Blackpaint 569 – Vikings, Toby and Wifredo Lam

Oslo – Astrup Fearnley Museum

Why was Blackpaint in Norway? For the Oslo Marathon, of course. Since you ask, it was hot, hilly like Helsinki last year and there are roadworks everywhere. At one point, the route went over a cinder track through a huge building site and into and round a container park – and then back again for another interesting visit, later in the run.

Anyway, the Astrup Fearnley is a private museum on the quayside. very swish area, big sports cars around; two floors of stuff, downstairs Hirst’s bisected cow and calf under glass – made me think of Skip James’ Little Cow and Calf Blues – an Emin tapestry with words, a Rachel Whiteread, a blue Malcolm Morley poster painting, a great, smeary grey Christopher Wool, a Kitaj and a couple of Helen Martins and a Sibony as a reminder of the Venice Biennale.

Upstairs, 80’s German Expressionists, as below:

Martin Kippenberger – Sick Egg Boy

Sigmar Polke – 3 Apparitions. These are huge, whole wall size. There are others by Lupertz, Eichendorff and especially Kiefer – a shelf of huge, grey leaden “books” and one of those lead plaques with little girl’s dress and shoes embedded.

Knut Rose – I Kulturlandskap

Bjorn Carlsen – Suicide.

Locals, I guess, from the names; I just like the colours, really. The Carlsen strikes me as a cross between Matisse and Kitaj’s cartoon style. Great modern building, an hour’s visit to see the lot.

Toby Young

For some reason, a large number of (male) Oslo residents strongly resemble the Tory “free school” activist; not, perhaps, the stereotype which springs to mind when we think of the Norse Sagas…

Young

Viking

Wifredo Lam, the EY Exhibition, Tate Modern

Yes, I always thought it was Wilfredo – and so it should have been, but it was misspelt when his birth was registered, it appears.

I found the Lam to be a disappointment. Very strong Picasso influence, especially Minotaur and Guernica; very colourless – where colour used to any extent, sort of all colours, as if random and pastel-y; almost an anthroposophical look, in loose, slanting strokes. Overwhelmingly black, white, beige; spiky (like Sutherland), fork tines, wheels, swords, knives, ploughshares, small round heads/faces, physical discombobulation. Lots of ritual figures, Santoria, Yoruba. It livened up for me a bit when he stayed with Jorn at Albissola – I liked “The Brush” – totally uncharacteristic, spatters all over it. A setof smaller framed works, on paper I think, figures in which recall Bruegel and Bosch.

In the first room, a couple of peasant portraits and a self portrait show what a fabulous draughstman he was. So, influences and resemblances: Picasso overwhelmingly, Sutherland, Picabia maybe, Bruegel, Jorn…

Yellow Runner

I know, it’s an old one.

Blackpaint

23.9.16

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