Opening at Christie’s this week is London Now, a summer festival of exhibitions, events and auctions that celebrate the capital as one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world.
Headlining the festival is ‘The Art of Literature’, a dedicated series of events exploring the relationship between art and literature. Not to be missed is The Art of Literature: Auction Highlights Exhibition (6 – 15 June), an immersive showcase of the top lots from across Christie’s summer auction season with fashion by Molly Goddard. Expect to see lots of tulle, taffeta, organdie and silk, as wondrous looks from her archive collections — including her Autumn/Winter 2019 Ready-to-Wear collection, inspired by Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles — are suspended from the ceiling.
Also on display is The Art of Literature: Loan and Selling Exhibition (6 June – 14 July), a cross-category showcase featuring works of art inspired by the written word, as well as the novels, poetry, drama and stories which have inspired them.
Curated by Christie’s next generation of specialists, the exhibition seeks to spark new conversations around the links between the literary and the visual arts. ‘We have relished the opportunity to thread a narrative between writers and artists from the classical period to the present day,’ says co-curator Annabelle Scholar. ‘Works of art and literature on show will range from Dante to Hilary Mantel, and Roman antiquities to Marlene Dumas’. Much of the festival is open to the public (and free), so hop online to browse the full programme of events.
Get yourself to Hauser & Wirth Somerset to see the buzzy new exhibition of works by Henry Moore. Curated by Hannah Higham of the Henry Moore Foundation in collaboration with the artist’s daughter, Mary Moore, it examines the artist’s early fascination with the Neolithic site of Stonehenge and continued exploration of the upright abstract form. Also under consideration is his career-long investigations into scale, material and volume.
Installed across the garden and all five galleries, the exhibition brings together seminal works from across his six-decade career, including four towering bronze Upright Motive sculptures and Locking Piece (1962-63), which is made up of two large interconnecting forms stacked one on top of the other.
You’ll also encounter a significant series of etchings and lithographs depicting the site of Stonehenge, dating from 1972, and around 100 items from Moore’s studio. Shown together, they provide a rare insight into the working life of the modernist sculptor.
Once you’ve worked up an appetite exploring the exhibition and Piet Oudolf’s glorious garden, take yourself to Roth Bar and Grill for lunch. Order the pan fried sea bass before tucking into the rhubarb and custard pavlova. Trust us, you won’t regret it.
