Tate Britain and Modern

So my friend Clarissa decided to buy plus one membership of the Tate allowing us to go to both Tate Britain and Tate Modern exhibitions (and their respective members' rooms). Primary exhibition to see at Tate Britain was the Gainsborough exhibition. But it wasn't on. Closer examination of the poster showed it was indeed opening 20 May, but May 2027, not 2026!

However there was a Whistler retrospective which was very good. I hadn't realised how well travelled the man was

This one was in Brittany

Old Westminster Bridge

His most famous work by far, Whistler's Mother

His Peacock Room recreated

The vast open hallway in Tate Britain has the most random stuff in it - see below

And just because it was on, and we had membership, we went to the other exhibition at the gallery by a British artist of whom I had never heard before, Hurvin Anderson. Nor you? I can tell you why. He is rubbish. Described as "intensely colourful work" which is the label you might put on a primary school painter, but for all the blurb on his paintings in the show the blindingly obvious point about his subject matter is that the big blocks of colour are simple and hide his inability to paint stuff. Especially faces. Many of which he just represented by a big brown circle. The only paintings we liked are his slightly amorphous flower garden ones

The members room up in the dome is nice though

Clarissa had never been to St Dunstans in the East before, so we went there. For once no one taking wedding photos

I will leave you to judge who is the more photogenic out of Clarissa and I

Then a walk up through the City to a Hong Kong restaurant beyond Brick Lane

To finish up after lunch at Tate Modern. Clarissa wanted a rest after criss-crossing the City so we we stated with the members' room. Nice views across the Thames

Although the terrace doesn't have much space

Now the main exhibition Clarissa wanted to see here was the Fria Kahlo. And would you believe that also isn't on yet - opening next month? So not a great return for her membership.

But what was on was an exhibition of the works of Tracey Emin. Now if I was scathing about Hurvin Anderson's schoolkid daubings, Tracey Emin makes him look like Leonardo Michelangelo and Rembrandt rolled into one. Even more obviously, she has no artistic ability at  all. She either just daubs slogans (she can write legibly in block capitals, although very limited vocabulary - mostly just swear words), draws what are just about, and only just about, recognisable as humans, creates sculptures -  generally very small and looking like they might have been of something but were left too close to a fire and have melted, videos of herself being very inarticulate, or things like the famous unmade bed, which are basically just mounds of rubbish you would chide your idle teenager for having left.  

Honestly it is beyond satirising. But if you were absolutely useless at drawing, painting or sculpting and went to art school, this is probably what you would produce. If you didn't try.

One of the more interesting artworks in the general collection

And then we settled into the members area again to await meeting up with friends for drinks and dinner