Friends and Relations

Friends and Relations: Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Michael Andrews, is an exhibition inspired by a John Deakin photograph of the four painters in Soho 1963. The exhibition aims to present the connections between the artists respective practices and in doing so inevitably it also brings to light a glimpse into their friendship.

Upon entering the first room of the space the viewer is greeted by a set of landscape and still life paintings, with the most prominent works in this room belonging to Freud and Auerbach. The painting’s subject, particular Freud’s Wasteground with Houses, Paddington, 1970-72 is not a subject matter that would generally be associated with Freud, mostly know for his textured and highly detailed portraits. However, it seems this painting provides a nice link to Auerbach’s Primrose Hill, 1958 oil on canvas painting, both is subject matter and viewpoint. Both seemingly painted from a high floor, looking down at their surroundings. Freud’s painting of Interior with a Plant, Refection Listening (Self-portrait), 1967-68 seems to act as a bridge back to Freud’s traditional subject matter and in doing so links us back to the human forms the viewer is used to.

Guided to the next room by a solitary Bacon painting, the viewer is then faced by Bacon’s Three Studies for Portraits: Isabel Rawsthorne, Lucian Freud and J.H., 1966. Presented against a dimly lit navy backdrop the paintings rich green tones and flowing strokes draw you in for a closer inspection. Infront a deep burgundy wall draws us to Bacon’s Three Studies of Henrietta Moraes, 1969, once again the backdrop carefully chosen to complement and draw our eyes to rich pinks and almost tactile peach tones. No photographs are allowed to be taken in this section due to copyright issues but to be honest the photograph would not do justice to the intimate feel invoked by this tiny, dark space.

In the next room we are now introduced back to an enlarged space, connected through Freud’s Girl on Blanket, 1952, the sitter a young Moraes who reminds the viewer of the shared and lifelong friendships the artist shared and the theme to this exhibition. Nestled in this room are a collection of paintings in which the sitters share a deep connection the painter; be it Freuds portraits of his daughters, Andrews’ beautiful Melanie and Me Swimming, 1978-79 or even Andrews paintings of The Colony Room, displaying the artist spending time together.

On the whole the exhibition fulfills its aim of inviting the viewer to the life and friendship of these four artists. It is interesting to see how closely they interacted with each other in Andrews paintings and how they even sat for each other. The exhibition just like the artists’ friendship perhaps, flows organically through each room so much so that the viewer feels not just like an outsider looking in but feels a familiarity, perhaps this can be attributed to the familiarity of the faces and subject matters that keeps appearing again and again throughout the rooms.

The exhibition is currently displaying at the Gagosian Gallery in Grosvenor Hill, London.

Some colour

Sketch, Acrylic on card, 2013

I don’t usually use bright colours in my work but lately I have been making an effort to try and experiment and get out my comfort zone. It feels good to try something new and to paint things that aren’t necessarily perfect and that I don’t hold any fixed expectation about it.

This is tio…

Continuing on the subject of portraiture this portrait is of my uncle taken in 2010.

Tio, 2010. Colour Print.

Portraits and time

 

I have finally got round to organising my room this weekend and in the process managed to gather all my work from the last 5 years into one tidy space. Looking back I realised first of all that I should let glue dry properly before storing away my sketch books, pretty obvious I know, but according to my ruined contact sheets it wasn’t too obvious to me back then.

It was nice to see my work again with fresh eyes and with a new perspective that only time can give you. Perhaps the works that stood out the most were the self portraits that I made over the years. Self portraits are strange because though in your head you think you know who you are when somebody tells you to show it, or you are faced with a situation were you have to present an aspect of yourself you freeze. This is how I felt whenever we had an assignment we had to do a self portrait. I look at the work I created in my first year of university and though the images look like me they are highly controlled and over symbolised, attempting to show over explain poignant situations in my life that influenced who I was or so I thought. This however was not only prominent in my portrait but also in that of my other sitters. To tell you the truth the portraits looked confused and unrealistic, and the work I submitted would probably be my last choice now if I had to submit them again. It’s weird that with time I now look at those portraits and can quickly pinpoint which ones are the realest portraits, and have more going for them. Strangely enough is the ones that are the simplest that feel more honest and interesting, the ones that in the past I passed of as boring. It makes me happy and sad at the same time looking back at them.

Here are a two of my favourites. Sorry about the poor quality.

 

Self Portrait, 2010.

Zahra as Frida. 2010.

I will be posting more soon.

Dear London 2:

Black cats

 

Tired of perfect

and bikes

Mermaids

 

Trapping movement

Run, 2011.