickets daily for Members, with timed entry after a 15–30 minute wait. I joined that day for £90 (or £85 by direct debit) membership, which allows me and a guest to visit anytime. Individual tickets cost £20 per person and are unlikely to be available until late December or January 2025.
On 24 October, my friend and I raced up to the two third-floor rooms housing 21 bespoke canvases: eight in Room 1 of Waterloo Bridge and Charing Cross Bridge, six more Waterloos in Room 2 alongside seven Houses of Parliament scenes. The square canvases, hung close together, create an astonishing kaleidoscope of light and colour. Seeing them in person is incomparable to reproductions.
This is the first time in 120 years that these works have been reunited in London. Monet began them during his stints at The Savoy and Saint Thomas’s Hospital, then abandoned the project in favour of his Waterlilies. The Courtauld’s achievement in assembling them is a triumph.
I have visited three times already. The only slight let-down is the catalogue, whose colour reproductions cannot match the vibrating paint on canvas.
Runs until Sunday 19 January 2025. Sold out, but Friends and Members can obtain free timed-entry tickets in person. Open daily 10.00 am–6.00 pm. Café and shop available.
Those two exhibitions remain on view but fully booked. Many of the following have now closed; two I am still reviewing in my next issue:
- Expressions in Blue: Monumental Porcelain by Felicity Aylieff at Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens, TW9 3AE
- Leighton and Landscape: Impressions from Nature at Leighton House, 12 Holland Park Road, W14 8LZ
Expressions in Blue by Felicity Aylieff at Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew Gardens, TW9 3AE
Pass through the Winter Garden and two towering blue porcelain obelisks announce this show. Aylieff collaborates with artisans in Jingdezhen, drawing designs that are hand-thrown on giant wheels by teams of up to four potters. A short film explains the Qing Hua cobalt-blue technique and the Fencai enamel methods used for floral motifs. Sketchbooks and tools—massive brushes for applying cobalt glazes—demonstrate her meticulous process.
This free exhibition in three rooms plus alcove rewards 30–45 minutes of exploration. A useful illustrated guide costs £15.
Runs to Sunday 23 March 2025. Entry included in Kew Gardens admission: off-peak £12–15.50 online (£14–17.60 gate), peak £20–24.50 online (£22–26.50 gate). Members enter free with guest access and receive 10 per cent in-shop discount.
Leighton and Landscape at Leighton House, 12 Holland Park Road, W14 8LZ
Over 60 small plein-air landscapes by Frederic, Lord Leighton, plus pencil sketches, span the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Leighton travelled annually to recharge from Royal Academy duties, painting rugged villages and coastlines in spontaneous oils. Victorian gilded frames sometimes dominate delicate canvases, but the brushwork and sense of place shine through. Shared between a lower-ground room and a first-floor gallery, the show merits a visit and a viewing of the 15-minute film downstairs. The Arab Hall glows in autumn sunlight. An excellent café, shop and garden complete the experience.
Runs until Sunday 27 April 2025. Tickets £14 for Leighton House or £22 with Samborne House (a short walk away). National Art Pass holders free.
Expressionists: Kandinsky, Müenter and the Blue Rider at Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG
(Eyal Ofer Galleries, Third Floor East)
This vast show of 130 works in twelve rooms overwhelmed me on first visit. A second trip with a knowledgeable friend helped immensely. The Blue Rider group of radical artists, musicians and writers in Bavaria come to life in paintings, prints and some scientific exhibits. Fascinating but challenging for the uninitiated.
Ran until Sunday 20 October 2024. Tickets £22; members free.
Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, NW1 4NU
I saw one of the last performances of this revival. Tevye, the Jewish milkman, navigates daughters who insist on marrying for love, against a backdrop of pre-revolutionary upheaval. The familiar tunes and clever staging made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Ran until Saturday 28 September 2024. The theatre runs a 20-week summer season.
Coriolanus at the Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, SE1
David Oyelowo’s intense turn in Shakespeare’s tragedy about power and revenge demanded full attention. The language, regional accents and dramatic staging made it a heavy but memorable evening.
Ran until 9 November 2024.
Frieze Sculpture in The English Gardens, Regent’s Park, NW1
The free outdoor sculpture show returns each autumn alongside Frieze art fairs. Modern works by international artists can be viewed in any weather. Curated by Fatoş Üstek, this year’s selection included many challenging pieces, not to my taste but worthy of support for emerging talent.
LAPADA Berkeley Square Fair, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1
This autumn highlight returned with over 80 exhibitor stands under a tent among the plane trees. Art Deco furniture, paintings, silver, glass, jewellery and objets d’art made it irresistible.
Ran 23–27 October 2024. Complimentary tickets available via mailing list.
Winter Art & Antiques Fair, Spirit of Christmas Fair and Luxury Travel Fair at Olympia, W14
These three fairs offered art, antiques, festive gifts and gourmet treats over 4–10 November 2024. The Spirit of Christmas Fair alone spanned over 150 stalls of crafts, food and drink, plus bars and cafés. A test of stamina but a trove of gift ideas.
Women in Art Biennale London at Chelsea Old Town Hall, SW3
A free showcase of work by 150 women artists from 50 countries, spanning painting, sculpture, installation and digital media. Each piece comes with the artist’s note. A varied, engaging afternoon.
Ran 26–29 September 2024.
The Lord Mayor’s Show – processional route Bank, Mansion House, St Paul’s, Ludgate Hill, Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice, returning via Embankment and Victoria Street
On the second Sunday in November, 7 000 participants, 250 horses and 150 floats paraded in the world’s oldest civic procession. I caught the return route after lunch at the Royal Courts of Justice. Next year I will arrive earlier!
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