Buckminster Fuller

'How often I found out where I should be going only by setting off for somewhere else.'

Buckminster Fuller Geodesic Dome

I'm fascinated in finding out as much as I can about Richard Buckminster Fuller. Such an amazing man....beginning with his surname....don't you just love it? The more I read about him the more I go off on tangents to discover what a Buckelapothekar or Froebelian Kindergarten is!

Thank goodness for wikipedia to at least set me on the right path however questionable it's authenticity.

However the more I read of Buckminster Fuller the more I'm intrigued and impressed and want to find out even more....I'll certainly be doing some more research.

I just wish I could have seen this exhibition.

Howard Hodgkin - Time And Place

Leaf, 2009

I managed to make a flying visit to the Howard Hodgkin exhibition, Time and Place at

Modern Art Oxford,

yesterday, which runs until 5th of September.

His current body appears to be naive and easy to read. Unless I was missing out some deeper meaning. The pieces are very tactile, painted on what look like huge reclaimed doors or table tops which actually become part of the work. The only problem is that I did my usual thing and got reprimanded for touching! I was totally compelled to just stroke the wooden border.......not realising that it was actually part of the work, or how valuable they are.

Which reminded me of a similar experiences a number of years ago when trying to work out how a steel bath tub that was part of a Joseph Beuys exhibition had been attached to the wall in the Pinacoteca gallery in Munich, a very scary lady dressed in black, similarly chastised me....even though I hadn't even touched it....Honestly, I was just looking that time. Although I do think that it's a shame that such works can't be enjoyed by more than one sense. Saying that though ........I do seem to remember that with the Beuys exhibition more that one sense was involved.......in fact it was assaulted. The smell of lard in one piece was quite repulsive.

But getting back to the Hodgkin exhibition. The links to landscape and nature are very obvious in his work. In this light the MAO leaflet compares Hodgkin's work to J.M.M. Turner whilst Jonathan Jones of the Guardian likens his painting to 'the tradition of Gainsborough.' I have to say that I felt that it was more in the tradition of a child's painting. I don't mean that in a negative sense It's just this primitive quality in his work that make it so appealing to me.

Interestingly a related exhibition has been curated at the Ashmolean running until the 28th of September of paintings and drawings from his private collection. It's entitled Royal Elephants from Mughal India. Hopefully I'll get to see it within the next couple of weeks.

Tea Party in America is a lovely small early example of his work in the collection of Modern Art at the Ashmolean. If I'm not mistaken, I noticed last week that it's actually reproduced on the back of the menus in the amazing new roof top restaurant there.

Howard Hodgkin will be in conversation with Andrew Graham-Dixon at Modern Art Oxford at 7pm on 26th of August.

Oxford Castle Arts Market

Kennington Artists will have a stall on the Oxford Castle Arts Market tomorrow, Saturday 10th of July. I won't be there tomorrow but a couple of my small drawings and some cards, books and stickers will be, so why not check it out if you're in the area. It's going to be a scorcher 30 degrees, so it'll be fun to browse around.

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder performing Circus. 'Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926-1933', at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York Oct 16th 2008-Feb 15th 2009

And The Winner Is...........

Hurray! At last it's time to reveal the fortunate winner of the CSN £40 Gift Voucher.

The randomly selected winner is: Domestic Diva.

Congratulations Domestic Diva have fun spending your voucher which is on it's way to you by email. Thanks to everyone who took part in the Giveaway hope there will be something for you all next time.

Giveaway Deadline

I just wanted to take this opportunity to post a couple of images of Portobello Green last month and keep you up to date with the Giveaway.
As it's a bank holiday in the US this weekend we're having an extra day before we select a winner. So don't forget to pop back tomorrow when I'll announce who the lucky person is.

Ivan Terestchenko

During a spot of blog reading recently I came across a lovely elegant blog entitled Little Augury which you can look at here if you like.

I was attracted to an interview with photographer Ivan Terestchenko and surprised to see that he's responsible for one of my favourite interior shoots of the last couple of years. That of Australian fashion designer Martin Grant's Parisian apartment. I've even kept the copy of Vogue Interiors from 2005. I love the way that Terestchenko picks up on small objects like Grant's childhood drawings and the interior of his fridge.... which apparently wasn't staged.