Fiona Rae at Leeds Art Gallery

We Go In Search of Our Dream (2007) Oil and acrylic on canvas

I made two visits to Fiona Rae’s current exhibition at the Leeds Art Gallery and I would happily go again. The 17 paintings of hers on display are large and captivating works, almost all busy enough to keep the eye occupied for a long time. The mix of materials and mediums equally brings another layer (quite literally) to the paintings, with Rae even applying glitter to the surfaces of some, creating a playful and joyous effect. And that is exactly what her art is about; joy. The joy of creation and the joy of viewing such bright and bold artworks.

Her idiosyncratic use of materials across the 25 years she has worked has brought Rae’s work into a new relationship with the tradition of painting, questioning and expanding it’s conventions.  It also echoes and explores the imagery of an internet, photoshop, digital and video gaming age, borrowing images and motifs from all these areas to provide a vision that is relevant to the experience of contemporary life.

This show runs until August and is definately worth a visit if you are in the city.

Fiona Rae: Maybe you can live on the moon in the next century – Leeds Art Gallery – 11 May until 26 August 2012. Entrance – Free.

In the Best Possible Taste – Grayson Perry

Tonight Channel 4 have shown the first of Grayson Perry’s new series In the Best Possible Taste, which explores the artist’s attempts to understand the tastes of 21st century Britain.  Having loved the work of Perry for a few years I am excited to watch and see how he has taken on the subject.

 

Detail of one of Perry’s recent tapestries.

 

I always find Perry charismatic and intelligent when he is discussing his work or contemporary issues and situations, as well as bringing a sense of the absurd and idiosyncratic. His recent exhibition The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at the British Museum presented a stunning and well-thought-out collection of historical objects and Perry’s own artworks, and it’s no surprise that it gained an extended run. If, like me, you live around Leeds, the art gallery has on display a couple of his pots which are always a joy to view, combining both perceptive social observation and a refreshing sense of humor. They are also beautiful objects.

A pot from the exhibition The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman