Exhibition of the week
The Air of Ideas
Artists represented by Kate MacGarry Gallery present a distinctive summer group exhibition set in an 18th-century house in East Sussex. The show features works by Lisa Milroy, Marcus Coates, and Francis Upritchard, among others, offering a quirky and engaging artistic experience.
Also showing
Tish Murtha and Kuba Ryniewicz – Close to Home
Tish Murtha’s poignant photographs document working-class life in Elswick, Newcastle, during a period marked by dereliction and decline. These images are complemented by contemporary responses from Kuba Ryniewicz, creating a dialogue between past and present social realities.
Jacques Henri Lartigue: Life in Colour
While Jacques Henri Lartigue is primarily known for his black and white photography, this exhibition reveals his experiments with colour photography spanning from the 1930s to the 1980s, showcasing a lesser-known aspect of his work.
Leonora Carrington: The Symptomatic Surreal
This extended exhibition offers additional time to explore the British surrealist’s work, which is characterized by a knowingly Freudian and playful approach to surrealism.
Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep
This family-oriented summer blockbuster invites visitors to explore ancient seas inhabited by formidable reptiles such as pliosaurs and mosasaurs, providing an immersive prehistoric experience.
Image of the week
Ai Weiwei’s exhibition opened this week in Manchester, featuring skeleton chandeliers, a real-life temple, and, as the title suggests, an abundance of buttons. The exhibition is an ambitious and large-scale critique addressing colonial history, warfare, and the migrant crisis.
What we learned
Masterpiece of the week
Saint Francis of Assisi with Angels by Sandro Botticelli, circa 1475-80
In this early work, Botticelli wrestles with his appreciation for beauty. Painted during a period when he was influenced by the Medici’s fascination with pagan gods and romantic themes, the piece reflects a tension between medieval asceticism and Renaissance sophistication. Saint Francis is depicted as a solemn ascetic in brown robes, deeply contemplative of the cross, his expression reminiscent of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli’s contemporary and rival. This suggests Botticelli may have been experimenting with Leonardo’s style.
However, the angels surrounding Saint Francis exhibit Botticelli’s signature style, with poetic, heavy-lidded eyes and flowing hair that would captivate a Victorian aesthete. Despite portraying the patron saint of poverty, Botticelli indulges in courtly elegance and fashion within the painting.
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