Exhibitions Unblogged

I've been very bad at blogging this year, especially about some excellent exhibitions I've seen, so here is a catch-up bloggie to get them into the Plastic Bag. 

'Durer's Journeys: Travels of a Renaissance Artist' at the National Gallery

Follow Durer on his journeys to Italy and the Low Countries through drawings, paintings and prints, the architecture and the strange animals he saw in zoos.  

'Surrealism Beyond Borders' at Tate Modern

I always think of surrealism as a European/American thing so who knew there was an active group of surrealists in Cairo and a thriving scene in Mexico. The exhibition does what it promises and shares the surrealist experience from around the world.

'Helen Frankenthaler: Radical Beauty' at Dulwich Picture Gallery

A real eye-opener in how to make prints. I still can't get my head around what I saw were really prints, even after watching a video of how she made the prints. Astonishing and beautiful. "No rules".

'Van Gogh: Self Portraits' at the Courtauld Gallery

A small but lovely exhibition of how Van Gogh saw himself throughout his painting career and how his painting developed.

'Virtual Veronese' at the National Gallery

Put on the virtual reality headset and you head back to the 15th century and see a Veronese painting in the chapel it was originally painted for, a very strange experience.

'Life Between Islands' at Tate Britain

A great selection of paintings, photographs and installations by artists with Caribbean heritage but associated with the UK

'Raphael' at the National Gallery

A wonderful romp through the artistic career of Raphael ending with his time in Rome before he died in 1520. Painting, drawings, bronzes, prints, designs for tapestries and even his architecture works. 

'Beyond Bloomsbury: Life, Loves and Legacy' at York Art Gallery

Lots of portraits of and by the Bloomsbury group of artists, forever painting each other, plus some lovely still lifes, a sampling of the Omega Workshop works and the ongoing legacy of Bloomsbury.