Visual Research

Explores the structure and development of the Pre-Raphaelite movement in the mid-19th century and works that figure among the most enduring and generally popular in British art. Renowned writer and art critic Edward Lucie-Smith contributes a study of the brotherhood of seven artists and their interconnection and intricate links with the social establishment of the time. James Cahill has a special interest in the movement, having studied Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Holman Hunt. He reviews a major exhibition of 150 works at Tate Britain launched in September 2012.

The Titian Show at the National Gallery here in London has just opened to the public again. It was available for just three days before the big lockdown. Now, it is with us once more, though on rather different terms from what was the case previously. You have to book a time. You have to be wearing a mask. You have to maintain distance between yourself and other visitors booked in for the same slot. Is it worth the hassle? Yes, of course it is. Titian is one of the greatest figures in the history of Western art.

A study of Aubrey Beardsley's work exhibited at Tate Britain until May 25, 2020. The author considers the darkly vigorous imagery of the short lived genius, his graphic work for the notorious Yellow Book, and sublimely erotic illustrations for Lysistrata by Aristophane and Salome by Oscar Wilde, which frank imagery even shocked the author.

The 251st Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy London in a review recorded at the press view on 3rd June 2019. The Summer Exhibition is most popular event in the nation’s cultural calendar, and commercially the most successful. It allows works in all media, print/photography/painting/sculpture/architectural models - with rooms arranged by different Royal Academicians, some of whom, like Barbara Rae’s Arctic room, set a theme to their hang.

Cv/VAR 102 documents Leviathan, a commissioned sculpture by Anish Kapoor for the Monumenta series at the Grand Palais, Paris. It records a press presentation at his London studio. The artist describes the project, with reference to scale models, and discusses 120 metre high Orbit in construction for the 2012 London Olympics. It then visits Leviathan installed at the Grand Palais in May 2011.

The 2013 monograph republished on the occasion of the 2020 Andy Warhol retrospective at Tate Modern London featuring: Campbell's Soup Cans, 1960s portraits; Suicides and Car Crashes; Sex Parts; Latinx Trans Portraits and the finnale Sicty Last Suppers 1986. Includes Andy Warhol at the NGMA Edinburgh, October 2007, A Celebration of Life...and Death. Magdalena Wasiura on Andy Warhol: Brigid Bardot portrait at Gagosian Gallery 2013.

In a set of essays entitled "Doubles" author, critic, curator, and traveller, Marina Vaizey explores pairings of artists drawn from the canonical cycle of Western art. She considers themes of engagement such as the portrait or figure, treated as stories of wider implication for society, that draw on the artist’s perception of the seen, combined with personal visions of dreams and imagination.

This audiobook is a review of David Hocking's Drawing from Life exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. It explores early self-portraits from the 1950s and portraits of friends and associates, including Celia Birtwell, Gregory Evans, and Maurice Payne.

An essay by Edward Lucie-Smith considers the Andy Warhol exhibition re-opening at Tate Modern on July 27. He puts forward a provocative view of the relevance of the art in an time of turbulent disruption. When the Warhol show returns to Tate Modern on July 27, almost the first thing you’ll meet if you go to see it will be a large painting, on two paired canvases, entitled Marilyn Diptych. It features repeated images the film star Marilyn Monroe.

A review of the retrospective exhibition of sculptor Sir Antony Gormley OBE held at the Royal Academy London. Encounters varied works from studies and notebooks to gigantic installations.

Viewing the exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum Oxford by American Artist Jeff Koons (born 1955). Considers sculptures such as Silvered Ballerinas, a Magenta Balloon Venus, and GPS System. Also the artist's re-constitution of classic works by Titiam, Rubens, and Gericault with the inclusion of a blue glass sphere.

A review of the Mary Quant exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum London. The audiobook looks at the beginnings of the designer's practice, launched with the Kings Road boutique Bazaar in the 1950s; progressing to Quant's mini skirts and trouser suits in the 1960s, and development of a cosmetic range in the 1970s. Includes quotations from associates and biographical data.

A recorded visit to Elizabethan Treasures during the press view at the National Portrait Gallery London. Inspect miniature portraits by Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver of Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Frake, Henry Wriothesley and others, and the celebrated icon of Queen Elizabeth I.

A commentary on the Pierre Bonnard exhibition recorded at the press view on Monday January 21, 2018. Views figure studies and landscapes made between 1900 and 1940 and responds to the conception of the compositions with their radiant color fields.

In September 1972, three graduates rented two floors above a cash and carry warehouse at 65A Lisson Street, West London. After a couple of months, one emptied his studio, the first floor front room, and opened the space for exhibitions. There followed a spate of invented artists which made humorous comments on the high-flown conceptual arena. In 1974, the gallery strengthened its identity with the Gallery London Displays, a series developed with sculptor Vaughan Grylls.

Daniel Graves is a man of many talents. He juggles his responsibilities of being a painter, a teacher, the director of The Florence Academy of Art, a husband, and a father remarkably well. He knew from the age of three or four who he wanted to be. His career launched when he was 11 years old. He studied with many artists including Richard Lack, Richard Serrin, and Signorina Simi, and received regular critiques from Pietro Annigoni.

A review of Nam June Paik at Tate Modern, explores the exhibition room by room. "When asked about his practice Paik replied "I am aware of Zen, but I am an artist: I react to Zen in the same way I react to the music of Johan Sebastian Bach."

A recorded visit to van Gogh and Britain considers the work of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) placed in the context of British art and literature of the 19th century and his effect on succeeding generations of artists.

An interview with the author J. P. Donleavy, recorded in 1989 on the occasion of his exhibition at Anna-Mei Chadwick Gallery, Chelsea. He describes his formative experience of Dublin, with exhibitions there in 1948, '50, and '51, the catalogue manifestos, for these were his first published writings, leading to work on his first renowned novel, The Ginger Man.

Cv/VAR 66 interviews Dr. Michael Ryan of the National Museum Dublin recorded at the opening of the exhibition The Work of Angels at the British Museum in 1989. He describes pieces found at Derrynaflan dating from the eighth century including an ecclesiastical paten, jewelry, accessories, and domestic artifacts. It carries a detailed account of Celtic and Pictish craftsmanship and iconography.