Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life at Tate Britain - Art Review

I guess I've always had a soft spot for Lowry, and yes, it's sad to admit it (and here goes any hope of credibility as an art critic) but it goes back to Brian and Michael's number one hit of 1978. Like the popular song, Lowry's work somehow captures a bygone world. 

Sitting as a distant but interested observer, Lowry presents the viewer with images that capture the rhythms of life of his native Salford. The mills may be the perennial backdrop, but Lowry primarily is concerned with people and the impact that industrialisation is having on them. There is something fundamentally human about Lowry's work - he is fascinated by crowds and the congregation of people.  He may abbreviate the human figure into "matchstick men" but he never dehumanises them. Even in crowd scenes, we can discern the gender and age of the individual; all brought to life in a few economic brush-strokes. 

Lowry's portrayal is neither romantic or nostalgic and does not shy away from portraying a polluted and desolate industrial wasteland (River Scene, 1935) or the broken bodies that inhabited it (e.g. The Cripples 1949). 

The Exhibition 

Given that Salford Quays now houses an extensive permanent collection at the iconic building named after the artist, one would be forgiven for questioning the need for a major retrospective in the capital at all. Perhaps it was some sort of cultural exchange to compensate for so much of the BBC moving north!). However, this exhibition is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest British artists of the Twentieth Century. Lowry presents a challenge to curators in that there is relatively little progression and development in his work. I am not convinced by the view (expressed on the excellent audio guide) that his work was generally more optimistic in the post-war period. At times he seems to be reinforcing the Private Eye mantra that "It's grim up North" and this can be extended to his Welsh canvasses "It's grim in Wales, too!"

Just for fun

Picasso and Modern British Art - Review

If you visit this exhibition thinking it will provide insights into the life and work of Picasso, then you are very likely to be disappointed. However if you go anticipating a celebration of the work of some the greatest British artists of the twentieth century and how they were influenced by Picasso, then you are in for a treat.

The Picasso: Peace and Freedom exhibition at Tate Liverpool in 2010, with limited resources, focused on some rarely explored aspects of Picasso's work, and was a great success. In total contrast the presentation of Picasso in this exhibition at Tate Britain lacks coherence. Indeed there is a whole gallery (Picasso in Britain 1920-39) where the connection with the theme of Picasso and British Art is so tenuous that it is laughable. Works are included simply because they were painted by Picasso between 1920 and 1939 and are now in British ownership: 'the first work to be owned by a British gallery', 'the first work to be owned by a British gallery outside London', 'in a Scottish collection' and so on. Having managed to secure the loan of such a diverse range of works, the Tate have really missed an opportunity to present Picasso in an innovative way.

However, the exhibition really comes into its own when it juxtaposes works of some of the great British artists with those of Picasso. The galleries on Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and Hockney all work very well. Whilst it is difficult to demonstrate a direct influence of Picasso on more than a few of the works of these artists, his wider impact becomes clear, particularly on Moore and Hockney.

Picasso and Modern British Art is at Tate Britain until 15th July.