Hot Takes on a Hot Day
Good evening. I know its hot but stay cool, honeybuns.
I’ve had a few new subscribers lately, which has motivated me to try to make the newsletter a bit more regular - something along the lines of news about what I’m doing, what’s hot in the artworld and ideas to get you thinking. It’s easy to say that while I’m on summer holiday, I guess, so we’ll see how that goes. For now, on what is surely the hottest day in London this year, just a couple of quick updates.
Writing
I’ve started up my FAD Magazine column for what I call its third season: back when I was young and energetic, I used to do it every week, but then life got in the way so I took a break for some years; then I resurrected it for five ruminations on art in the post-lockdown world, then I took another break because I had a mid-life crisis; now its back and I’m focusing on the meaning of art. I will try to do it monthly from now on. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
Value and Ideas 106 is about my seeing Marcus Harvey’s painting Myra for the first time.
Value and Ideas 107 is about artworld fraudster, Inigo Philbrick, and why we need people who care about art.
Elsewhere, I’ve been working on a cultural memoir in which I explore the impact music has in our formative years but writing essays about some of my favourite songs and exploring how they have shaped me. So far, I’ve written essays about Morrissey, Pulp and Oasis - get in touch if you want to read any of them and offer some feedback. The project, which I’m calling Here We Are Now, currently has no purpose or destination but it’s fun to work on.
Find out more about the songs that changed my life.
Recommendations
Adam Farah-Saad - my absolute new favourite artist - is showing a piece at Bold Tendencies, Peckham, (pictured below, from the website) until 14 September. Go see it, and watch this pace for more on this spectacular young artist.
Ania Card, Above Us the Sea, is a gripping story of loss and love to read over the summer.
Orlando Whitfield, All that Glitters, chronicles the author’s friendship with Inigo Philbrick, whose crimes expose the very worst of the artworld without apparently teaching anybody a useful lesson. It’s a gripping read and anybody who has ever been involved in the inner working of art will recognise so much of what Whitfield writes about.
Things to look forward to
Dexter Dalwood’s inaugural show with Lisson Gallery opens 27 September - more on that later, I hope.
Tracey Emin takes over White Cube’s Bermondsey galleries for Frieze, opening on 19 September.
That’s it for now
Catch you all soon. And remember: BE COOL, HONEYBUN.