Tate Modern on a Sunny Afternoon

A few weeks ago, I spent a Saturday afternoon with a fellow art lover going to various exhibitions at the Tate Modern.

The visit began with an Aperol spritz in the members lounge on the balcony looking out over London, a perfect way to start the afternoon.

SURREALISM BEYOND BORDERS: Running until 29th August 2022

The first exhibition that I visited was the “Surrealism Beyond Borders”, which showcased artworks from around the world over a 50-year period.

The first painting which caught my eye was a painting of shutters. This was painted on top of actual shutter doors. The angle at which the door was placed, and the overhead lighting, gave the painting a real 3D effect - I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

I also loved how the blue background enhanced the colours of the painting.

I really loved this Picasso; I noticed his work as soon as I walked into the room. The colours in the painting were incredibly striking against the navy-blue background of the gallery walls.

I find it particularly interesting that Picasso did not always paint in a Surrealist style. Before he did so, many of his paintings were in a Neoclassicist or a Cubist style.

Picasso’s Surrealist paintings often depict twisted faces and figures, which is then emphasised using bright and ‘unnatural’ skin colours, such as green or blue. However, in this painting he has chosen much more natural colours for the skin tones.

A YEAR IN ART: AUSTRALIA 1992: Running until 30th September 2022

I was really excited to visit this exhibition as I had previously visited Australia over Christmas in 2019 and I absolutely loved the bright colours and complexity of the Aboriginal artwork which I saw out there.

The exhibition displayed a mixture of paintings, from small Aboriginal art pieces to huge Impressionist paintings that were much taller than me.

My favourite pieces of art were, of course, the Aboriginal paintings. I love how the designs build on layers of colour and texture to create such beautiful pieces of artwork. I love how the colours on some of the pieces were so different, yet they all complimented each other to create an overall striking composition.

LUBAINA HIMID: Running until 2nd October 2022

Lubaina Himid is a contemporary British artist, whose art focuses on themes of cultural history. I really loved her use of bright and bold colours, and many of her paintings were on huge canvases.

Himid has stated that her paintings are not meant to be beautiful; instead, they are meant to encourage people to think about their relationship with history.

My favourite painting from this exhibition was titled 'The Operating Table', I loved how the colours were more subtle in this painting compared to the others and yet it still totally depicts her painting style.

The exhibition also had various interactive parts. For example, visitors had to walk through one of the rooms with speakers placed in various positions so that when you moved, the sounds were always a different volume.

Overall, the Lubaina Himid exhibition was my favourite of the day, and I highly recommend visiting it!