A Rose is a Rose is a Rose…

Michael Glover questions the New York painter David Hornung about his admiration for the work of Rose Wylie MG: Why is Rose Wylie one of your favourite painters, David? DH: I am impressed by the authority of her belief in her process, her subjects and her very idiosyncratic visual lexicon. She’s always unpredictable and utterly … Continue reading A Rose is a Rose is a Rose… →

Gormley Quiz Time!

What is a Gormley and what are Gormleys for? Etymology 1. There are many people who would readily answer to the name of GORMLEY 2. Only one of these is the sculptor ANTONY GORMLEY 3. Superficial Etymological Delvings: The GORM of Gormley is also in GORMless (dull-witted; Sheffieldish and elsewhere) and GORMenghast (Peake). Gormleys 1.Gormleys … Continue reading Gormley Quiz Time! →

Blake Pencil anyone?

Fancy a bit of visionary excess? Try the William Blake exhibition at Tate Britain. You will never have seen so many Blakes gathered together. What a bitter and angry man he was though! So much hack work as a printer and engraver to earn a living! Pencil, courtesy William Blake The oddest thing about the … Continue reading Blake Pencil anyone? →

The Molten Force of the Sunflower****

A Van Gogh masterpiece in the laboratory....

The Molten Force of the Sunflower****

‘I, indeed, before, others, have taken the sunflower,’ wrote Vincent Van Gogh to Paul Gauguin on 21 January 1889 with remarkable assurance for a man of such febrile temperament. Ever since, the whole world has inclined to agree with him. The name Van Gogh has become identified with his various painted representations of it. Without … Continue reading The Molten Force of the Sunflower**** →

The Challenge of Latex: the danger of gender-fluidity spillage **

read Michael Glover on Kiss My Genders at the Hayward Gallery, London

The Challenge of Latex: the danger of gender-fluidity spillage **

Can you imagine a hotter topic for an inflated gallery show than gender fluidity? Apparently human beings are are at it everywhere these days, in the bedroom and the schoolroom, wondering who they are, and who they might yet become once they have shucked off the daily, flat-footed plod of their customary identities... Could there … Continue reading The Challenge of Latex: the danger of gender-fluidity spillage ** →