herethereandeverywhere

A couple of days last week in Spain, finally got to see The Alhambra. It was stunning and everything I wanted it to be. Popped into Malaga to have lunch and see the excellent show at the Pompidou Centre Gallery – some great work from the collection including women and smoke by Judy Chicago and I like America and America likes me by Beuys – wonderful. Spent most of the time catching some sun and eating/drinking, The 3-hour lunches are glorious, surrounded by Spanish people who appear to know how to live. This part of Spain a drink comes with a free meal! I’ve spent the week in Lowestoft at the Battery of Ideas installing a hanging piece 5m x 2.5m x 2.5m – belief it or not. It looks good, although difficult to document. I have some work in a show in Japan - At the Promised Place: Expanding Imagination Through Book Art. A quick preview. Onto screens – Nine bodies in a Mexican morgue – a teenage novel made into series – an odd experience. Riot Women – sold as a quirky fun thing turned out to be a wonderfully written drama about male violence, traumatised by images that are in my head but were never seen – excellent.  

sunseesky21degrees

Two days in Malaga to catch some sun and blue sky - wonderful - managed to see some interesting work in galleries and museums in between soaking up the sun in outdoor restaurants and bars. The Centre Pompidou Málaga was excellent - 2 large exhibitions - Place-ness - artists examining the role of place in their practice. Organised in thoughtful chapters with much to read and think about in terms of concepts around public space and who owns it. Standout pieces include work by Studio 5.5, Ian Hamilton Finlay and Micea Cantor. The other show, an overview of Carlos Raul Villanueva's plans for working with artists were explored and presented superbly - the work of Jesus-Raphael Soto was awesome, with many of my current concerns engaged with and I spent a good 10 minutes with one piece - Black and white egg by Andre Bloc trying to work out how and what in terms of it's making, a masterful piece of modernism. Museo Carmen Thyssen is a glorious space, a restored moorish palace, and tremendous bookshop. Naked, the main show of nudes was good, full of excellent craftsmanship but the collection itself is fairly mad, with some great Old Master Romantic Portraits and landscapes in the 'Spanish' style. Málaga museum has loads to offer, giving a full history lesson of the place, also well displayed odd stuff. But mainly sitting, eating and drinking outside in the sun and warmth, often till 12 at night was most excellent.