'Octoquentinicious'

Exhibition leaflet signed by Quentin Blake

I was lucky enough to attend the private view of children's illustrator Quentin Blakes selling exhibition, 'Octoquentinicious,' at Chris Beetles gallery the weekend before last. Not only did the exhibition feature over 100 signed drawings and watercolours by Quentin, but he himself was there! 

Best known for his 15 year partnership with Roald Dahl and his unforgettable illustrations for Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Twits, The Witches and The BFG - many of which can be seen in the exhibition. 

I hadn't however appreciated quite how many other books he has illustrated, sitting on the cornice above the pictures were lots of other books he has worked on. The exhibition includes 75 new and unseen works, many created specifically for this exhibition, the majority of which sold before it even opened. Prices range from £250 - £5,000.

I did feel a little foolish having queued up for his autograph and declared I was his biggest fan, when I asked who his favourite character was that he had drawn over the years. Presuming it would be a Roald Dahl character I knew well he responded 'Clown,' to which I drew a total blank, never heard of that one.

Music was provided by the Jelly Roller and there were several sweet mountains...

The exhibition runs until January 5th 2013 at the Chris Beetles Gallery, 8-10 Ryder Street, London SW1Y 6QB.

Man jailed for defacing Mark Rothko

Black on Maroon - Mark Rothko

Polish national Wlodzimierz Umaniec was yesterday jailed for two years for defacing Mark Rothko's 'Black on Maroon,' worth tens of millions of pounds, at the Tate Modern. On October 7th gallery visitors saw the man casually walk up to the painting and scrawl 'Vladimir Umanets, 12, A Potential Piece of Yellowism' before fleeing the gallery. Mr Umaniec pleaded guilty but insisted he was not a vandal as he had added to the work's value?!

The Tate have said the damage was much worse that initially feared and could take up to 20 months to restore and cost about £200,000.

Mr Umaniec co-founded the bizarre artistic movement 'Yellowism.' What on earth is that I hear you ask, well you may well ask, its described as 'neither art, nor anti-art,' something I can't quite make sense of, all it makes me think of is Coldplay.

Black on Maroon was donated to the Tate in 1969 by Rothko himself. Earlier this year one of his works sold for £53.8m, the highest price paid for a piece of post-War art at auction.

Record selling price of any drawing, ever!

Head of an Apostle, 1519 - Raphael

As a result of crashing the Sotheby's Christmas party on Monday night I was lucky enough to have a close look at Raphael's 'Head of an Apostle,' 1519. Tucked away from the main rooms, dimly  lit, I found myself utterly transfixed on this beautiful drawing...delicious apple and pear martini in hand which I was terrified of sloshing over it. I remember thinking this was something very special and it turns out I wasn't the only one...

The drawing sold at auction yesterday for a record breaking 29.7 million, the most any drawing has ever sold for in art history. The man in charge of the auction said he was not confident it would go for even half of this as its estimate suggests. The small scale chalk drawing was a study for Raphael's Transfiguration and was part of a private collection at Chatsworth House.

Last chance to see 'Bronze'

The Pharisee, St John the Baptist and The Levite from The
Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, 1511
Giovanfrancesco Rustici  

I went to see the Bronze exhibition at the Royal Academy last month and highly recommend going before it closes on December 9th if you haven't already.

Not surprisingly this blockbuster exhibition celebrates Bronze, bringing together  more than 150 works spanning three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe, and 5,000 years - never has there been an exhibition of this medium on such vast scale. Iconic works date back to the Ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan periods, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, right up to the 19th century and today.

Bronze is an alloy in which copper is usually mixed with tin and is both durable and ductile meaning artists can achieve gravity defying sculptural effects that would be impossible in stone. In addition, artists working in bronze can create supple surfaces with great detail thanks to the 'lost-wax technique.' This complex process which was first used by the ancients allows artists to perfectly replicate a wax model in bronze.

Instead of exhibiting the works in chronological order they have been arranged thematically with each room focusing on something different, one is full of figures, another of faces, groups, reliefs, animals, gods, heads, busts. What this means is works from completely different time periods and movements, though of the same subject, can be seen next to each other, making it possible to contrast and compare a Greek Satyr against a futuristic figure by Boccioni. 'The resulting chronological confusion is discombobulating, exhilarating and educational by turns.'

Dancing Satyr, Greek, Hellenistic period,
C4th BCE

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913
Umberto Boccioni

Curator Professor David Ekserdjian said, 'The idea sprang to me by considering the relationships and correspondences that are especially evident with bronze - it has both range and kinship across different cultures.'  He had dreamed of putting this show for around 20 years though was unsure anyone would accept it given the wide range of works and sheer number of institutions involved in lending them. There were of course lots of works that were 'too iconic' to move and this is therefore a selection of a huge genre.

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