The Delancey Notebook: March 2010

New York Polaroids, 2006

Let's go back in time to 2006, when I was 18 and in love with NY for the first time...

Since Polaroids seemed something from a Harry Potter book in Mahattan ('Polaroid? Waddya want them fowar? You got that fancy cemrah. We don' sell them heeh, not on this island anyways' etc etc) I had no choice but to go disposable. Even though I've got my lovely Nikon, I still want to have a raw quality to some of my pictures. Anyway, these are some that came out nicely, if I may say so myself.

New York Review!

I finally have time to start putting up my New York review. I had a wonderful, life-changing time and I hope to share some of the special moments with you all. We did it on the cheap but lived richly. It doesn't cost much to have fun and in NY, there's something to do for free everywhere. Afterall, a walk in Central Park costs nothing. All pictures by me. Enjoy! xx

Exhibition Recap

Tate Modern: Van Doesburg & The International Avant Garde; Constructing a New World

4 Feb - 16 May 2010

Basically, you absolutely have to go to this exhibition. I got free tickets to go to the private viewing and was in there for two and a half hours. I would have stayed longer but that was how long we wered allowed in there, bieng late at night and all. There are about 13/14 rooms filled to the brim of everything you need to know and see about the Avant Garde, Dada, Bauhaus and so much more. The exhibition includes over 350 works including architectural models, chairs, sketches, stained gladd windows, films, magazines, posters... the list goes on and on. You will be enveloped with information and colour. You will be walking around for hours, I garuntee. I'm going to go again, even if I have to pay. (Ooh, get me!)

Tate Modern: Arshile Gorky, A Retrospective

10 Feb - 3 May 2010

I was also lucky enough to go to the private viewing of this exhibition as well. It was a lovely experience. You travel through Gorky's aesthetic life, following every journey his conscience has ever embarked on. From the death of his mother to the fire that detroyed most of his work, you really get a sense of who Gorky is, not only as an artist, but as a person. 'Along with Rothko, Pollock and De Kooning, Gorky was one of the most powerful American painters of the 20th Century, and a seminal figure in the formation of Abstract Expressionism,' says the Tate Modern. Not only do you get to see rare paintings, but some of his sculptures are on display. Unfortunately, Gorky's life was taken by his own hand but this somehow makes his work seem more powerful. A must see!

V&A: Fakes and Forgeries Exhibition and Private Lecture

My oh my, I've been a busy bee. The V&A's smash hit exhibition 'Fakes and Forgeries' Exhibition has been and gone but I was given tickets to attend the private lecture held by my father's colleague Vernon Rapley, head of Arts and Antiques at the Met. Attending the lecture, among others (including the head of antiques at the British Museum and Britain's top forgery lawyer), was Grayson Perry who gave the most amusing speech. We were told by Grayson, wearing a scruffy blazor and odd looking trainers (he assured us that he was Grayson Perry despite the lack of a pink, frilly dress), that forgery is actually quite good, much to Rapley's despair. He once found out one of his pieces was up for auction at Sotheby's. The problem was, he'd never made it. And what was worse, the copy was really poor, causing Perry great offence that people actually thought he'd made it. It was a very interesting lecture, packed full of incredible information. Tracey Emin was meant to attend but, unfortunately, she was a no show. I'll meet her one day, damn it!

Updates:

Just to let you know I did go and see The Sacred Made Real at The National Gallery and the Goya exhibition at Manchester Gallery. Both were fantastic, The Sacred Made Real, expecially. Bieng the last day of the exhibition, it was pretty crowded, but what an atmosphere! Each piece on display was captivating and beautiful, the intricacy of them astounding. It's a shame it wasn't on for longer. The Goya exhibition offered a surprise. In the centre of it stood the Chapman Brothers' Goya recreation. Every print Goya ever made has been recreated by them, in the form of tiny figurines. Really amazing, the detail so meticulous. Anywho, both great exhibitions and thank God I managed to go. I hope you did too!

Exhibition: JG Ballards 'Crash' at The Gagosian

This weekend I went to a fabulous exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in Kings Cross. It was an omage to JG Ballard's racy (e-hem) novel 'Crash'. What a fun and interesting exhibition it was! Mike Nelson's Preface to the 2004 Edition (Triple Bluff Canyon) was a highlight (you walk through a door into a room that can only be described as a cinema's corridor and you think you've walked into a different building) and Paul McCarthy's 'Mechanical Pig' received a lot of attention (when you see it in the flesh you'll see why). It's a lovely space and the exhibition was really well curated so if you're a lover of all things fast, sexy and, erm, wierd, then head on over to the Gagosian!