art july in london - part 2

Summer Exhibition - Royal Academy of Arts

triton III by bryan kneale by you.
Triton III by Bryan Kneale

triton III by bryan kneale by you.

As usual, the summer exhibition in Royal Academy of Arts is promised to be a show with a great variety of works. However, I have to express my disappointment over the layout in the Architectue Room (Room VI). In the past, one could easily get close to the architectural drawings and models to appreciate the level of details they possess. Not any more this year. The room is packed like a warehouse, with 3 levels of shelves along the wall. It is impossible to reach at least 1/3 of the exhibits. Is RAA trying to accomodate as many works as possible for sole profiteering (they get 30% commission of all works sold in the show)?

summer exhibition . royal academy of arts by you.
Works cramped altogether in the Architecture Room

summer exhibition . royal academy of arts by you.
Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain by Damien Hirst

*****

Joel Shapiro at 23 Saville Row

23 saville row by you.

23 saville row by you.

American artist Joel Shapiro was commissioned to produce an installation at the entrance of the office-retail development. His free-floating forms standing out sharply from the monolithic facade of the building. The reflective glass around produce even more drama on these 'flying' tubes.

*****

Serpentine Pavilion 2009

serpentine pavilion 2009 by you.

SANAA designs the Serpentine Pavilion this year. Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA says, "The pavilion is designed to amplify the way things look." The enormous mirror-finished aluminium roof definitely could make it happen - unless you are a blind. You see EVERYTHING twice once you walk near the pavilion, because the mirror image and its original subjects are reciprocal to each other.

You could see how the pavilion is constructed through time in this wonderful website. Now I start to feel sorry for the roof cleaners with the amount of pigeons around!

serpentine pavilion 2009 by you.
People relaxing on SANAA-designed furniture

serpentine pavilion 2009 by you.
The lowered polished aluminium roof attracts kids to play beneath

serpentine pavilion 2009 by you.
The cafe area - people queuing for drinks

serpentine pavilion 2009 by you.
Many slender steel poles to support the roof - some pokes fun of the absence of pole dancers

full photo set here

Further reading -
Official website of RAA's Summer Exhibition 2009
Royal Academy of Arts page on Triton III
Bryan Kneale page in RAA
Official website of 23 Saville Row, see the 'Art' section for the creation process of Joel Shapiro for the installation.
Installation process of Joel's sculpture
Official profile sheet of 23 Saville Row from its architect Eric Parry Architects
An interivew with Joel Shapiro by Robert Ayers in 2007
Official page of Serpentine Pavilion 2009
An interivew with SANAA by designboom.com in 2005
Review of SANAA's pavilion by Jonathan Glancey of Guardian UK