The meaning of decoration on Chinese ceramics

St Martin-in-the-Fields, together with the Chinese Speaking Congregations of St Martin's, is organising an occasional series of art talks focusing on aspects of Chinese Art. The third lecture in this series will be on 'The meaning of decoration on Chinese Ceramics' and will be given by Rosemary Scott on Thursday 17 January 2019, 6.30pm in St Martin’s Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields. This will be an illustrated talk (in English).

Rosemary Scott took an honours degree in Chinese Art & Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where she went on to do postgraduate research. On leaving university she joined the Burrell Collection in Glasgow as Assistant Keeper for Oriental art. She became Deputy Keeper of the whole collection a year later. Her next appointment was as Curator of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, SOAS, combining the running of the museum with undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research. In 1995 she became the first Head of the new Museums Department at SOAS, responsible for both the David Foundation and the new Brunei Gallery.

In 1997 she joined Christie's and is currently Senior International Academic Consultant to the Asian Art departments, undertaking research, publication, lecturing and training. She has curated a wide range of exhibitions, and has researched and written numerous books and articles on the Chinese decorative arts. She has travelled widely in East Asia, America and Europe lecturing and undertaking research. She is a former President of the Oriental Ceramic Society, London.

The talk will be held in St Martin's Hall, within the Crypt of St Martin's, and will begin at 6.30pm for one hour. The talk will be followed by a drinks reception in the Bishop Ho Ming Wah Association and Community Centre.

All are very welcome – for further information contact Jonathan Evens – t: 020 7766 1127, e: jonathan.evens@smitf.org.

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Qu Xiao-Song - Drums of Xi.

Artlyst: Interview and Review

My latest pieces for Artlyst include an interview with Alastair Gordon who talks about painting as a form of philosophical enquiry: 

'John Berger described painting as a way of seeing but it’s also a way of thinking or making sense of the world around us. Painting is also a proposition. We respond to the ideas of our times and, for me, this is about the relationships between things made or created, digital or analogue, reproduced or replicated.

My paintings are an attempt to make sense of how artefacts come into being. These questions find their source in philosophy but historically artists (in the west) have more usually referred back to theology. These questions about how things come into being have a wider resonance with how the universe works.'

Alastair's work can currently be seen at Husk, the Gallery he founded in Limehouse, until 25 July and in the Summer Show at JGM Gallery in Battersea.

Artlyst have also published my review of Sacred Noise at Christie's:

'Themes of religion, faith and divinity have pervaded art throughout the centuries. The 20th-century did see the reinterpretation and subversion of those themes. Yet, the rebirth and redefinition of the European legacy of religious painting include much that is affirming of religion, in addition to much which challenges its basic premises and history. This exhibition has more of the latter than the former. I would suggest that, at present, the story of art which has continuity with de Morales, Zurbarán and Cranach is the road less documented and therefore, because of its hidden treasures, is currently the more interesting story to tell.'

My other Artlyst articles and interviews are:

• Sam Ivin: Physically Scratched Portraits Of Asylum Seekers Exhibited
• The London Group Announces Three Exhibitions For Waterloo Festival
• Bill Viola: Quiet Contemplative Video Installation St Cuthbert’s Church Edinburgh
• The ground-breaking work of Sister Corita Kent
• Katrina Moss Chaiya Art Awards Interview: Where is God in our 21st century world?
• Picasso To Souza: The Crucifixion Imagery Rarely Exhibited
• Apocalypse Now: Michael Takeo Magruder Interviewed
• Jonathan Anderson: Religious Inspirations Behind Modernism
• Michael Takeo Magruder: De / coding the Apocalypse – Panacea Museum
• Giorgio Griffa: The Golden Ratio And Inexplicable Knowledge
• Arabella Dorman Unveils New Installation At St James Church Piccadilly
• Can Art Transform Society?
• Art Awakening Humanity Conference Report
• Central St Martins in the Fields Design Then And Now
• The Sacramental And Liturgical Nature Of Conceptual Art
• Caravan – An Interview With Rev Paul Gordon Chandler On Arts Peacebuilding
• Art Awakening Humanity Alexander de Cadenet Interviewed
• Polish Art In Britain Centenary Marked At London’s Ben Uri Gallery
• Michael Pendry New Installation Lights Up St Martin In The Fields;
• Mark Dean Projects Stations of the Cross Videos On Henry Moore Altar;
• Refugee Artists Learning from The Lives Of Others;
• The Religious Impulses Of Robert Rauschenberg;
• The Christian Science Connection Within The British Modern Art Movement;
• Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition;
• Art Impacted - A Radical Response To Radicalisation;
• The Art of St Martin-in-the-Fields; and
• Was Caravaggio A Good Christian?

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Joy Williams - Until The Levee.

Ben Uri: 100 for 100

Founded 100 years ago in London's East End Jewish quarter, Ben Uri is now located in a small gallery in Boundary Road, NW8 and houses a 1300-piece collection largely hidden from view. Ben Uri is ending its centenary year with a larger and extended version of Out of Chaos held at Christie’s South Kensington.

100 for 100 provides a rare opportunity to enjoy spectacular works from the Ben Uri collection at Christie's South Kensington saleroom by showcasing works usually hidden from view, including David Bomberg, Jacob Epstein, Mark Gertler, Leon Kossoff and Frank Auerbach, alongside their international contemporaries including Marc Chagall, Chaïm Soutine and Georg Grosz.

The exhibition also includes lesser-known but no less historically important artists, whose stories help trace complex narratives of war, forced journeys, migration and loss. The final room features contemporary artists from refugee and migrant backgrounds, accompanied by newly-uncovered archival material illustrating Ben Uri’s colourful history and wide cultural programming as well as the far-reaching impact of émigré artists on 20th century British art and design. These spectacular highlights secure Ben Uri’s future as a museum of identity and migration.

Exhibition open 21 May – 9 June
Closed 28th, 29th, 30th May.

Held at:
Christie’s South Kensington
85 Old Brompton Road
London
SW7 3LD

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Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy - Symphony No.2 "Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise)".