METAMORPHOSIS: CONTEMPORARY CONVERSATIONS AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY

Written by Nathan Gotlib

London, 24th July - So I had read about this exhibition in the newspapers and I happened to be in town to go and see the BP Portrait Awards 2012 (the show I try and go to every year, exquisite display of skill and draughtsmanship with an ever-increasing lack of content and concept). As the National Gallery is literally just around the corner, I thought I might as well have a look.

The exhibition features work by three contemporary artists: Mark Wallinger, Chris Ofili and Conrad Shawcross. All the work has been inspired by three paintings by Titian. The pinnacle of the work was the ballet performance at the Royal Opera House, a project all the artists worked on together with the Royal Ballet in response to Titan’s work.

YOKO ONO "TO THE LIGHT" AT SERPENTINE GALLERY

Wish Trees 2012, photograph by Rosemary Marchant

Written by Rosemary Marchant

Until recently I had always thought of Yoko Ono as John Lennon’s wife who happened to be an artist, rather than as an interesting and influential artist in her own right. Her relationship with Lennon undoubtedly fuels people’s interest in her work and walking into the Serpentine to hear Lennon’s Imagine being played in the background emphasises this. Of course the tragedy of Lennon’s death influenced Ono’s work. But hearing the song made me begin to wonder if Yoko Ono really has been able to escape Lennon’s shadow, and if she even wants to.