A few exhibitions on at the TATE in the UK. Covid – 19 will prevent people attending, but thankfully we can still view the incredible images!
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TATE BRITAIN, MILLBANK
BRITISH BAROQUE: POWER AND ILLUSION
Uncover the art of an age of transformation
Baroque was the dominant style in art and architecture of the seventeenth century, characterized by self-confidence, dynamism and a realistic approach to depiction.
The Baroque within 16th century contexts needs some qualification. It followed the political fallout from the Reformation, as well as the more sedate High Renaissance and Mannerist periods in art. Evidentially, the Baroque was most intensely explored in Italy in the early 17th century, with some of the most magnificent works produced by the Carracci brothers, Rubens, Caravaggio and Bernini (to name just a few); with the Flemish Baroque painter Anthony van Dyck becoming court painter during the 1630’s in England.
Luscious and exuberant, the greatest Baroque artworks subdued the population with illusions of grandeur, complex beauty and symphonic opulence.
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This is the first time that Tate has staged a show devoted to the later 17th century and the first to explore baroque art in Britain. It will be a chance to encounter a rich, sophisticated but overlooked era of art history.
Many of the works will be on display for the first time – some borrowed from the stately homes they have hung in since they were made.
TEXT: Tate Britain
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THE TIMES OF CHARLES THE II & QUEEN ANNE
From the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the late Stuart period was a time of momentous change for Britain. From the royal court as the brilliant epicentre of the nation’s cultural life to the rise of party politics, the exhibition will look at the magnificence of art and architecture as an expression of status and influence.
This exhibition will include the work of the leading painters of the day – including Peter Lely, Godfrey Kneller and James Thornhill.
It will celebrate grand-scale portraiture, the wonder and artifice of trompe l’oeil, the emotional persuasion of religious spaces and the awe-inspiring impact of baroque mural painting.
Throughout, the show will consider the use of art to convey power, however distant the illusion sometimes was from reality.
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Click on images for finer details:
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TATE MODERN, BANKSIDE, LONDON
KARA WALKER’S
Fons Americanus
Fons Americanus is a 13-metre tall working fountain inspired by the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London.
Rather than a celebration of the British Empire, Walker’s fountain explores the interconnected histories of Africa, America and Europe.
She uses water as a key theme, referring to the transatlantic slave trade and the ambitions, fates and tragedies of people from these three continents.
Fantasy, fact and fiction meet at an epic scale.
This commission has been made using an environmentally-conscious production process and has been built from recyclable or reusable cork, wood and metal. The surface covering is made from a non-toxic acrylic and cement composite that can be used for sculpting or casting. It avoids the use of large quantities of non-recyclable materials and harmful substances often found in the production of exhibitions and installations.
Based in New York, Kara Walker is acclaimed for her candid explorations of race, sexuality and violence.
Walker is best known for her use of black cut-paper silhouetted figures, referencing the history of slavery and the antebellum South in the US through provocative and elaborate installations.
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TATE ST IVES
NAUM GABO
UNTIL 3 MAY 2020
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Experience the first extensive presentation of Naum Gabo‘s sculptures, paintings, drawings and architectural designs to be held in the UK for over 30 years.
The exhibition marks the centenary of the Realistic Manifesto 1920, a set of pioneering artistic principles launched in Moscow by Gabo and his brother Antoine Pevsner. The statement declared that authentically modern art should engage with and reflect the modern age.
Naum Gabo Head No.2 1916, enlarged version 1964. The Work of Naum Gabo © Nina & Graham Williams / Tate. Photo: Kirstin Prisk.
Drawing primarily on the complementary collections of Gabo’s work held at Tate and the Berlinische Galerie in Berlin, Germany, it will focus on key themes in his work.
TEXT: TATE ST IVES
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