The Master’s Voice
The sublime paintings of Frans Hals.
Frans Hals / Until January 21st 2024
National Gallery, London
One of the finest artists of any generation, the exquisite brushwork, unique style of portraiture and sublime craft make this exhibition a must-see.
The first major retrospective of Hals in more than thirty years gives the opportunity to marvel at the quality of his techniques. The confidence is breathtaking, with precise strokes and masterful modelling coupled with almost carefree handling of the paint way ahead of its time.
Indeed, Hals’ deft brushwork was unparalleled, building his reputation on a new style of portraiture that amalgamated these techniques with an exceptional characterisation of the people he painted - smiling, laughing, having fun!
one of the greatest painters in Western art
I stood in the centre of one of the rooms in the National Gallery, paused and considered how incredible it all was. I shook my head in disbelief. In fact, I’d been muttering to myself, rolling my eyes, and shaking my head, in awe, throughout. How lucky I was to be standing in a room surrounded by Hals’ work - one of the greatest painters in Western art.
Lucky indeed. I travelled over to Amsterdam in June to see the once-in-a-lifetime Johannes Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. To see two of my favourite painters, two of the greatest painters in two blockbuster exhibitions in the same year, I could die happy.
Sound and Vision
The immersive world of London-based UVA.
UVA - Synchronicity / Until December 17th 2023
180 Strand, London
United Visual Artists (UVA), a London-based collective formed in 2003, unveil their largest-ever exhibition, presented by 180 Studios.
Set within 180’s labyrinthine and industrial underground space in the Strand, the exhibition takes you on a journey through eight, primarily large-scale, immersive works, each challenging our perceptions of time through light, sound and movement.
The exhibition features a new audiovisual installation, Polyphony, exploring our relationship with the natural world. Evocative field recordings of the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the Central African Republic, created by influential sound artist Bernie Krause (The Great Animal Orchestra) and set to a hypnotic lightshow framed within a circular auditorium, serve as a memento mori to industrialisation and species loss.
challenging our perceptions of time through light, sound and movement
Musica Universalis
Musica Universalis, explores light, harmony and movement, reinterpreting the proportionality of heavenly bodies and the philosophical notion of ‘sound’ between them. Changes of light and colour and the interplay of shadow create an otherwordly atmosphere, UVA’s ‘kinetic instruments’ helping to envelop the viewer in a quasi-religious experience.
In Present Shock II, UVA teamed up once again with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja. A vast wall of statistics displaying algorithmically-generated news headlines is fun and frightening, impressive and captivating.
UVA - Synchronicity, like Universal Everything’s highly impressive show, Lifeforms, last year, is ideal for 180’s dark, cavernous spaces, highlighting the richness of multiple sensory experiences and the profound nature of time and human existence.
Not to be missed.