Barker's skeletal sketches

Saatchi Gallery is one of the art galleries in London that produces one must-see show after another.  Their current group exhibition New Order: British Art Today is another show I could not miss. One of the artists that stands out is Sara Barker.  Barker's skeletal structures border between sculpture and painting.  They are sketches in 3-dimensional space:

Brown Star Plus One

Created during his residency in Berlin last year, David Armstrong Six's sculptures now at MOCCA (Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art), Toronto 2013:

My Panda Shall Fly

A hike to London's Rough Trade East seldom disappoints me.  This time I got away with Rita Maia Presents Sine Of The Times, a 2013 collection of atmospheric and tribal dance beats worldwide compiled by DJ Rita Maia.  I decided that I must get this CD as soon as I heard this track - My Panda Shall Fly's Kandy:

Video from sittingonthebeach's YouTube channel

Scandinavian Pain

ABBA is still a big deal in Sweden.  A museum dedicated to them was just opened in Stockholm less than three months ago.  Of course I didn't go as far as Stockholm.  But who doesn't love ABBA's candy-coated melancholic tunes (guilty pleasure)?  I was in Malmö.  Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson's neon sign spells out the lyrical gloom of the Nordic countries.  Emotionally charged works by Edvard Munch are viewed in this new light at Moderna Museet Malmö's current exhibition Scandinavian Pain, where Kjartansson also performed a cover version of ABBA's The Winner Takes It All.

Kjartansson's performance:

Video from peggysuewashere's youtube channel

The 21st Century Continues

Back in Toronto, still in the here and now of the 21st century ...

Douglas Coupland at Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto 2013:

Dalston House

I'm flying back to Toronto this afternoon.  There have been both tricks and treats on my last day in London.  The treats are two very inspiring shows at White Cube Bermondsey: Sarah Morris's Bye Bye Brasil and Marcius Galan's Geometric Progression (too bad photography was not allowed).  The tricks are Leandro Erlich's project Dalston House in east London.

Presented by Barbican Centre, Erlich is playing his tricks of optical illusion again on his very popular latest project:

Who's Afraid Of Red, Yellow & Blue³ III

Robert Irwin's installation Who's Afraid Of Red, Yellow & Blue³ III furthers Barnett Newman's exploration of immersive abstraction to 3-dimensional space, which is experienced as 4-dimensional space-time as the viewer enters the installation and traverses through time.

Irwin at Pace London, 2013:

Nitsche Berlin

Since my flight to London was in the afternoon yesterday, I managed to visit CFA (Contemporary Fine Arts) in the morning before leaving Berlin.  The title Abstrakt of the group exhibition at CFA was too tempting to resist.  I was surprised to see a painting by my favourite Berlin artist Frank Nitsche included in the show:

I also found Nitsche's paintings by chance at Galerie Gebr. Lehmann this past weekend:

Not a bad way to end the Berlin chapter of my trip!

Botschaft des Königreichs der Niederlande

It's getting close to the end of my trip.  I'm flying this afternoon to London, where I will stay for a few days.  My last couple days in Berlin were more about architecture than art.  I went to see Rem Koolhaas's 2003 Botschaft des Königreichs der Niederlande (Netherlands Embassy).  The exterior of the building is full of interesting elements.  It would have been great if I could also see the interior space.