Friday, July 03, 2015

Sonia Delaunay at Tate Modern

Due to the heat, this will be a mini-posting....
We met at St Paul's and walked across the Millennium Bridge in the steaming heat. Thankfully the gallery is air conditioned; Caroline suggested fish'n'chips for lunch and that started the day off well.
Delaunay's gorgeous portraits were the first thing we came upon. She painted these when she was 21 years old and they sing with colour. I particularly liked one of a resting woman, head to one side propped up by an arm, who seemed familiar. Now that's a good portrait.
This exhibition is very well-curated. There is a lot here, but ti's not overwhelming. We could see that Delaunay was a woman who needed to make living. There were designs for magazine covers, fashion designs, fabric designs (absolutely beautiful), costume and stage designs. I was taken by a printed pamphlet that had a poem down one side and her colourful expressions of inspiration down the other. And, of course, the film in which 1920s models paraded against contrasting backdrops removing layers of jackets and skirts in brown and bright blue, making colour statements. At the end, there was the artist herself, grinning delightedly as her fabrics swept across the screen.
She was futuristic- many of her works were centred on refractions of colours from electric street lights, and there were paintings of plane's control panels and propellers. So much to see. This exhibition well worth visiting because there is something for everybody with many hidden gems: little graphics tucked between bolder statement works.
And then Caroline and I retired for cake, coffee and talk. We circled around Madonna. Who is she and why is she?
Excuse typos. It really is hot.
But that, as every outing with Caroline proves to be, was a fabulous day.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:40 pm

    Poisoned Fish-you can't eat the fish out of the river thames especially around the London regions

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous3:20 pm

    Did you 'gate crash' any of the exhibitions!

    ReplyDelete