Grinling Gibbons: Centuries in the Making, Compton Verney, 25th September—30th January 2022
The 17th century diarist John Evelyn claimed to have discovered the master woodcarver and sculptor, Grinling Gibbons, in a “poore solitary thatched house in a field” in Deptford in 1671, carving a relief copy of a Tintoretto Crucifixion. Introduced by Evelyn to Charles II’s court, the virtuoso Dutch-born craftsman quickly found fame and favour, eventually becoming King’s Carver to William and Mary. Gibbons’s baroque style suited the opulence of Charles II’s reign, while the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666 opened up a stream of commissions. An exhibition celebrating his life and influence, which opened first at Bonhams on 3rd August, the 300th anniversary of his death, travelled to Compton Verney in September.
Annie Morris: When A Happy Thing Falls, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 18th September 2021—6th February 2022
For this first UK solo museum show by British artist Annie Morris, the YSP’s Weston Gallery accommodates a dense presentation of the artist’s vibrant, pigmented sculptures alongside one of her “paintings,” while a monumental bronze sculpture is sited outside. Morris is best known for her “Stack” series, towers of precariously balanced pigmented spheres which she began in 2014. Originally inspired by grief following the still-birth of her first child, they have evolved to become positive symbols of life, hope and creativity.
Tokyo: Art and Photography, Ashmolean, Oxford, 29th July—3rd January 2022
As Tokyo valiantly unrolls its Covid-compromised Olympic Games, the Ashmolean celebrates the host city through its art. Since 1603, when the Tokugawa shogunate took control of Edo Castle, Tokyo (as Edo became in 1868) has been Japan’s most vibrant city. Vulnerable to earthquakes and other natural disasters, the city has grown through perpetual reinvention, a state of creative hyperactivity reflected in its artists. This exhibition looks at the print-makers, photographers and pop artists who have captured and shaped the city’s identity.
