London

Yinka Shonibare

Yinka Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is the first commission by a black British artist and also the first one that is specifically linked to the history of Trafalgar Square. It takes the notion of awe and childish wonder of a ship in a bottle to a monumental scale.

Henry Moore, Upright Internal/External Form, 1952-53

“The fullness of form, the tautness of form, all these things are connected with life, and life is sex.”–Henry Moore

The Henry Moore exhibition at the Tate Britain is a wonderful show. In the 1920s and early 1930s Moore was highly influenced by primitive African and tribal art. The theme of Mother and Child was an oft used subject as Moore felt it was universal and had been in existence since the beginning of time. He loved playing with a smaller form interacting with a bigger form and the ideas of protection and nurture. However, it was crucial to Moore that he abstract this subject matter to make it as unsentimental as possible. During the 1930s his sculpture underwent a large transformation in which works became much more abstract with erotic and sensuous surfaces.

Henry Moore, 1935

This is a beautiful example of Moore’s sensuous forms from the 1930s. Drawing was also an important part of his practice and it helped him to generate ideas for his sculptures. When the war broke out he abandoned sculpture for drawing and there is an entire room in the show devoted to his “Shelter Drawings.” The work is intense and difficult but also enlightening to see how his style progressed over the years. Later the reclining figure became his principal subject; it gave him freedom to “invent a completely new form.” He liked to play with the same theme in one particular material. And from 1935-1978 he carved 6 large reclining figures out of Elmwood. Three are on view at the Tate.

Anton Henning, installation view

I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon an Anton Henning exhibition, Masterdote/Antisinger at Haunch of Venison’s London space. I have been a fan of Henning’s since I first encountered his work at Zach Feuer a few years ago. I love the craft and thought that goes into his creations (paintings, installations, frames, stained glass windows, furniture, etc.). He is truly a meticulous artist focusing on every last detail of installation and creating environments for viewers to experience, not just exhibitions to walk through. On view are more than 80 works that demonstrate his talent as well as his whimsy and his frequent art historical references.

Henning table