It has rained here nearly every day recently. It hasn’t felt much like summer, but we should be grateful I suppose to live in a green a pleasant land. I would find temperatures such as those endured around the Mediterranean almost unbearable. Anyway, due to the rain I haven’t got out and about much lately. Thursday was quite a pleasant day however when I set off on the train to London with my sister and her partner. The reason for the trip was to see the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition because my elder brother had an exhibit in it called The Stormy Sea. I believe it is the first time a stained-glass work has been accepted for this event.
The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually in Burlington House, Piccadilly during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, architectural designs and models, and is the largest and most popular open exhibition in the United Kingdom. It is also the longest continuously staged exhibition of contemporary art in the world. The first Summer Exhibition took place in 1769; it has been held every year since without exception. I was relieved that our train was running on time because there were a lot of cancellations due to industrial action on some services. We arrived at Waterloo at 11.50 and decided to walk to the gallery as it was only about a mile away. Even so we managed to get lost because I made a mistake about which bridge we had crossed over the Thames.
My sister asked a policeman for directions, and he pointed us towards Leicester Square and Piccadilly. I must say I find central London quite irritating at this time of the year. The streets are jammed with tourists and traffic. Also, the school holidays adds to the melee of madding crowds. Not to worry, we eventually turned right at Fortnum & Masons where we found the courtyard of Burlington House which seemed in comparison like an oasis of calm. I hadn’t been to the Summer Exhibition before. The last time I came to the R.A. was for the Monet exhibition in 1999.
On entering the first room the immediate thing that struck me was the vibrant colours of the exhibits which covered the walls. It was a feast for the eyes. There were 1613 works of art on display, so it would be impossible to study every one of them in a couple of hours. I could only look at those that particularly caught my eye. There are about eighty members of the R.A. who are entitled to show their work every year, so as well as quite unknown artists there are also works by the likes of Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Norman Ackroyd, Eileen Cooper, Humphrey Ocean, Paula Rego and many other notable artists.
I made a beeline to find my brothers work and was pleased to see a little red sticker on the plinth which showed it was sold. It seemed to me that at least half of the works in the exhibition appeared to be sold which is a great thing for the R.A. because it is the commission on sales which helps fund all its educational work. Then I had a look at as many other pieces as possible. There was one huge work by the late Paula Rego called Oratorio which is impossible to miss. A mixed media triptych of paintings and mannequins which I found quite disturbing, almost grotesque, but also very moving.
Other works that I admired included Ship by Chris Orr. Sisters In Scarves Eating Pimlico Chips by David Stewart, Beam Me Up Scotty by Barry Wilson, Daydream Believer by Eileen Cooper, Natural Selection by Jock McFadyen, Interior At Oriel by Ken Howard, Gossip: Post-Covid by Laura Carey, and many others that I can’t remember the names of now. Looking back at what I liked, I think that what attracted me to certain pieces was bright colours, humour, emotions, and a strong message. After spending a couple of hours in the gallery we got on the Bakerloo Line at Piccadilly Circus back to Waterloo for a nice relaxing drink in a nearby pub. London was too hectic for me to do anything else. Then we made our way back home after a very enjoyable visit to the R.A. Summer Exhibition. I would certainly go again, but maybe on a Sunday next time when London might be a bit quieter.
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