Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts (only two works)

I cannot do the Summer Exhibition at the R.A. It's too crowded, there are too many displays, and in order to see what the artwork is and by whom, you have to look in the catalogue. I just find it so frustrating and irritating. We went to see the Michaelina Wautier exhibition which was wonderful, and which I will post on soon, I hope. Ken wanted to look at the Summer Exhibition which he did while I did other things. He came out and talked to me about two artworks which he enjoyed, so I popped in, rushed through,  to have a look at just those two. 

Tim Shaw, Pin It on Them (Associated Artwork from the Installation: Shut it Piggy),  (old pillows and clothes on a steel frame)

Trump and Netanyahu, clasping hands, barbed wire around their wrists

standing on some of the devastation and destruction they have caused.

Michael Sandle, Vipera Palaestinae or Allegory of Consciencelessness in Gaza, (charcoal drawing)

Tony Blair, another facilitator of the genocide in Gaza.

 

Kerry James Marshall - 1

Kerry James Marshall at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

A thought-provoking exhibition which I saw last year and which was so refreshing in its representation of Black people. Kerry James Marshall was born in Birmingham, Alabama. His figurative paintings unapologetically centre Black people.

His practice is grounded in a deep engagement with the histories of art. He reimagines and transforms the conventions and genres of Western painting, from portraiture and landscape to history painting, a genre that was first concerned with Biblical and mythical narratives, and has been used to depict contemporary political events. He also draws from the art of Africa and its diasporas, for instance Kongo nkisi nkondi power figures, and Haitan Voodoo veves - drawings used to invoke spirits. For Marshall, it is important that an artist knows the histories of art in detail in order to contribute to them in powerful, meaningful and original ways.

Many of the works in this exhibition address moments in Black history from the Middle Passage and slave rebellions to the Civil Rights and Black Power movements which formed a backdrop to Marshall's childhood. Recently, challenging romantic representations of a past in Africa, his paintings have confronted difficult historical subjects that others prefer to avoid.

There are 11 sections in this exhibition, the earliest dating back 45 years until recent times.

The Academy:

The works in this section feature scenes from art schools, studios and museums. There is a deep fascination in Western art with the studio as the locus of production and the museum as the repository of wonders. Adding to this tradition, Marshall transforms it by centring Black figures as both producers and consumers.

Marshall uses various black pigments to depict skin colours, layering, or placing side by side, ivory black, Mars black and carbon black, mixing in other colours to render black fully chromatic. As he said, 'if you say black, you should see black'. While his blacks are complex, Marshall rarely attempts to depict the browns of real skin tones. His figures are at once individual characters and examples of am emphatic Blackness, real and rhetorical, and as such, provoke wider questions about the idea of Black figures in art.

The Academy (The Model), (acrylic on PVC panel)

Untitled (Underpainting), 2018, (acrylic and collage on PVC panel)

An underpainting is the initial layer of colour, usually brown, that allows a painter to work out the structure and relationship of tones across a composition. Though considered a traditional, academic technique, Marshall uses it here to depict an underappreciated reality: 'Black kids go on school trips to museums too'. As a child, Marshall was amazed by museum collections and proposes them as a critical social space for observing and learning.

Untitled (Studio), 2014, (acrylic on PVC panels)

Untitled, 2009, (acrylic on PVC panel)

Untitled, 2008, (acrylic on PVC panel)


Invisible Man:

In the 1970s Marshall read Ralph Ellison's 1952 novel Invisible Man. In the novel, the protagonist feels he is invisible because he is not seen as desirable in American society. This idea inspired Marshall to begin a series of works in which Black figures are set against a dark ground, so that they become almost invisible to the viewer.

In this series Marshall also explored histories of racial stereotypes and caricatures, choosing to render his figures in black paint. From this point on, his figures function rhetorically, raising questions about Black absence and presence both in society and in art history.

Portrait of the Artist and a Vacuum, 1981, (acrylic on paper)

Portrait of Nat Turner on Loan from Hell, 1990, (acrylic and burnt printed paper collage on canvas, mounted on board)

Nat Turner was born into slavery in Virginia in 1800. Believing he was divinely chosen, in 1931, he led what would be the deadliest slave revolt in the history of the United States. In Marshall's portrait of the revolutionary, Turner's head emerges from the scorched centre of a collage of burnt romance novels featuring barely visible white characters. The glowing halo around Turner's head affirms his divinity, referencing painterly conventions of 15th and 16th century European religious art.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self, 1980, (egg tempera on paper)

This small painting marked a significant breakthrough for Marshall. It is made with egg tempera, a precise medium associated with painters of the Sienese school of the 13th-15th centuries, and 'magic realist' painters like Jared French in the 20th century. The title is both a reference of James Joyce's novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and a reflection of Marshall's decision to play with depicting a Black figure against a black background.

Two Invisible Men Naked, 1985, (acrylic on paper on wood panel in two parts)

looking closer

The Wonderful One, 1986, (charcoal on paper)

Invisible Man, 1986, (acrylic on canvas and wood)

If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day, 1988, (conte crayon with acrylic on paper)

The Painting of Modern Life:

Knowledge and Wonder, 1995, (mixed media on canvas)

This painting was made especially for a Chicago public library and presents the book as a portal to knowledge. A group of children gather at the edge of infinity, mesmerised by the mysteries unfolding before them.

De Style, 1993, (acrylic and collage on canvas)

Set in a barber's shop, De Style references Western painting genres from 17th century Dutch group paintings to the De Stijl movement associated with Piet Mondrian. The everyday setting is both mythic and ordinary, focusing on the style and flair of the subjects within. A calendar on the wall dates the scene to 1991, the year Rodney King was brutally beaten by members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Middle Passage:

The paintings in this section constitute Marshall's first attempt to address the history of the Middle Passage - the treacherous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, during which many captive Africans died before reaching the slave markets in the Americas. It is a history understood in fragments, and accordingly, instead of making works functioning like costume dramas, Marshall composes paintings with disparate images, motifs and textures, incorporating symbols and diagrams derived from Yoruban religion, Voodoo and other religions that were practised across the African diaspora as acts of defiance as well as to maintain connections to Africa.

Great America, 1994, (acrylic and collage on canvas)

Great America is a Californian theme park that opened in 1976 to rival Disneyland. Marshall represents life for Black people in America as akin to the ups and downs, thrills and chills, of amusement park rides and haunted houses. Four figures are on a boat ride, and one has fallen in the water.

Terra Incognita, 1992, (acrylic, ink and paper collage laid on canvas)

In Terra Incognita, Marshall uses multiple techniques that call attention to the complicated legacy of the Middle Passage. The collage-like composition shifts our gaze around the painting. The waiter in the middle of the painting, dressed in the colours representing Eshy, Elegba, spirit of the crossroad and of changes, stands between an ocean liner and a compass. Around them are the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of the Atlantic. The drawing of the map below disrupts our sense of time, with its image of an African warrior, a list of commodities extracted from Africa and names of nation states post-independence.

Plunge, 1992, (acrylic and paper on canvas)

Baptist, 1992, (acrylic and mixed media on canvas)

Voyager, 1992, (acrylic and collage on canvas)

Wanderer, written here in capitals on the bow of a small wooden boat, was the name of one of the last ships to bring human cargo to the US in 1858.  The female figure on the prow surrounded by flowers is the embodiment of Yemoja, goddess of the sea and the family. Blue and white are her colours. Her magic number is 7.

Eschu: Crossroads, 1987, (woodcut from found wood printed over oil paint monotype)

The African Powers prints were made in two stages. First, Marshall laid coloured oil paints over smooth sheets of Plexiglass and made monoprints. Next, he found pieces of lumber, carved faces into them, and inked them with black. With these he made woodcut prints over the monoprints. The prints show six out of the seven 'African Powers' - orishas, or deities, of the Yoruba people of West Africa.  Eshu is a trickster figure also known as the messenger god of crossroads. Accordng to some accounts, Eshy accompanied slaves during the Middle Passage.

Banksy

Banksy at the Moco Museum, Barcelona.

British street artist Banksy is one of the most iconic figures in contemporary art, yet his identity remains anonymous. Emerging from the 1990s Bristol underground scene, he develooped a stencil technique to create works both visually direct and conceptually charged. Through satire, irony and dark humour, his work exposes pressing social and political issues. 

Recurring motifs such as children, police and animals, allow Banksy to question systems of authority and mechanisms of control. Whether painted on city walls, found objects, or altered paintings, his interventions subvert familiar contexts and challenge viewer's assumptions.

Over the past decades, street art has entered mainstream cultural discourse, in part due to Banksy's influence, redefining ideas about where art belongs and whom it addresses. His works invite audiences to reconsider dominant narrative, proving how disruption can serve as a spark for reflection and change.

The title of the exhibition was Icons Reimagined  because: ' A visual dialogue across time takes shape. Banksy draws on the legacy of Modern Masters Andy Warhol, Keigh Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, transforming their iconic imagery into instruments of social critique. He brings together generations of street and pop art, showing how creativity can challenge authority and give voice to those often overlooked. By reinterpreting the Modern Master's strategies of exposure, humour and irony, Banksy develops his own visual language while honoring their lessons, revealing how their insights continue to resonate with contemporary challenges'.

Girl with Balloon (Gold), 2004, (screenprint)

Girl with Baloon (Pink), 2004, (screeprint on paper)

Banksy's Girl with Balloon is one of his most iconic works and a defining image of 21-st century art. Celebrated for its simple yet powerful message, it depicts a young girl reaching towards a heart-shaped balloon. Over time, Banksy has created multiple versions of this motif, sometimes altering the balloon's colour or adding subtle variations that invite viewers to reflect on its meaning in new ways.

Originally created in 2002, the piece no longer exists in its original form, yet its impact continues to resonate worldwide. Voted Britain's favourite artwork, the image was created in 2015 to commemorate the Syrian conflict, preserving its limitless message of hope and innocence. In 2018, a framed print partially shredded itself immediately after being sold at auction, turning the moment into a performative critique of the art market and reflection on art's fleeting value.

Flower Thrower, 2003

When Flower Thrower, also known as Love is in the Air, first appeared on the West Bank Wall in Jerusalem in 2003, it was revolutionary. The work has appeared internationally in cities with divisive histories, such as Berlin, proving to be a universal symbol with a rallying call to humanity worldwide.

In this triptych version the protestor is fragmented across three panels. The edition marks Banksy's first experiment spraying a stencil onto film and exposing it directly through screenprint. The process, both physical and imperfect, recalls the origins of pop and street art while rejecting the precision of digital reproduction.

At first glance, a figure poised to launch what we expect to be a Molotov cocktail seems to continue the cycle of violence. Instead Banksy replaces the expected weapon with a bouquet of flowers. Blossoms burst from a clenched fist to convey a message of peace and hope. With sympathy and satire, Flower Thrower suggests coflict resolution is rooted in love.

Love is in the Air, 2003 

Choose Your Weapon (Gold) VIP, 2010, (screenprint)

A hooded figure grips a leash that holds back a barking, cartoon-like dog. Both the masked figure, part protester, part everyman, and his graphic companion mirror Britain's disaffected youth culture, often portrayed as dangerous or lost. First appearing in London in 2010, the work captures Banksy's dialogue with American artist Keith Haring, whose famous Barking Dog motif became a global emblem of protest and a voice of the streets in New York. By reimagining Haring's icon, Banksy connects two generations of artists who replaced violence with creativity, their tools not swords but spray can. What we hold in our hands, a weapon, a leash or a brush, may decide the kind of world we build.

Basquiat, 2019, (print and hand finished)

A dialogue across time unfolds: a Ferris wheel spins, its carriages replaced by Jean-Michel Basquiat's iconic three-point crowns, symbols of artistic power, ambition and Black pride. Rendered in white lines, resembling chalk on a black surface, the image also recalls Keith Haring's subway drawings: spontaneous, public and alive. Banksy brings together the legacies of Basquiat and Haring, reviving the raw immediacy of 1980s street art while positioning himself within a lineage that transformed the city into a canvas and art into a collective experience.

First released through Gross Domestic Product, Banksy's satirical 'brand' store that blurred the boundaries between art and commerce, the work reveals how easily rebellion can be absorbed by the systems it challenges. Here, Banksy questions whether street art can remain subversive once its imagery, and even its spirit of defiance, are consumed by the marketplace.

Madonna and Child,

A quiet act of care turns uneasy. A veiled mother nurses her child, yet rust bleeds through her breast beneath the infant's worried gaze. The corrosion becomes part of the wound. What should be tender now disturbs.

Banksy first shared the image on his social media, without title or context, a silence that amplified both mystery and emotion. Rooted in centuries of Madonna-and-Child imagery, the scene echoes Renaissance devotion, yet belongs to the present: a time of conflict, loss and hope. As in his earlier works, Banksy turns maternal imagery into a mirror of modern life's contradictions, while the material itself speaks of decay.

Whether read as a commentary on the West Bank, where Palestinian motherhood persists against impossible odds, or as a timeless reflection on suffering and indifference, the work resists simplicity. Banksy never confirms, leaving the iamge open and drawing us into uncertain space where the divine fades into the human.

Grim Reaper AP (on silver), 2005, (screenprint)

A skeletal figure of Death sits casually atop a large clock, scythe in hand, its face replaced by a bright yellow smiley. The cheerful mask, borrowed from 1990s rave and acid house culture, contrasts with the Grim Reaper's deadly purpose, turning a symbol of fear through a playful twist.

First appearing on the streets of East London, the scene's clock, resembling Big Ben, reads five minutes to midnight. This refers to the Doomsday Clock, a metaphor for how close humanity stands to global catastrophe. Through this dance between humour and mortality, Banksy invites us to reflect on our desensitisation to danger and the absurdity of modern life. If the clock were truly ticking towards the end, would we still be smiling?

Stop Sign, 2023-2024, (hand painted resin on screenprinted stop metal sign)

A bold, red stop-sign, ordinarily meant to regulate traffic, becomes a battlefield. Its surface beats three resin-cast drones, hand-painted and glued by Banksy onto a metal traffic panel. This guerilla installation was removed form Peckham street in South London, less than an hour after the artist confirmed its authenticity through social media.

For nearly two decades, Banksy has turned his gaze towards the genocide in Gaza. From his 2005 murals on the West Bank barrier to later works in occupied territories, he has consistently addressed the dynamics of power, surveillance and civilian suffering. Here, the drones that once symbolised control are repurposed as instrument of protest, transforming the stop signal into a call to end war.

FR(AGILE), 2022, (screenprint)

A white rat claws at a freight box stamped Fragile. With each desperate scratch, the first letters fall away, revealing a new word: Agile. In this small act of defiance, Banksy transforms a sign of weakness into a gesture of resilience.

The rat, one of Banksy's most recurrent motifs, stands for those who adapt in hostile environments. Released in 2022 as part of a fundraising campaign for civilians affected by the war in Ukraine, this linited edition combines purpose and care. Each rat's marks are unique, scratched by Banksy himself using a sharpened pizza cutter, a handmade act that mirrors the resourcefulness of those it supports. 

Both message and method affirm Banksy's belief in art as action. In times of conflict, agility may become the most radical form of hope.

Bullet Hole Bust, 2006, (cast jesmonite)

Banksy writes a new ending to the classic David vs Goliath. In the Bible, David defeats the giant Goliath with a slingshot to the forehead. 

Here, we're hit with a modern twist and see evidence of a gunshot wound in the perfectly polished marble bust. Is Banksy declaring that classical art is dead?

Happy Choppers, 2024, (acrylic, oil and spray paint on modified oil painting)

A squadron of military helicopters cuts through a severe, pastoral landscape, turning a peaceful scene into a machinery war invasion. Yet one detail disrupts the threat: a bright decorative yellow bow tied to the lead aircraft, transforming a symbol of conflict into one of contradiction. The ribbon, absurdly tender and almost childlike, softens the violence it crowns, exposing the uneasy coexistence of innocence and destrudtion.

Part of Banksy's Corrupted Oil series, the work merges street iconography onto found oil paintings sourced from thrift shops and flea markets. The result is a reflection on the human cost of armed conflict, particularly the impact on civilians and children, the most vulnerable victims of war.

What happens when the past is rewritten in the language of the present? Banksy's altered oil paintings, often called Crude Oils, Vandalised Oils, or Corrupted Oils, challenge the authority of the Western art tradition. The secondhand landscapes he uses are discarded scenes of calm, nostalgia and cultural prestige. Onto their surfaces, he inserts modern imagery and contemporary conflict. The result is an act of discuption. Quiet symbols become loud questions. They remind us that history, like art, is never neutral. Even a peaceful scene can carry the weight of power.

First appearing at Whitecross Street Market in London in 2002, the motif has become one of Banksy's most recognisable, embodying his ongoing call for freedom, peace and justice. Both satirical and defiant, Happy Choppers brings together delicacy and brutality, encouraging us to question what kind of violence we have come to accept as normal.

Goldfish Bowl, 2019, (PU resin, acrylic, glass eyes and printed canvas mounted on plywood in painted artist frame)

A goldfish leaps towards freedom, and lands in artifice. Banksy presents a tragicomic scene of absurd bravery, exposing our faith in false horizons: a resin fish frozen mid-flight between its plastic town and a painted sea that can never be reached.

Created for Gross Domestic Product, Banksy's pop-up 'store', Goldfish Bowl transforms a domestic ornament into a sharp reflection on modern existence. Every element deceives: the frame imitates age, and the seascape is a printed fiction, revealing how easily reality is packaged, polished and sold back to us.

Here, the goldfish becomes a mirror of the human condition: aspiring to freedom while trapped within systems that sell us the illusion of it. Whether we pursue consumer dreams, digital escapes, or political ideals, Banksy asks: what if the ocean we long for is only another bowl?

This is not a Photo Opportunity, 2009, (oil on board)

Smiling Copper (Panel B), 2002, (spray paint and acrylic emulsion on drywall)

The life-size riot policeman stands before you like a barrier. His intention is masked by smiley face emoji.  As protectors of peace, what could it be hiding?

Banksy's life was changed forever, after the unnecessary killing of two men who stole a police motorcycle, otherwise known as the 1992 Hartcliffe Riot. It's a tragedy that still brings grief and anger to the city of Bristol. Ever since the anonymous street artist witnessed this unjust powerplay, he has given a voice to the underdog.

Laugh Now, (Panel B), 2002, (spray paint and emulsion on door)

This work points to the spirit of street art - working on any and every possible surface with quick speed. A monkey wears a sandwich board that reads: Laugh now but one day we'll be in charge. The provocative text, both mocking and threatening, forewarns us of an imminent revolution.

Pulp Fiction, 2004, (screenprint)

Bomb Love, 2003, (screenprint on paper)

A young girl hugs a military bomb as if it were a toy, her eyes closed and her smile in sharp contrast to the weapon she affectionately holds. Banksy creates a visual contradiction between innocence and the threat of conflict, exposing how modern society has come to normalise war and aggression. The child's tender embrace suggests that love, not cruelty, could disarm the world's machinery of violence.

First released in 2003 through Pictures on Walls, a London-based publisher that supported many of Banksy's early print editions, Bomb Love was produced in both signed and unsigned formats. It has since become one of the artist's most recognised works.

Through playful yet unsettling imagery, Banksy invites viewers to confront their own desensitisation towards violence and to rediscover humanity's capacity for empathy and compassion, even when surrounded by instruments of destruction.

Di-Faced Tenners, 2004, (screenprint on paper)

CCTV, 1998, (spray paint on canvas)

The average Londoner is captured on CCTV more than 300 times a day. Police use CCTV for almost everything, from traffic observation to neighbourhood watches, you are being watched.