Let's Talk: Rachel Personett and The Alpine Fellowship

 

by  Poppy Field  I  digiQualia.com

It is estimated that over 60,000 art lovers descend on London each year for Frieze week. We are in the midst of it. Frieze Art Fair, the UK’s leading contemporary art fair, and Frieze Masters, where non-contemporary art is displayed in a modern manner, are the topic of conversation.

But, for those in the know, Frieze is just the tip of the Iceberg. Multiplied Art Fair, devoted exclusively to contemporary art in editions, is hosted by Christie’s in South Kensington. Pass through Hyde Park and The Pavilion of Art & Design London holds court in Berkeley Square. On The Strand 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair dominates Somerset House. Hipsters head to Moniker Art Fair in Brick Lane to root themselves in the international scope of street art. There, The Other Art Fair is also in full swing with taxidermy, immersive theatre, craft beers and DJ sets.

To celebrate digiQualia is releasing a series of interviews recorded at REPRESENT 2014. This exhibition and sale of contemporary representational and figurative art recently took place in Notting Hill, London. Watch the first one now!

One of the interviews recorded that night was with the American painter, Rachel Personett.

Following an undergraduate degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, America, Rachel began her fifth and final year of training as a realist painter. Her first four years were spent in Florence, at the Angel Academy of Art and The Florence Academy of Art (FAA) from where she has just transferred to their Swedish Academy.

Cast study, The Florence Academy of Art. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Perhaps due to such intensive study, Rachel began to feel stifled. She was constantly refining and honing her skills, yet monotony threatened with the endless cycle of rising, drawing, eating, painting and sleeping. What Rachel really craved was to explore her basic ‘philosophical need’.

So during the summer of 2013, Rachel began to explore new avenues outside of an Academy or Atelier setting whilst on The Hudson River Fellowship. There the fellows worked on pencil drawing, generating compositional ideas, linear works, tonal studies in ink-wash and grisaille. With guidance, Rachel made many plein air sketches. Sometimes she focused on spatial relationships and sometimes on individual features.

Lion, Hudson River Fellowship 2013. Photo courtesy of the artist.

There, Rachel was encouraged to develop a deep understanding of the local landscape by combining field studies with principles explored in lectures and discussions.  A diverse range of topics were addressed including botany, geology, meteorology, artist techniques and perspective.

Rachel returned to Florence at the start of the academic year inspired by her time away. She continued to experiment: for example, nocturnes. She added ivory black, viridian green and alizarian crimson to her palate: She purchased a 4-bulb LED battery powered light.

Rachel Personett. Photo by digiQualia.

It was new and exciting, but it still wasn’t enough.

So when Rachel began to hear rumours about a new community of artists, she began asking questions. She discovered that her peers, Benjamin Arnold, Jamie Coreth and Jenifer Keltos were part of it. Led by the painter AlanJ. Lawson and philosopher Jacob Burda, Rachel uncovered a movement dedicated to maintaining a strong aesthetic vision, reconnecting with the natural world and preserving traditional oil painting techniques. It was The Alpine Fellowship. She desperately wanted to be a part of it.

And, by the time we caught up at REPRESENT 2014, she was.

United by a dissatisfaction with the modern tendency towards ‘scientism’ and reduction, painters like Rachel, philosophers, writers and musicians were selected by Alan and Jacob. Funded by the Argosophia Foundation, they were invited spend time together in Aldourie, Scotland. Perhaps best known as the home of the renowned Victorian artist George Frederic Watts,  Aldourie was chosen for its geographical beauty. 

Andrea Birath talking to Petter Trippi. The Alpine Fellowship 2014. Photo by digiQualia.

Alan and Jacob’s belief that their carefully selected Fellows would thrive together in Aldourie proved true. An inspiring lecture series was presented. Soon, the Fellows found the confidence to challenge another’s opinions. They began to motivate one another into new ways of working and existence.

Perhaps this was all to be expected. For the Apline Fellowship is rooted in the belief of the redeeming ability of the arts.

The inspiring Alan Lawson, describes his existence as ‘peripatetic’. He supports his young family through sales of paintings, portrait commissions and teaching. There was never an alternative; Alan considers art as the most important of all human activity… that it has the ability to ‘slowly drip into social consciousness’ thus affecting the manner in which society perceives and experiences the world.

Heterarchy. Photo courtesy of the artist.

He is a ‘redemptive realist’, frustrated that figurative work is too often dubbed kitsch… that University Art Departments no longer have the skills necessary for academic drawing, painting or sculpture.

And if not kitsch, is an Academic training Post-Contemporary Avant-garde?  

Alan insists that ‘for art to be credible and enduring it must be closely tied to the value system of the artist’… a notion which was present in his fantastic lecture Minimalism and Art.

Although Rachel initially found the philosophical lexis ‘challenging’, she is now able to successfully apply the principles to her everyday existence.

Following Jacob’s enlightening lecture, Technology as the transcendental, Rachel has begun to take pleasure in what might otherwise be perceived as mundane. 

Having enjoyed Harry Eyres’ musical performances, Rachel has returned to the piano and is currently working on a score by Schubert. And I won’t even begin to transcribe the reading list she has complied based upon the Fellows’ suggestions!

Philosopher Jacob Burda, writer Harry Eyres, philosopher Professor Roger Scruton and painter Rachel Personett, The Alpine Fellowship 2014. Photo by digiQualia.

Perhaps most importantly, Rachel’s approach to painting has matured. The Alpine Fellowship addressed the gulf of conceptual thought in an atelier training. Rachel found the lectures insightful, but putting philosophy into practice amongst the Fellows was fundamental.

When I met up with Rachel in July, she was carrying a guitar case. Yet, rather than a guitar it held painting tools and a portable easel! She was prepared to paint whenever the opportunity arose.

The Rachel I spoke to earlier this month no longer paints ‘blindly’ but with her ‘heart’. She is driven by the desire to imbue each and every painting with personal significance.  She has been inspired.

Rachel Personett, The Alpine Fellowship 2014. Photo by digiQualia.

Follow the links below to enjoy more from The Alpine Fellowship 2014 lecture series:

Jacob Burda - Technology as the transcendental

Professor Taylor Carman – Image and Shadow: Heidegger on the Limits of Scientific Representation

Harry Eyres – Horace and Housman: Against Scholarly Objectification

Professor Christopher Fynsk - The question of the human

Dr Andrew Huddleston – Nietzsche’s Approaches

Samuel Hughes - Tragedy and Disenchantment

Alan Lawson - Minimalism and Art

Deryn Rees-Jones – No ideas but in things

Professor Roger Scruton – Towards a humane Philosophy

REPRESENT 2014

 

by  Poppy Field  I  digiQualia.com

Last night saw the opening of REPRESENT 2014, an exhibition and sale of contemporary representational and figurative art in Notting Hill, London. On display is work by over 50 young artists covering a range of genres including drawings, still lives, portraits, landscapes and sculpture.

Details of works by Olivia Crane, Eudald de Juana Gorriz, Jamie Coreth, Oliver Chennells and Vladimir Jovicevic. Photo courtesy of Georgina Stanley.

Despite hailing from all over the world, many of the artists were in attendance.

One such painter, Mitchell Price, had flown in from the United States that very morning. As the first guests came streaming in I wrapped up an interview with Mitch for digiQualia’s upcoming video REPRESENT 2014 . And, although he hadn’t slept for nearly 23 hours, Mitch was, as always, a delight to talk to! Look out for his interview and see for yourself.

  

Mitchell Hill Price and Poppy Field. Photo by digiQualia.

So what is the origin of REPRESENT?

It all started with the enigmatic Georgina Stanley who is currently studying at The Florence Academy of Art (FAA).  When her mother and a friend visited her last October they were impressed with the number of hugely talented and hard-working students... but struck that so many were uncertain about making the transition from the academy to the art market. With Georgina, they decided to create an opportunity for students and alumni to exhibit and perhaps even sell their work!

By Pau Marinello. Photo courtesy of Georgina Stanley.

It wasn’t long before students from other academies began contacting Georgina, expressing their desire to take part. The majority of exhibitors are still trying to fund their way through training. What was once an idea became a reality – REPRESENT 2014.

The overwhelming success of Thursday’s viewing is testament to the dedication and passion of Georgina's entire team.  

Olivia Crane, Georgina’s ‘right hand’, masterminded the astounding website and was also there to assist and support with the endless surplus of admin. Olivia, currently apprenticed to Nick Devereux in Paris, arrived in the nick of time to help with last minute loose ends.

Poppy Field, Georgina Stanley and Olivia Crane. Photo by digiQualia.

But help came from all quarters. The invitations and flyers were designed by the Catalan painter Gerard Castellvi-Gasco; Lee Craigmile from Scotland and Robert Kelly from Australia were on hand for all the framing and hanging, while Sara Chong from Singapore and Oliver Chennells from South Africa attended to the music. 

REPRESENT 2014 is a truly international event with the exhibitors united by their rigorous academic training at world-acclaimed academies in Florence, Sweden and Barcelona.

With increasing numbers of students keen to showcase their work, Georgina knew she would need a large exhibition space.  Having grown up in Notting Hill, she had a perfect venue in mind - The 20^th Century Theatre - an iconic building where Laurence Olivier, amongst others, began his acting career.

 St Marks by Tanvi Pathare. Photo courtesy of Georgina Stanley.

This year is very much a ‘trial run’ for Georgina. However, if it continues to prove successful over the next two days, she hopes to make this unique opportunity for contemporary representational and figurative art students to exhibit in London an annual event. 

Do visit REPRESENT 2014 if you can. I think you’ll find it’s worth it.

By Jordi Diaz Alama. Photo courtesy of Georgina Stanley.

REPRESENT 2014 is open to the public on Friday 12^th and Saturday 13^thSeptember, from 10am to 6pm. And it’s not too far from Portobello market if you have any time to spare!

Let’s Talk: Grzegorz Gwiazda – Part II

 by  Poppy Field  I  digiQualia.com

If you are a returning reader, I hope that you have found a moment to explore the sculptor Grzegorz Gwiazda’s  website. You may have read his biography. Perhaps even Marco Izzolino’s fascinating exhibition essay ‘Gwiazda the heretic’. Yet, if you read my last blog, you may recall I referred to Grzegorz as an ‘enigma’.

So, onto Part II ...

Despite having read much about Grzegorz’s training, his sculptures and his successes, he retained an air of mystery about him. It left me wanting to know more about what makes him tick.  So, in our interview, I began to probe further, to flesh out the facts.

Detail of Anointed, 2013. Photo courtesy of the artist.

‘Grzegorz Gwiazda was born in 1984 in Lidzbark Warmiński.’

It was whilst Grzegorz was at secondary school that he first began to entertain ideas of pursuing an artistic career. Initially, he hoped to be a painter and took part in various competitions, gaining honourable mentions in both of the two-week events organised the Academy of Fine Arts, Poznań and the Academy of Fine Arts, Gdańsk.

However, it was these events that convinced Grzegorz to ‘dedicate’ his life to sculpture. He witnessed how painting was entirely natural to the other artists and realised that this was how he felt about sculpting. Grzegorz’s passion for sculpture grew each year and as his school days drew to an end, during a visit to the south of Poland he came across a monument by Jan Kucz. The power of this monument ‘crushed’ him, he felt he ‘didn’t want to leave the sculpture’.

Just three years later Grzegorz was sculpting in Kucz’s studio! But what route did he follow to get there? 

Anointed, 2013. Photo courtesy of the artist.

‘He studied at Poznań and Warsaw Schools of Fine Arts, and then at Accademia di Belle Arte di Brera in Milan, Italy, having been granted a scholarship.’

In Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Grzegorz studied in the studio of Professor Wiesław Koronowski. He attended a whole range of classes; painting, drawing, anatomy drawing, technical drawing, psychophysiology, anthropology, history of art and contemporary art. Sculpture itself was taught only twice a week. But, that didn’t deter Grzegorz. He sculpted almost every day. His first assignment was a life-size clay figure caught in contrapposto.

Having gained a technical foundation, Grzegorz then moved to Warsaw.

Ewelina, 2012. Photo courtesy of the artist.

‘In 2009 he graduated with honours from the Academy of Art in Warsaw (ASP), where he had studied sculpture under Professor Adam Myjak. In January 2014 he was awarded his doctorate.’

Sculpture classes were taught four mornings each week, always in reference to a live model. Drawing and theory filled the afternoons. The fifth day was given over to technical classes, from bronze-casting to stonecutting to ceramics and so on.

Studying under Professor Adam Myjak and Professor Jan Kucz, ‘legends of Polish sculpture’, Grzegorz judges that this academy has had the greatest influence upon his work. He was told that a sculptor needs talent – but character is truly crucial: ‘It formed me as a mature sculptor.’

Soon after, Grzegorz truly began to ‘discover and name elements’ of his own style. Nowhere more so than when on Erasmus at the Accademia di Belle Arte di Brera in Milan.

Detail of Heretic, 2014. Photo courtesy of the artist.

‘Since 2009 he has been working as Assistant to Professor Maciej Zychowicz in the Graphics and Sculpture Department at the Institute of Art Education at the School of Special Education (IEA ASP) in Warsaw. In the academic year 2008-9, he was awarded a grant by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and in 2010 he received a grant from Inicjatywa ENTRY (Initiative ENTRY).’

Although this financial support was fundamental in enabling Grzegorz to sculpt, he soon discovered that the greatest benefit was discovering he was ‘believed’ in. This encouragement came following his recent graduation, when he needed it most.

Heretic II, 2013. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Seeing a sculpture through to completion is a long process for Grzegorz, though he hates to leave work ‘half way’.

It starts with a concept or a narrative. Grzegorz first pinpoints exactly what it is he wants to say. Sometimes maquettes and drawings follow but ‘there are no rules’. Often the composition is uncomfortable for the model to hold, so Grzegorz also works from photographs. He thinks with his hands, selecting elements from the model rather than simply re-creating.

Grzegorz ‘allows the story to appear’.

Sketch for Cyclist, 2014. Photo courtesy of the artist. 

‘In 2010 his work Behold the man (Oto Człowiek) was honourably mentioned in the international competition of figurative art organized by Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes.

His works have been shown in individual exhibitions in several Polish cities and towns: Lidzbark Warmiński (Warmia Bishops’ Castle, 2008), Warsaw (the Promocyjna art gallery, 2011; the Fibak art gallery, 2013; the 101 projekt art gallery, 2014), Poznań and Mosina (2013), Bydgoszcz (the Wspólna art gallery, 2013).’

Yet Grzegorz doesn’t dwell on his successes.

Instead, he describes how the perception of the viewer has changed drastically in his lifetime due to influences such as television, the internet and even the use of colour in magazines. In comparison to these mediums, Grzegorz’s materials, technique and processes might even be judged as traditional. Like many figurative artists, he is faced with the challenge of accessibility.

Cyclist, 2014. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Recalling an anecdote from his student days, Grzegorz describes how he and a friend were exhausted after a night’s partying. Just before falling asleep, his friend said: ‘In art the most important thing is contrast and mystery’. I wonder if his friend is even aware of how this comment has stayed with Grzegorz.  He abstracts elements of his sculpture, thus creating mystery.  Accessibility follows… the viewer wants to know more.

As for technology itself, he believes ‘photography didn’t kill painting… it released painters’. Grzegorz is not threatened by 3-D printing. He believes that works made in a traditional manner have a unique, instinctive, natural ‘energy’. Grzegorz delights in forming clay - the situation is simple, ‘people just need it’.

Dead Minotaur, 2013. Photo courtesy of the artist.

‘His sculptures have also been displayed in collective exhibitions both in Poland and abroad: Coming Out: the Best Graduates of ASP (Warsaw, 2009), Exhibition of Professors and Graduates of the Department of Sculpture at ASP (Warsaw, 2012), in Madrid (2010, 2011) and Barcelona (2011).’

Grzegorz is glad such exhibitions allow his works to be seen by other artists... he gets so much more by viewing art in person than in photographs. Only when in proximity to the work of his favourite sculptures does Grzegorz learn.

Polish sculptors, working in the second half of the 20^th Century, are Grzegorz’s greatest inspiration. His favourites include: Adolf Ryszka, Gustaw Zemła, Jan Kucz, Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz and Adam Myjak.

However, he also turns to the work of the Northern Renaissance, Rogier van der Weyden and Pieter Bruegel in particular. More recently Grzegorz has discovered a deep appreciation of the Chinese sculptor Li Xiangqun.

Exposure, 2011. Photo courtesy of the artist.

‘His works are also part of the collection of Museu Europeu d’Art Modern in Barcelona.’

One of the things I discovered about Grzegorz that is perhaps less well known, is the ferocity with which he champions Polish sculpture. Currently he is working with the Museu Europeu d'Art Modern in Barcelona and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw on the preparations for an exhibition of Polish sculpture of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.

Grzegorz is much more than an artist. He is a committed, passionate participant of the arts.  Watch out for Grzegorz … we’ll be hearing more about him in the years to come.  Of that I am sure.

Various works on diaplay at a recent exhibition at Square Galley, Positano, Italy.  Photo courtesy of the artist. 

Let’s Talk: Grzegorz Gwiazda – Part I

 by  Poppy Field  I  digiQualia.com

Grzegorz Gwiazda forefronts the avant-garde of figurative sculpture. Rather than simply sculpt in reference to nature, he strives to transcend it. To create new, independent entities. 

Little wonder therefore, that I have chosen to present my recent interview with Grzegorz in two parts. In this, the first part, Grzegorz discusses four sculptures; behold the man, Cyclist, Dead Minotaur and Sitting Man. The next takes a closer look at Grzegorz as a person. At what makes him tick.

Grzegorz Gwiazda with one of his sculptures at a recent exhibition at Square Galley, Positano, Italy.  Photo courtesy of the artist. 

behold the man is Grzegorz’s first professional piece. Modelled whilst working on a diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, it marks the beginning of Grzegorz’s sculpture as we know it today. He represents the human body in the reality that we too often ignore: ‘frail and transitory’. Through the unification of the base and figure, through medium, Grzegorz strove to communicate ‘man’s integrity with the world’. Neither is immune to destruction.

By emphasising imperfection, Grzegorz forces his viewer to also consider ‘the material sphere’ of humanity. Yet, he does not deny the body as the reference for aesthetic beauty. The lone figure is placed at the centre of the composition. In this isolation we find the paradox. Grzegorz not only accentuates mankind’s frailty, but ‘pays homage to it’.

behold the man, 2009. Photo courtesy of the artist. 

Grzegorz does not struggle to find inspiration. He considers the work of other artists, social and personal issues… indeed, he ‘investigates’ himself. This ‘auto-therapy’, as Grzegorz has fondly dubbed it, is particularly poignant in Cyclist.

Studying Pieter Bruegel’s The Fight between Carnival and Lent, Grzegorz realised that being human is the ‘coexistence of tragic and comic elements’. And so, the concept of Cyclist was born: balance. And in particular, our inability to find peace amongst daily contradictions. 

Detail of Cyclist, 2014. Photo courtesy of the artist. 

Then came the form. Grzegorz’s figure is caught in suspended animation upon a unicycle. A vehicle traditionally used for show rather than practicality... bold and brash strokes paint the figure like a clown. Forever cycling, but going nowhere at all.

Despite such introspection, Grzegorz does not provide his viewer with answers. Rather, Cyclist is the cipher through which he asks ‘are we able to get somewhere… to a kind of Promised Land? Or is the best thing… to stay balanced as long as we can? Are we travellers or are we playing a role in the circus of life?’

Cyclist, 2014. Photo courtesy of the artist. 

Another work provoked by art of the past is Dead Minotaur.

Picasso’s engraving of Theseus killing the Minotaur unsettled him. Picasso depicts the Minotaur in an almost peaceful manner. To Grzegorz, it ‘didn’t look like a monster’. Instead, Grzegorz found himself sympathizing with the Minotaur believing that ‘It wasn’t the Minotaur’s fault’.

Turning to the original myth, Grzegorz began to consider the mechanism by which Theseus overpowers and outlives the Minotaur. A ball of string. The sword of Aegeus. Grzegorz found himself asking was Theseus so strong? Or was the Minotaur weak?

Did it even matter? Grzegorz had identified that the root of hatred for the Minotaur was in his physical difference.

Dead Minotaur, 2013. Photo courtesy of the artist. 

The adjectives ‘kalos kagathos’ recur in classical Greek texts. Literally translating as ‘beautiful good’, this phrase was summarised by the classicist Werner Jaeger as ‘the chivalrous ideal of the complete human personality, harmonious in mind and body, foursquare in battle and speech, song and action’.

Grzegorz points out that the opposite is ‘ugly and bad’. Like the Minotaur. Grzegorz identified this stereotype in various books, cartoons and films. The physical difference of characters deemed bad allows the audience to recognise them as a threat to social order. Too easily, these irregularities in appearance transform into ‘monstrous elements… signs of sin’.

Finally, Grzegorz found redemption for the Minotaur in the anthropological philosophy of Rene Girard. Girard details the scapegoat mechanism as the origin of sacrifice and the foundation for human culture. Grzegorz thus renders the Minotaur headless.

Dead Minotaur, 2013. Photo courtesy of the artist.

He asks, with a body like any other man, can the viewer still judge the Minotaur as a monstrosity? As a monster?

He says, ‘My Minotaur is more like Christ than a mythological creature’.

This was not the first time Grzegorz broke the boundaries of formal realism. A style so bold he has been styled ‘Gwiazda the heretic’ by the curator Marco Izzolino.

It began with Sitting man.

Sitting man speaks of unused potential. A single male nude figure slouches into a drooping, twisted armchair. Without distinction between skin and cushion the forms melt together. Yet, the man’s oversized hands are defined. Their strength and power recalls the hands of Pope Julius II as painted by Raphael… but in Grzegorz's sculpture such ‘potential is wasted’.

Sitting Man, 2011. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Grzegorz began modelling with ferocity, quickly finding the form. It was ‘fresh’ and ‘powerful’. But, as the work came closer to competition, this once visible energy disappeared. When his sculptures threaten to be ‘lost’ Grzegorz knows it is time for the ‘real sculpting’ to begin. He searches reality and strives for depth. He imbues it with questions, wanting each piece to ‘be an enigma that you want to solve.’

I soon discovered that the greatest enigma is Grzegorz himself. But more of this in my next blog…

Detail of Sitting Man, 2011. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The advent of summer

 by  Poppy Field  I  digiQualia.com

For me, the advent of summer in London is marked by two things: a glass of Pimms and The Royal Academy of Art’s Summer Exhibition. This year, summer got under way on Wednesday, 4^th June as leading figures in art, entertainment and fashion mingled in Burlington House, Piccadilly for the Summer Exhibition Preview Party.

This is the world’s largest open entry exhibition.

It has been running uninterrupted since 1769 - almost 250 years! Inventions such as the bicycle, transistor, electro-magnetic induction ring, computer, germ theory of infection, radio, internet, internal combustion engine, nuclear power, communications satellite and even light bulbs have dramatically changed the fabric of our everyday existence. Nine British monarchies, 43 US Presidents and 50 British Prime Ministers have ruled. Yet, the foundation of the Summer Exhibition remains unchanged. Anyone can enter their work. 

Installation view of Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014 c. Benedict Johnson

Co-ordinated by Hughie O’Donoghue, 2014’s selection and hanging committee was made up of the artists and architects Eileen Cooper, Gus Cummins, the late Richard MacCormac, John Maine, Chris Orr, Cornelia Parker, Eric Parry and Emma Stibbon. The committee are ‘servants to the submissions’. Their challenge is to ensure each work looks its very best whilst ensuring the relevance of The Royal Academy.

This year saw the first ever digital submission, with over 12,000 entries! The hanging and selection committee work together to select works by both emerging and famed contemporary artists in three stages. Those shortlisted were soon subject to scrutiny at the Academy. Then, whilst making the hang, the final cut of about 1,200 works was made.

O’Donoghue describes the selected pieces as combining to create ‘a wild garden, an exotic place where things surprise you and grab your attention’.

Such contrasts occur throughout the show.

Just step into the room hung by Cornelia Parker. Black and White in theme, her desire was to create a ‘visual firebreak’ amongst the exhibition’s ‘riot of colour’. Dotted between works by previously unknown artists, you can spot a new pair of paintings by David Batchelor, a vitrine full of black and white drawings by Alison Turnbull and a billboard by Bob and Roberta Smith (Patrick Brill).

A further billboard by Bob and Roberta Smith is on display. Inspired by Eddie Mair’s interview of Dr David Nott on New Year’s Day 2014, it details Nott’s efforts to save lives in Syria. Measuring almost five by four metres, the transcript is hand-painted and took nearly five months to complete.

Installation view of Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014 c. Benedict Johnson

Over the last year, ten new Royal Academicians were elected. In recognition, their work is displayed in the prestigious position of the Wohl Central Hall. It is the first room the viewer comes across, and is also visible from various other rooms.

The latest generation of Royal Acadamicians is comprised of Thomas Heatherwick, Neil Jeffries, Chantal Joffe, Tim Shaw, Conrad Shawcross, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Bob and Roberta Smith and Wolfgang Tillmans. Newly elected Honorary Academicians are El Anatsui, Marlene Dumas and Rosemarie Trockel.

Shonibare reflects that these artists were, until recently, thought of as ‘enfants terribles’… whereas they are now considered ‘as part of the establishment’! Indeed, the sheer variety of work exhibited is testament to how Art has developed. Initially, only easel paintings and plinth-based statuary was displayed at the Summer Exhibition. Once criticised as being ‘out of touch’, the establishment itself has also transformed.

Installation view of Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014 c. Benedict Johnson

The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition is open from 9th June — 17th August, Main Galleries, Burlington House, London.