It’s December, nearly the end of the year and we’re in a reflective mood. We take a moment to think of what art we’d like to unwrap on Christmas Day, and ponder our New Year art resolutions.

Back to 2019, our gallery visits took us to Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery, the Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, and the End of Year show at The Royal Drawing School.

It’s been a big month of news for the art world, what with the Turner Prize nominees sharing the final prize, which of course we had to discuss. And one of the artists we’ve previously mentioned, Tal R, has been to court to try and stop his artwork being cut up to make watches. Yes we know, it’s a bonkers story. And, Liz wouldn’t let us finish the year without discussing ‘unseen’ artist Eric Tucker. We all need some feel good stories after all!

Our Artist Focus this episode is French-American artist Louise Bourgeois. Jessie enjoyed a 1989 feisty video interview with the artist and Tate Modern Director, Frances Morris, and we’re struck by the multiple similarities between Bourgeois and Yayoi Kusama.

Finally, a big MERRY CHRISTMAS to our listeners, and remember to look out for us once more before the end of the year: we have a Christmas Special podcast that comes out on 23rd December, where we sit down with fellow podcasters: Art Proof, Delphian and Mizog. It’ll be a Christmas Mash Up!

SHOW NOTES

Mollie Barnes: @mollieebarnes
Art Proof podcast: @artproofpodcast
Delphian podcast: @delphiangallery
Mizog podcast: @mizogart
Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery, until 26 January 2020: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/hayward-gallery-art/bridget-riley
Olafur Eliasson ‘In Real Life’ at Tate Modern, until 5 January 2020: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/olafur-eliasson
Delphian Gallery x Guts Gallery: https://delphiangallery.com/portfolio/delphian-x-guts/
Richard Woods ‘Door and Window Paintings’ at Albion Barn, by appointment only: http://www.albionbarn.com/currentexhibitions.php
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery until 6 February 2020: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/taylor-wessing-photographic-portrait-prize-2019/exhibition/
Snezhana von Buedingen: @snezhana_von_buedingen
End of Year Exhibition at the Royal Drawing School, until 15 January 2020: https://www.royaldrawingschool.org/exhibitions/drawing-year-2019-end-year-exhibition-gallery/
Turner prize awarded four ways after artists’ plea to the judges: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/03/turner-prize-2019-lawrence-abu-hamdan-helen-cammock-oscar-murillo-and-tai-shani-shared
Are award winners and losers going out of fashion? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50651827
Danish artist seeks to stop his work being cut up to make watches: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/02/danish-artist-tal-r-paris-chic-watches
Eric Tucker: exhibition fulfils ‘unseen’ artist’s final wish: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50500885
Louise Bourgeois Tate Shot: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/louise-bourgeois-2351/louise-bourgeois-transform-hate-love
Louise Bourgeois and Pablo Picasso ‘Anatomies of Desire’ at Hauser and Wirth: https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/24525-louise-bourgeois-pablo-picasso-anatomies-desire
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48419/this-be-the-verse