The influence of the sea in the visual arts...
5:51 p.m.
26/10/15 - Conceived by British artist Damien Hirst (1965), and curated by Ordovas Gallery in London, the exhibition "The Big Blue" explores the influence of the sea in artists of all times.
The Big Blue, Ordovas Gallery, London
September – December 2015
General view of the exhibition
The main purpose of this very interesting exhibition is to offer visitors an original approach to a universal subject. Thus, in smart conversation, works of many centuries ago (such as a fragment of a Roman sarcophagus with the representation of Triton and Nereid) mingle with contemporary examples, like Damien Hirst's very own shark in formol.
The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, by Damien Hirst (2008-2009)
Materials: Glass, stainless steel, silicone, shark, formol
Between those two frontiers in Art History, the exhibition displays Francis Bacon (1909-1992)'s Figure in Sea, painted in 1957 and a must-see because it's one of the few landscapes painted by the artist. In fact, the painting remained unknown till his death, when it was finally discovered in his studio. The artwork looks spooky: we certainly see the sea but there's also a figure hard to distinguish. From 1957 we jump to 1869, with Paysage de mer by Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), painted in Normandy: hard strokes result in a troubled sea. In contrast, Hiroshi Sugimoto (1948)'s landscape is pure calmness, just a line in the horizon separating two colors. However, North Pacific Ocean, Ohkurosaki (thus the name of this timeless masterpiece) has an amazing intensity. Above Sugimoto, an Yves Klein (1928- 1962), impossible to mistake because of its intense blue (ultramarine blue: IKB 127), which is what links it with the other works on display. But wanting to show that Klein was more than his blue hues, the exhibition also includes the 1959 sculpture Sculture éponge rose (SE 207), in a strong pink.
There's more: two works by Max Ernst (1891-1976), both of 1926, in close dialogue with two paintings signé Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), done at the Chateau de Boisgeloup, an estate the artist bought in 1930.
Mondrian, who revolutionized the concept of space, is also present with Pier and Ocean 3. Féliz Gonzalez Torres, with his little Untitled (Ross Scuba Diving), invites visitors to assemble and disassemble a puzzle with the same rhythm that the waves of the sea.
Of the Baroque period, there's The Triumph of Galatea, painted by Giacinto Gimignani (1606-1681) circa 1640, which peacefully shares the space with Still-Life with Crab and Smoker’s requisites, an oil painting by Jan Olis (1610-1676), almost
from the same year as Gimignani's work.
The Big Blue, Ordovas Gallery, London.
September – December 2015 (detail)
These exhibitions, with such display of artists and works of importance, gathered together by one same subject, are proof that those who organize them have great and true affection for Art and its history.
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