January Arts Newsletter

Written By Katharine Rowe

Scots Pines on Wimbledon Common, 70×50cm unframed, oil on canvas, see detail at bottom of email

Happy New Year, welcome to 2025 - I am optimistic about this year. That said, I always struggle at the start of the year to deal with the darkness and the lack of leaves on trees (I have no idea if being so affected by clorophyll is a thing but if it is I have it!) so I always try to plan in new experiences and distractions. With that in mind, all of the exhibtions I have recommended below are in some of our more 'undiscovered' galleries and museums rather than the heavy hitters that everyone knows. All are easily accessible from central London. 

I also invite you to join my Picasso still life painting workshop on Friday 24th January which will be filled with colour, shapes and joy. Email me to book a spot.

 

Exhibition Recommendations

The World of Tim Burton

This show at the Design Museum is a must for fans of the film director. Ranging from childhood drawings to the iconic Edward Scissorhands costume, this exhibition takes in his whole aesthetic - the starting point for his films. We learn of what inspires this aesthetic; Victoriana, Surrealism, trashy 1950s sci-fi and its development through the past 4 decades. All installed in a Burton-esque set, this is a fun exhibition and one you'll definitely need to book for. Design Museum until 21st April

Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour is an exhibition celebrating this founding member of the Bloomsbury Group with her largest ever solo show proving the artist has been long over-looked. This in depth show has paintings, drawings, furniture and ceramics and reveals that she was a main character, not just a supporting role in the Bloomsbury movement. It is in Milton Keynes gallery, a short hop from Marylebone station. Do it! MK Gallery until 23Feb

The Lost Gardens of London is a collection of paintings, drawings, maps, prints and photographs of gardens erased from the capital over the past 500 years. The above image from 1797 by James Sowerby, for example, shows the plots where modern day Waterloo station now sits. If you haven't been to the Garden Museum before, it is housed in part of Lambeth Palace, absolutely gorgeous and has a lovely restaurant. Garden Museum until 2 March

New Contemporaries at the ICA shows the cream of the latest crop of UK art graduates as seclected by the Insititute of Contemporary Art from an open call. An opportunity to spot the starts of the future art scene. Also if you haven't been to the ICA before, its a great spot on the Mall with an excellent bar open until 11pm (more galleries should have bars!) New Contemporaries 15Jan-23Mar

Arty TV recommendation: Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty
This three part drama-documentary (a usually cringe-worthy genre) is fabulous with Charles Dance playing Michelangelo and taking us through the trials and tribulations of creating world-changing art during the Italian Renaissance.  Bravissimo! On BBC iPlayer 

Detail of Scots Pines on Wimbledon Common

Katharine Rowe
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December Arts Newsletter