I’ve decided to change the focus of this newsletter to highlight a few exhibitions I’ve seen over the past fortnight, offering greater insight into them. Covering every exhibition I’ve seen meant I was writing about a lot of shows I didn’t care for, or have much to say on, so I’m hoping this new approach will be more interesting for both me and you lovely readers. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the comments.
All the King’s artists
Did you know that King Charles (and before that, Prince Charles) takes an artist on tour with him, and he’s been doing so since 1986? Neither did I. He covers the artists' costs as they accompany him on tour; they are free to paint whatever they want, and the works are then acquired for his private collection. Some of those works are now on display in Buckingham Palace, and you can visit them as part of the blinging and steeply priced Summer Opening of the State Rooms (until 28 September, ticketed).
I know the King is a big advocate of the arts and this is a great idea, but something was grating at me as I walked around. Nearly all the artists who have been on tour are white British, and I thought maybe they have to be British. Not the case, as he’s used local artists in visits to the USA and Australia. The one that stood out was Claudette Johnson travelling with him to Rwanda, which makes more sense than taking a white artist to the African continent.
When I see Luke Martineau’s paintings of India, they are lovely, but it would be great if the King took an artist of Indian heritage with him on the tour instead or even hired a local artist to accompany him.
Maybe I’m being harsh as these works stretch back to the 1980s, and the decolonising debate was far from the mainstream back then, but I’d love to see this tradition evolve so he takes artists with that country’s heritage with him on tour. I’m not saying that purely for better representation of artists from different backgrounds, but they would also have a different experience of visiting a country they have links to, and it should lead to more interesting art. I’d love to know your thoughts on this.
The new coronation portraits of Camilla (good) and Charles (not good) are also up in the State Rooms. The painter of Charles’ portrait is Peter Kuhfeld, and if you’re wondering how he got the gig, he’s been the King’s official tour artist a remarkable six times, so he always had an inside track.
Below the paywall:
Where to find truly affordable art?
My thoughts on the Emily Kam Kngwarray exhibition at Tate Modern
What I made of the first-ever Islington Gallery Weekend
Trips to the Whitechapel Gallery, The Postal Museum and Victoria Miro - with mixed results
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