The exhibition called "Modern British Sculpture" that opened at the Royal Academy today (until 7 April) is a fraud. It's one of those shows intended to illustrate a theory or make an argument. Its publicity claims: "the exhibition takes a fresh approach, replacing the traditional survey with a provocative set of juxtapositions that … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2011
The Critics’ Critic: A Tribute to John Gross
There have been many obituaries of John Gross, who died on 10 January. He was the critics' critic, witty, erudite, and polymathic, a graceful writer and a lightning-quick thinker. His series of Oxford anthologies, his books on Shylock, Joyce and Kipling and his 2001 memoir about growing up in the Jewish East End of London, A Double Thread, will all last; and one of his … [Read more...]