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Viewing Christabel Blackburn: Another Day of Sun at Gillian Jason Gallery

The Wick Culture - Courtesy of Gillian Jason Gallery and the Artist

Above Courtesy of Gillian Jason Gallery and the Artist

Christabel Blackburn: Another Day of Sun

Gillian Jason Gallery
2 July – 2 August 2024

Just as the weather falters once again, Blackburn gives us Another Day of Sun — the title of a solo exhibition of new works on view at Gillian Jason Gallery until 2 August. The London-based artist has long been fascinated with California’s sunlight and architecture. To make her latest body of paintings, there was only one thing for it — go and experience it first hand.

Blackburn spent time sketching and photographing fleeting, real-life scenes of people and places in Los Angeles which were then translated onto canvases when the artist returned to her studio in London. The result is a series of sumptuously rendered, minimal and meditative figurative paintings that emanate a sense of vast open space and “the feeling of being bathed in light” as Blackburn puts it.

With a hint of Hockney, and touch of Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Blackburn perfectly captures the environment and energy of the fabled city, but leaves “plenty of space for the viewer to engage with their own narrative”, curator Kate Bryan, Chief Art Director of Soho House, proffers. The quintessence of Californian cool that will brighten the greyest of days.

Viewing Sixty-five years of Barbie’s life in plastic at the Design Museum

The Wick Culture - Barbie at the Design Museum, London.
Photo by Jo Underhill

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Photo by Jo Underhill

The Wick Culture - Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Barbie at the Design Museum, London.
Photo by Jo Underhill

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Photo by Jo Underhill

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London Photo by Jo Underhill

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Photo by Jo Underhill

The Wick Culture - 1992 Totally Hair Barbie. © Mattel, Inc

Above 1992 Totally Hair Barbie. © Mattel, Inc

The Wick Culture - Courtesy of The Design Museum

Above Courtesy of The Design Museum

The Wick Culture - 1979 Dream House. © Mattel, Inc

Above 1979 Dream House. © Mattel, Inc

The Wick Culture - 1962 Barbie Dream House. © Mattel, Inc

Above 1962 Barbie Dream House. © Mattel, Inc

The Wick Culture - Barbie teams up with ESA & astronaut Samantha Cristoferetti for space week

Above Barbie teams up with ESA & astronaut Samantha Cristoferetti for space week

The Wick Culture - Previous photo from 2021 of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with her lookalike Barbie during parabolic training for the 2022 mission to the ISS

Above Previous photo from 2021 of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with her lookalike Barbie during parabolic training for the 2022 mission to the ISS

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Photo by Jo Underhill

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Photo by Jo Underhill

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London Photo by Jo Underhill

Above Barbie at the Design Museum, London Barbie at the Design Museum, London. Photo by Jo Underhill

Above 1992 Totally Hair Barbie. © Mattel, Inc

Above Courtesy of The Design Museum

Above 1979 Dream House. © Mattel, Inc

Above 1962 Barbie Dream House. © Mattel, Inc

Above Barbie teams up with ESA & astronaut Samantha Cristoferetti for space week

Above Previous photo from 2021 of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with her lookalike Barbie during parabolic training for the 2022 mission to the ISS

Barbie®: The Exhibition

The Design Museum
5 July 2024 – 23 February 2025

Last summer was all about the Barbie movie, and now the world’s famous doll is the protagonist of an exhibition: opening to the public tomorrow (just ahead of the school summer holidays) at the Design Museum, Barbie®: The Exhibition explores Barbie through the lens of design, from a rare edition of the very first doll released by Mattel in 1959 to today through 250 objects.

Marking the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand, this show charts the evolution of Barbie and the diversification of dolls over the decades to better reflect the women in the world: the first Black, Hispanic and Asian Barbies are presented here, as well as differently-abled Barbies and different body shapes the brand has introduced. These dolls show how the brand has tried to shift beauty standards through design in meaningful ways.

Alongside Barbie, there’s a veritable universe on show here too — various other key characters including Midge (Barbie’s first friend), Christie, Teresa, and Barbie’s younger sister Skipper, and of course, there’s a whole lot of Ken — an entire section displays six decades of Barbie’s boyfriend, who was first introduced in 1961. Fans will also love the homes, furniture and vehicles that have all helped create the Barbie universe, and spark imaginative play all over the world. But what was the best-selling Barbie of all time? The 1992 Totally Hair Barbie — with more than 10 million dolls sold.

Viewing Faces and Fables by Auguste Rodin at Bowman Sculpture

The Wick Culture - Auguste Rodin, Le Baiser (The Kiss), 1st Reduction, Conceived in 1886, this cast made in February 1912 by the Barbedienne Foundry in Rodin's lifetime

Above Auguste Rodin, Le Baiser (The Kiss), 1st Reduction, Conceived in 1886, this cast made in February 1912 by the Barbedienne Foundry in Rodin’s lifetime

The Wick Culture - Auguste Rodin, Le Penseur (The Thinker), petit modèle with rounded base, conceived circa 1880-1881, the reduction created in 1903.

Above Auguste Rodin, Le Penseur (The Thinker), petit modèle with rounded base, conceived circa 1880-1881, the reduction created in 1903.

The Wick Culture - Courtesy of Bowman Sculpture

Above Courtesy of Bowman Sculpture

Above Auguste Rodin, Le Baiser (The Kiss), 1st Reduction, Conceived in 1886, this cast made in February 1912 by the Barbedienne Foundry in Rodin’s lifetime

Above Auguste Rodin, Le Penseur (The Thinker), petit modèle with rounded base, conceived circa 1880-1881, the reduction created in 1903.

Above Courtesy of Bowman Sculpture

Faces and Fables: Rodin’s Portraiture, Great Commissions, Mythology, and Sculptural Innovations

Bowman Sculpture Gallery
20 June – 19 July 2024

A chance to see a museum-quality exhibition for free: Bowman Sculpture Gallery present some thirty works by world-renowned Auguste Rodin, from earliest works to his final period, from large-scale to intimate, telling a story of a thrilling artistic evolution that saw the French artist rise to become one of the world’s most influential artists in the medium.

The sculptures centre around key themes of portraiture, mythological figures, and experimentation with the techniques of sculpture to reveal ever more complex and profound expressions in clay and bronze. Auguste Rodin’s portraiture captures the essence of his subjects with depth and emotion, whether it’s the small-scale studies or grand busts, often commissioned by the cultural elite.

The exhibition will feature two versions of Rodin’s iconic portraits derived from the Monument to Balzac, known to be one of the most controversial sculptures of the 19th century, including a cast of the final study of the work which was originally presented at the Salon of 1898. The majority of only thirteen casts that exist belong to public collections – here however is a rare chance for a closer encounter in the gallery without the museum crowds.