Looking in on the Royal Academies Summer Exhibition – now in its 204th year – in London, was a dazzling experience with over 1,200 works on display, many of them for sale. The theme this year was ‘Man Made’, coordinated by Tony Cragg and Gordon Benson, who had included a memorial gallery dedicated to the Late RB Kitaj, and featuring early and recent works.
Entering the Annenberg Courtyard, a monumental sculpture by Sir Anthony Caro titled Promenade, greeted visitors, and set the mood for a diverse visual exposure. As always there were critical comments by the media who found the exhibition disappointing, but with so much displayed, it is impossible to absorb the entire exhibition at one go, and it is easier to focus on the paintings and sculptures that please one. The western gallery hung from ceiling to floor with prints and affordable works was full, and numerous works were booked in many editions, judging by the red dots fixed on each artwork. Finding it too full of people to view the work in comfort, I wandered off to an emptier gallery where the former Beetle, Sir Paul McCartney was seriously viewing paintings to acquire.
There had been a lot of publicity about a gallery curated by the recently elected Academician Tracey Emin, but alas, the collection displayed was, as one art buff described: ‘a gallery one walked through without pause’. Not exactly the experience I had, as during my visit to Emin’s gallery, a member of the public tripped on a metal grill fixed to the floor surrounding a collection of tall, pedestal-based ceramic sculptures, and smashed one of them into small pieces.

Among the work that caught my attention, including of course the extraordinary Kitaj, were paintings by Mick Rooney, Philip Sutton whose large portraits are akin to those of Saeed Akhtar, Adrain Berg whose colourful painting titled Mughal Break of Dawn, is obviously inspired by the art of Mughal miniatures, and a piece by Amy Winder-Boyle created from old books and beeswax titled The Expectation of New Beginnings.
Among the interesting exhibitions held in galleries in the East End of London, Sights from a Steeple, IBID, combined installation, concepts, music and sculptures by Karl Holmqvist, Ulla von Brandenberg and Gregor Hildbrandt. The overall effect appeared to combine forward looking trends and a backward glance. There were echoes of the sixties in Karl’s work consisting of three empty wine bottles. Accompanying the empties was a text inviting one to interact by drinking a bottle of wine at home, writing a poem and reciting it. Ulla showed a 16mm film showing a silver bauble that reflected the recording device and Gregor created a dark abstract canvas from cassette tape. Dangling sculptures, pot plants and texts added an eerie aesthetic.