CHASE THE SUN TO SANTORINI

Posted on 2011-08-15

With the muggy mercury rising in the Big Smoke this week causing downpours en mass and the public mood being one of disbelief that this may signal the very end of Great British Summertime once more, it can only mean one thing – time to chip off for a long weekend to sultry Santorini.
Put quite simply, Santorini is the chicest island in the Mediterranean – an old charmer it may be it should be experienced with a hip twist. September is the best time to catch the last ebbs of summer sun, smoking hot nightlife and achingly hip restaurants on this volcanic island strung out in the middle of the cobalt blue Aegean Sea.

In a league of its own for old school charm, watch the evening sun melt over the charred black cliffs casting soft pink light on the bleached-out villas that cling to the edge. And don’t forget to taste the incredible local Assyrtiko wine; Santorini has the oldest vines in Greece and a unique way of growing them – experienced best with a local master of wine.

For more information and to book, visit www.blacktomato.co.uk or call on 020 7426 9888.

  

PLASTICINE TATOOINE

Posted on 2011-08-15

Plasticine Tatooine gives those lesser-known characters a chance to air their grievances and to lift the lid on life in the Star Wars second string.
Thousands of illustrators have depicted the cast of Star Wars over the years so in a sense what Elliott Quince has done here is nothing new, however, it tends to be the more famous characters that most people choose to draw; the likes of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, C3P0, Luke, Leia, Yoda, and Boba Fett.

What he has decided to do, to make this project different, is to select a bunch of the more random cast members and imagine how bitter they must have been at not making it big, how badly they were treated on set or how cruelly their lives have panned out since the movies were released.

Opposite – General Veers and Nien Nunb

www.plasticinetatooine.com

  

LOVE CRIME

Posted on 2011-08-08

When Christine, a powerful executive (Scott Thomas), brings on a naive young ingenue, Isabelle (Sagnier), as her assistant, she delights in toying with her naivete and teaching her hard lessons in a ruthless professional philosophy. But when the protege’s ideas become tempting enough for Christine to pass one as her own, she underestimates Isabelle’s ambition and cunning. Director Alain Corneau’s last film.

In theaters September 2nd, 2011

  

DAVID SHRIGLEY

Posted on 2011-08-08

In this exhibition, Shrigley presents two hundred drawings and an ensemble of sculpture: a dozen giant ceramic
eggs – 50 to 60 centimetres in height – installed across the exhibition space and displayed at different heights.
A few lines, a few words and one finds oneself smiling. Daily situations or objects are seen differently, it is hard to enjoy a pint when you know that ants have sex in your beer, or to seriously watch Michael Jackson moonwalk once you have seen how Shrigley draws him. Each drawing sums his views, and the more you see his work the
more you appreciate its humour.

Opposite – Untitled (i Hate Balloons), 2011

Exhibition runs through to August 31st, 2011

Yvon Lambert
108 Rue Vieille du Temple
75003
Paris
France

www.yvon-lambert.com

  

MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO

Posted on 2011-08-08

For his exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, the artist will create a new, site-specific installation using a form that he often returns to: the labyrinth. Pistoletto’s exhibition will draw visitors through the galleries, leading them via a winding maze to hidden installations and sculptures. Responding to the architecture of the Serpentine galleries and using an economy of materials, the exhibition will manipulate visitors’ perceptions of space, making them an integral part of the work itself.

He began as a painter in the mid-1950s, and in the 1960s received critical acclaim for his series of Mirror Paintings. These works broke down the traditional notions of figurative art, reflecting their surroundings and the viewer as a part of the image, linking art and life in an ever-changing spectacle.

Exhibition runs through to September 17th, 2011

Serpentine Gallery
Kensington Gardens
London
W2 3XA

www.serpentinegallery.org

  

DAN FISCHER

Posted on 2011-08-08

The drawings of Dan Fischer, meticulous graphite-on-paper recreations of widely known images of artists and their work, from the mid-twentieth century to the present day, are remarkably simple propositions that ask some of the most complex and profound questions about art and contemporary visual culture. Whether based on iconic portraits of acclaimed artists, such as the photograph of Bridget Riley in the mid-1960s by John Goldblatt, or instantly recognisable images of an iconic artwork itself, such as Kurt Schwitters’ The Merzbau, each drawing by Fischer takes a photographic image with unmistakable currency, circulation and meaning within narratives of contemporary art history, and refashions it as an object of art.

Opposite – Duchamp Behind Glass, 2011, Graphite on paper

Exhibition runs from September 9th to October 8th, 2011

Alison Jacques Gallery
16-18 Berners Street
London
W1T 3LN

www.alisonjacquesgallery.com