Motherhood is a recurring theme in the art of British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, an intimate subject so close to her heart she would return to it over and over again. Mother to four children, she juggled raising them almost singlehandedly, while continuing to create some of the most important and enduring sculptures of the 20th…
All posts by Rosie Lesso
British painter Francis Bacon made some of the rawest and most visually arresting images of the late 20th century. A true painter’s painter, Bacon embraced the viscous, tactile energy of oil paint, applying it in great streaks and swathes to emphasise the emotional impact of his brutally confrontational subjects. These included contorted bodies and faces,…
Motherhood and creativity: it’s a tricky, loaded subject that has been the subject of much debate. Do the two roles blend into and complement one another, or are they opposing forces pulling women in different directions? As as a mother myself, I know what it feels like to juggle different identities, and yet how the…
SILVER LAKE BLUE’s soaring, luminescent blue stretched out across Helen Frankenthaler’s vast, abstract art, invoking endless blue skies or glassy pools of water. A pioneer like no other, Frankenthaler made her name in 1950s New York, a leader in the second wave of Abstract Expressionism. Her light, airy canvases broke away from the impasto, painterly…
American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat came of age in 1980s New York, a time when the worlds of art, fashion, music and celebrity were colliding into one. Much like his contemporaries and friends Andy Warhol and David Bowie, Basquiat brandished a public image that was as quirky, distinctive and irreverent as his art. Loose Armani suits…
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham made her name in the mid-20th century as a leading figure of the radical St Ives School in postwar Cornwall. But her long and varied career extended well beyond this timeframe, lasting up until her passing in 2004. She continued to be an innovator in her later years, delving into new territory that…
Dressing up is at the core of American photographer Cindy Sherman’s art, and it’s a passion that has fuelled her career for more than fifty years. Taking her own body as a starting point, Sherman has dressed up in a whole range of fantastical disguises, from old Hollywood starlets to terrifying clowns and fraudulent fortune…
Lee Krasner was an inimitable pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, storming her way into the 1950s New York art scene with bold, bombastic paintings. Fleshy, soft shades of beige like that of MUSHROOM Linen are nestled into some of her most famous works of art, and their warm, earthy shades bring in a living, human presence….
Asafo flags are one of Ghana’s most fascinating historical artefacts, telling vivid, colourful and intimate stories about Ghanaian culture. These vibrant and spirited flags are a 400-year-old tradition of making that has been passed down through one generation to the next, and amazingly, they are still being made today. Older flags act as cultural emblems…
Warm rust reds like AUBURN Linen tinged many of Georgia O’Keeffe’s most famous paintings, invoking dry autumn leaves, worn out buildings or the barren wilderness of old America. O’Keeffe was one of the most pioneering painters of the early to mid-20th century and she captured the spirit of America during this momentous period in history…
Andy Warhol is the undisputed king of American Pop Art, creating some of the world’s most iconic and emblematic works of art. Multiples, seriality and repetition were key themes in his art – think Campbell’s Soup Cans or Marilyn’s face – so perhaps it’s no surprise that among his many creative ventures he turned his…
Austrian artist and writer Oskar Kokoschka made a remarkable contribution to early 20th century culture, spearheading a series of daring and inventive new visual languages. In his early career, he was a pioneering decorative artist, illustrating fantastical stories with a flat, Oriental style, while his mature art was swirling with wild, expressionistic energy. Throughout these…
Vivid, striking and bold, Asafo flags are part of a three to four-hundred-year-old history, and they are still being made today. Originating from 17th century Ghana, hand-made Asafo flags are filled with powerful symbols, stories and metaphors. Much like quilts, these flags have often been passed through families from one generation to the next, holding…
British artist Eduardo Paolozzi might be best remembered as the pioneering godfather of Pop Art, a master of cut-and-paste who mashed mass media imagery with modernist art. But there are other elements of his legacy that can often be overlooked, most notably his ground-breaking work as a textile designer. Much like his art, Paolozzi brought…
Shimmering silvers like MIRAGE GRAY are a hallmark feature of British artist Bridget Riley’s art, allowing her to create mesmerising depth, movement and space. Riley is widely recognised today as the iconic leader of 1960s Op Art, and she pushed the visual effects of pattern to the extreme, exploring how dots, wavy lines and patterns…
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