If you are on the lookout for some art exhibitions to put on your 2024 calendar then read on as Romany Mark Bruce details which exhibitions he is most looking forward to this year.
Romany Mark Bruce is an artist/sculptor from Brighton, he originally trained as a lawyer before giving that up to be an artist at 39 years old. He designed and created the Brighton and Hove AIDS memorial.
Romany said: “It’s always nice to begin the New Year with a fresh diary to add to your exhibition wish list for the year, so I have a few here that I will be adding. No doubt many more will pop up during the days and weeks ahead. The lists of interesting up-and-coming artists, as well as the established geniuses are as abundant as ever this year and it’s hard to choose the favourites.”
Expressionists by Kandinsky, Munter and, The Blue Rider at the Tate Modern from April 25th – October 20th.
The Tate Modern website describes the exhibition saying: ‘Expressionists is a story of friendships told through art. It examines the highly individual creatives that made up The Blue Rider, from Franz Marc’s interest in colour to Alexander Sacharoff’s freestyle performance. The women artists played a central role in the movement. Discover experimental photographs by Gabriele Münter alongside the dramatic paintings of Marianne Werefkin.
Experience a collection of masterpieces from paintings, sculpture, and photography to performance and sound. This landmark exhibition is possible due to a collaboration with Lenbachhaus, Munich, who have offered Tate unprecedented access to their collection. It features over 130 works – brought together in the UK for the first time in 80 years.’
Romany said: “Colour is one of my obsessions and this year I will be releasing my art book ‘Sculpting Colour’ so no surprise then, that this exhibition about some of the masters of colour in art interests me.
He added: “Their paintings were based around the theory that colour and form embodied spiritual values with blue being the most spiritual, this belief in the power of the senses perceiving colour as a vital message in art, is something I have also found inspirational in my work.”
Tickets for Expressionists at the Tate Modern from April 25th to October 20th can be found HERE.
‘Michelangelo: The Last Decades’ at the British Museum, May 2nd – July 28th.
The British museum says ‘This exhibition looks at the last 30 years of Michelangelo’s remarkable life, when his return to Rome brought him new commissions and reunited him with some of his closest friends.
Forceful preparatory drawings for the monumental Last Judgement fresco as well as the newly conserved cartoon of the Epifania will be displayed alongside studies for Michelangelo’s grand architectural projects, including the rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Intimate letters, poems, and drawings will offer powerful insights into his faith, relationships, and experiences of old age.’
Romany said: “In 2020 I also moved towns and went to live in Pietrasanta in Northern Italy, where many artists have travelled in the footsteps of Michelangelo who went there to choose his marble blocks from the Apuan Alps.
He added: “I had also intended to spend two years sculpting in marble here but unfortunately due to the pandemic had to return much earlier than I had planned, so this exhibition with Michelangelo and how moving towns fundamentally shaped his future experiences ignites personal recollections for me.”
More information on the exhibit can be found here: https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/whats-british-museum-202324.
Fragile Beauty, photos from Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection, 18th May at the V & A
This exhibition is described on the V & A website as ‘An unparalleled selection of the world’s leading photographers, telling the story of modern and contemporary photography. Discover iconic images across subjects such as fashion, celebrity, reportage, and the male body.’
Romany spoke of his excitement ahead of this exhibition, he said: “Of course, I cannot leave out this great exhibition.
I had the pleasure of spending time with David when he kindly unveiled TAY, my AIDS memorial sculpture created in honour of my best friend and soulmate Paul Tay.
Elton and David have amassed over 7,000 photographs and this exhibition will show 300 of them and I am sure will be most inspiring.”
More information and tickets for the exhibition can be found HERE.
Francis Bacon’s portrait exhibition will be at the National Portrait Gallery, from 10th October – 19th January 2025.
The National Portrait Gallery says: ‘Featuring works from the 1950s onwards, this exhibition will explore Francis Bacon’s deep connection to portraiture and how he challenged traditional definitions of the genre.
From his responses to portraiture by earlier artists, to large-scale paintings memorialising lost lovers, works from private and public collections will showcase Bacon’s life story. Accompanied by the artist’s self-portraits, sitters include Lucian Freud, Isabel Rawsthorne, and lovers Peter Lacy and George Dyer.’
Romany spoke very highly of Bacon’s work, he said: “I am constantly inspired by Bacon so this exhibition will be one which I really will be looking forward to. The power of his portraits, in their distorted depictions, expressed through colour and form leaves me inspired every time I view them, so this will be exciting.”
More information and tickets once they are available can be found HERE.
Finally, Romany said: “I am sure there will be so many more to add to this list but for now these are just a few dates in the diary for 2024!”
