We strolled through Fitzrovia and ended up having dinner at Back to Basics. I must say, this time the service was much better, drinks were brought to our table almost immediately and the food followed shortly after. I had a beautiful fillet of salmon with dill, cucumber and cream and my other half had battered plaice with super minty mushy peas with an excellent bottle of Pouilly Fume. It all made for a pretty good evening.
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Yesterday I went to the Illumini exhibition at the St Pancras Church Crypt. Not sure why Time Out recommends it as ‘Critic’s Choice’ because it was rather unimpressive. The majority of the artwork looked like something you’d find on Camden Market. I was about as moved as I am when walking through BHS.
The church itself is quite beautiful and really worth a visit. The building has an impressive exterior with ancient Greek statues copied from the Acropolis by a sculptor named Rossi. The original can be found at The British Museum.
I came home late on Friday evening, it was pouring down outside and after a day of crappy studio food I was really craving some curry.
My first choice was Bombay Bicycle Club but they had a shortage of drivers. I decided to go for the second option which is the Holy Cow.
After the order was placed I was told it will take 1 h 15 min. Bit tough but I can wait. I was a bit apprehensive as last time the food came late and it was cold.
I waited the advised time, another 15 min passed, nothing. The phone at Holy Cow seemed to be off the hook all the time, finally I got through and was told the food will be with me shortly meaning another 15 min! The apology was poor and I got a lousy offer of a free side dish with the next order. Truly laughable, like I’m ever to going to go for this place again!
Food was eventually delivered, over an hour late and all I heard from the delivery guy was ‘Sorry, not my fault’.
The food turned up barely warm as suspected. I will never ever order from Holy Cow again.
Wondering what to do on another miserable rainy Sunday I decided to catch the Vilhelm Hammershøi exhibition before it ended. I didn’t know the artist’s work and was absolutely overwhelmed by his style – peaceful, composed paintings with subdued colours and perfect straight lines.
Sunshine, 1900
Hammershøi was a recluse which shows in his paintings, most of them were views of his home: interior and exterior, portraits of his wife almost always painted from the back.
There were few very powerful paintings of deserted streets on a misty day, a couple of them of The British Museum and surroundings; haunted interior of an old ballroom and some beautiful landscapes.
I left the exhibition feeling content and satisfied.
It’s only the 2nd of September but it feels like autumn has been with us for a while. Rainy days, cold wind, Wellington boots and umbrellas are the daily reality.
I love autumn, in fact it is my favorite season, but I feel I didn’t have enough sunny days this year.
So what’s out there to look forward to? Well, there is great fashion, few good movies coming out, stodgy food, golden leaves and open fire, there are also few very exciting exhibitions coming out.
Victoria and Albert Museum presents Cold War Modern: Design 1945-1970. This exhibition will focus of post war design from around the world, it will show how design was shaped by history and the difference between the West and the Iron Curtain. It will cover design, architecture, film and art of that period. Opens September 25th.
The Hayward Gallery will be showing Andy Warhol Other Voices, Other Rooms from October the 7th. It will be a major retrospective of the artist’s films, TV programmes, painting and illustrations. I wonder what the connection with Capote will be?
Francis Bacon exhibition starts on 11th September at Tate Britain. It will include the triptych Thee Studies for the Crucifixion and portraits of Pope Innocent X. This is something I am really looking forward to see. Furthermore the Turner Prize is back.
Tate Modern – Rothko exhibition opens on 26th September, perfect for everyone who likes big canvases with soft squares.
Royal Academy will show two big exhibitions: objects from collection of the Fondation Maeght by Miró, Calder, Giacometti, Braque from October 4th, and Byzantium 330-1453 from October 25th.
From 15th October National Gallery will treat us with great masters in Renaissance Faces – Van Eyck to Titian.
Apart from the current blockbuster Hadrian at the British Museum look out for Babylon exhibition starting on 13th November.
National Portrait Gallery will have few shows, one of them is a must see – Annie Leibovitz A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005. Starts October 16th.
Additional treats are the opening of the new Saatchi Gallery in October and ICA scrapping their entry fee.
This autumn will be exciting!
Unlike the rest of Clapham’s residents I spent the last Saturday, which was blissfully hot and sunny, indoors watching Dial M for Murder and hoping for Sunday fun.
I woke up the next day to discover a rain cloud had descended on London. It was disappointing but I was not deterred. After flipping through Time Out I decided to visit East London.
Arriving in Shadwell is not very exciting but head towards the Thames and within a couple of minutes you’ll discover some of the most amazing warehouses and old factories London has to offer. One of them, The Wapping Project, has been converted into a fantastic exhibition space. Originally an old hydraulic power station it’s guts are still intact with all the machines, tiles, pipes, conduits, dials and grates exactly where they were when the last worker walked out the door. Amongst the heavy plant, you’ll now find designer chairs and tables, and after 7pm an excellent restaurant – according to the barman.
The installation, that has just finished, was by Sam Spenser, a 22 year old Goldsmith’s graduate. In the pitch black subterranean space just off the main hall objects, made of scrap, were plucked out of the blackness like actors on a stage, they told a powerful and foreboding narrative. In the background a soundtrack washed the faint music of a piano in and out set to the creaking of rusty gate blowing in the wind. The experience gave a real sense of place, like being in a horror movie just before the murderer comes back.
Afterward I popped to a nearby pub for a couple of drinks, standing on the balcony, overlooking the Thames I watched seagulls flighting for scraps of food floating on the murky brown water.
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