by jasperjoffe » Wed Jul 10, 2013 10:34 am
Is there any point in reviewing it? It's for I guess fundraising for the RA, to sell a bit of work for the artists, to continue a tradition enjoyed by the middle aged and classed. A jumble of work, scrappier hang than last year, most of it makes you question the point of art, looks like a rather obscure hobby, no more or less important than needlework (which itself was once great tapestry). Occasionally one painting draws you to it, I liked my old ruskinite Mark Alexander's squidgy brown version of some old painting, weirdly I can't think which, and it made me go off to find his other one, an American flag which didn't have the same magic, of something familiar, and oddly beautiful and weirdly made. The rest, well offal.