Art That Inspired Me In 2024
“Colour in a picture is like enthusiasm in life” Vincent Van Gogh
At the end of my last newsletter I mentioned that I would look back over 2024 and talk about my favourite exhibitions of the year.
For a couple of years now, I’ve taken a deeper interest in art. It all started when I followed the advice always given to photographers who are looking to improve, which is to study the old masters. Having always enjoyed a passing interest in art, this was advice I was more than happy to take. What I didn’t know at that time was how much that would influence me and how it would become a whole new topic to learn alongside the techniques and skills of photography. I quickly became aware that I was more interested in contemporary art than old masters but that I also enjoyed learning about art history.
So, last year I went to more exhibitions than ever before. I feel it’s been a really important period for me so I’ve conducted a labour of love and gone back over the whole year in terms of art I saw in person and how this has affected me. Hopefully there will be something here for you too, whether you’re already an art expert or you have a more casual interest.
The result is a blog that’s a little bit longer than my usual. Either grab a coffee or tea and settle in for a longer read. Or, feel free to dive in and out as you feel like it below because I’ve chunked this into 4 different headings.
All images in this blog have been taken by me apart from the two I feature in which were taken by friends (and cropped by me). Click on the centre of any of the images to see them in full screen size, give it a try, they open in a beautiful lightbox.
1st - the TOP 10 LESSONS I LEARNED about art and photographing art last year.
2nd - my TOP 10 FAVOURITE EXHIBITIONS of 2024
3rd - my 3 FAVOURITE EXHIBITION SPACES and why I recommend them.
4th - a LIST all of the exhibitions and galleries I went to last year
TOP 10 LESSONS I LEARNED
1) You can learn a lot about art and artists by reading books and watching documentaries but to EXPERIENCE art you’ve got to stand in front of it in person
2) Photography can be an expensive undertaking but appreciating art can be virtually free so it’s really accessible
3) Always take a photo of the artist’s name and the title of the work wherever possible, you might not remember these months later
4) Prepare to be surprised! I never take black & white photos myself and when I saw advance images of Damien Hirst’s Seascapes I thought to myself ‘why has he bothered to paint black and white ones?’ Well, they were the ones that were more powerful to me in person than the coloured ones. A few times now, I’ve had pre-conceived ideas which were upended when I saw the work in real life.
5) Knowing about the artist and their lives really enhances the experience of seeing their work in many cases.
6) Be prepared to start coveting ridiculously expensive paintings for your living room, bedroom, hallway or whatever. The amount of times I’ve thought ‘now, if only I had £4,000/ £8,000/ £2m/ £mmm I’d love to look at this every day’.
7) London is an amazing place to see art, on the streets, in private galleries, in museums, at fairs
8) I really enjoy the buzz of recognition I get now when I spot the work of a familiar artist and I can identify it
9) Contrarily, I love the fact that there’s so much I still have to encounter and still so much to learn. It’s like travelling in a strange country and chancing on new locations. There’s always something to discover around the corner.
10) It can be a solitary journey unless you can find like minded companions in the same location (I’m at the beginner stage in art which can be a little bit lonely)
Bonus item 11) I’ve learned a lot of different methods of straightening a photo!
TOP 10 FAVOURITE EXHIBITIONS of 2024
Capturing The Moment, Tate Modern, London January 2024
It was a really tough call but in the end I had to choose this one as my overall favourite for 2024. It was the mix of photography and painting and the amazing quality of the work on show that pushed this into top place. I saw it three times. Once as part of a photography workshop I attended, once on my own and once with a friend. On each visit I got more and more out of it.
1) I learned that the world of photography in art is varied and there is a space in there for me if I can keep progressing
2) The most enjoyable feature was to see David Hockney’s A Bigger Splash and to be able to take time to sit in front of it and soak it all in. (Since that time, I love swimming slowly and watching silvery light shapes appear and disappear on the water ahead of me)
Seeing Red, Phillips Auction House, London March 2024
You might have seen in a previous blog that I used to regularly go on photography meetups where we had to pick random sets of different challenges. One of these was to only take photos of subjects in one colour and I picked red. This was the first time I saw a whole exhibition where the theme was red and I found it really impactful. Funnily enough, later in the year I went to an exhibition where the colour theme was grey, although that wasn’t half as enjoyable.
Tracey Emin, I Followed You To The End, White Cube, London October 2024
Continuing with the red theme because really there was a lot of blood, was Tracey Emin’s exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey. This gallery is vast but if there’s anyone who can hold their own in it it’s Tracey Emin. The subject matter is quite sad so these are not pieces that I, or most people, I think, would take home to look at on a daily basis. But there’s no doubting that her work has a presence with a capital P. It’s raw and gritty and fierce. It seems that her spirit in any condition does not burn. She really is a force of nature, I think.
Frameless, London August 2024
Frameless is an immersive experience and is one of my favourite places to be in London. I’ve been here 4 times already with different combinations of family and friends and I’ve seen and felt something new every time. The main concept is one of stepping into the paintings and music plays a large part in setting the atmosphere. There are 4 main rooms. The “Colour in Motion” room is where you see paintings deconstructed into individual brush strokes which fall to the floor and then reconstruct before your eyes to form the complete painting on the wall once again.
In another room “The World Around Us”, the paintings have been digitally enhanced so that they can be projected onto the 6 surfaces of the room to allow you to step inside a 360 degree moving painting.
I can’t recommend this highly enough for all ages. Kids will love that they can dance and run around freely.
At the time of writing, an adult ticket is £28 to book ahead (or £31 on the day) and I think it’s great value for a treat day out. You don’t need to have an interest in art to enjoy this but it does make the experience a whole lot more meaningful if you do.
Do Ho Suh, Tracing Time, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh June 2024
I went into this exhibition having absolutely no idea of what to expect. I had no idea what would be showing in the gallery and I hadn’t heard of the artist before. By the time I left though, I was in awe of the level of detail needed to produce this work which is mainly sewn and embroidered but not restricted to that. Do Ho Suh has painstakingly reproduced whole rooms from places he used to live, in incredible detail and in life size.
A pleasant surprise is that he’ll have a solo exhibition titled “Walk The House” in Tate Modern this year, running from 1 May to 19 October 2025.
Andy Warhol, Beyond the Brand, Halcyon Gallery, London February 2024
From an unknown (to me) Do Ho Suh to the legend that is Andy Warhol. In February, I saw this exhibition advertised and couldn’t miss the chance to see it. It didn’t disappoint and it had quite a few of the Campbells soup cans and other iconic works on display. One day I’d love to visit the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh but for now, I’m happy that I’ve seen quite a few pieces of his work in London and in Venice so far.
Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Rooms, Tate Modern, London April 2024
This was another exhibition that I saw multiple times. I have a Tate membership which is ideal for when you want to see something all over again. The first time I had ever heard of Yayoi Kusama was when Selfridges dedicated their Oxford Street windows to her art a few years ago. Since then her work has really grown on me.
This was, I guess, a blockbuster in terms of exhibitions, even with a Tate membership you had to book a timeslot and queue to see these rooms. I went with different friends to this and it was fun every time, getting mentally disoriented in the Infinity Rooms. It was also funny when you heard a child step into the water. It’s like puddles, I’m sure they just couldn’t resist even though they had been well warned beforehand!
As much as the rooms were great to be in, I equally liked the display of photos about Yayoi Kusama’s life and work.
Damien Hirst, The Civilisation Paintings, Phillips Auction House August 2024
Nearing the end of the top 10 now but by no means the least, we have the mighty and super-productive Damien Hirst. I’ve seen quite a bit of his work now, mostly recent. I like it. He knows how to create an impact. His work always seems to look much better in person than in a photo. I would say that’s the same for the photos I took of this series. They didn’t quite do the originals justice. The Civilisation Paintings are huge and absolutely packed full of the feel good factor. They’re happy and joyful with bright colours, buildings, flowers, butterflies, rainbows, spots, splashes and beautiful skies. It’s hard to imagine anything more opposite to a stuffed grey shark!
Dominion, Newport Street Gallery, London May 2024
And, the last one to make the cut onto my favourites list, was a collection of Damien Hirst owned artworks. As you might imagine, he’s built up quite a large collection over the years. His son Connor Hirst curated this exhibition titled “Dominion” and it did contain a really good variety of work and artefacts.
There’s one that I think of as my fishing equivalent of “the one that got away”. Damien Hirst must own one of the three editions of Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian”, the banana duct taped to the wall, because that was one of the items on show. I didn’t think to take a photo of it at the time but considering the publicity it got last year when one of the editions went up for auction, I would have liked to have that photo in my collection just for personal satisfaction.
Anyway, there was a huge range of artists and genres on show over 6 large gallery rooms which was very satisfying and for me, educational.
3 OF MY FAVOURITE EXHIBITION SPACES
Phillips Auction House, Mayfair, London
I’ve always enjoyed the exhibitions I’ve seen here and it’s a lovely, light space with exhibitions set over one or two floors. All the art is always beautifully presented. I was there last week for a view of items that were shortly being put up for auction (including a painting by Picasso and one by Anselm Kiefer) and it struck me that if these pieces came from private collections and are going to be sold into private collections, then this might be my one and only opportunity to see them.
Phillips Auction House, London
Frameless, Marble Arch, London
Having been here 4 times already, I’ll definitely be returning, especially since the displays are being updated shortly and new art introduced. The whole experience of the 360 degree moving art and music is just such a wonderful experience.
Frameless, London
Tate Modern, Bankside, London
With its ever changing programme of big name exhibitions, huge permanent collections and sheer scale, this museum always has something new to see. Add on the fact that I’ve bought a membership and it’s a short bus or tube journey away and the Tate Modern is an all round winner.
Which leads me back to why I started this exploration of art in the first place, my photography. Tate Modern is set in a great location and has some stunning views from its windows.
The tallest building in the shot below is One Blackfriars (architects Herzog & De Meuron) and the lower building is Neo Bankside (architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners).
Loren Brand, View from Tate Modern
LIST OF THE EXHIBITIONS AND GALLERIES I VISITED IN 2024
Starting from December and working back to January, here is a chronological list of all the exhibitions I saw last year. If you want to chat about any that you saw as well or you would have liked to have seen, send me a message and we can chat by email, a call or a video call.
Musee de l'Orangerie, Paris, Claude Monet, Monet's Water Lilies
City Arts Centre, Edinburgh, Various, Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland
Evolution London, London, Various, The Affordable Art Fair
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950), Yoshida Fujio (1887–1987), Yoshida Tōshi (1911–1995) and Yoshida Hodaka (1926–1995), Yoshida Chizuko (1924–2017), Yoshida Ayomi (b. 1958), Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking
Serpentine, Hyde Park, London, Yayoi Kusama, Pumpkin
White Cube, London, Tracey Emin, I Followed You to the End
Skarstedt Gallery, London, Gerhard Richter & various, Shades of Grey
Tate Modern, London, Guerilla Girls & various, Artist Rooms - Art & Text
Queen Anne's House, London, Kehinde Wiley & others
Frameless Immersive gallery, London, Various, Frameless
Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Ibrahim Mahama, Songs About Roses
City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Adam Bruce Thomson, The Quiet Path
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Gaugin/Van Gogh and various
Frameless Immersive gallery, London, Various, Frameless
Phillips Auction House, London, Damien Hirst, The Civilisation Paintings
Tate Modern, London, Yoko Ono, Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Various artists
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Do Ho Suh, Tracing Time
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Various artists
Pace Gallery, London, Kiki Kogelnik
Newport Street Gallery, London, Various artists including Sarah Lucas, Lucien Freud, Banksy, Dominion
University College Hospital Hospital Gallery Space, London, Lydia Bauman, Homelands
White Cube, London, Danica Lundy, Boombox
Somerset House, London, Various artists, Sony World Photography
Tate Modern, London, Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Rooms
Now Gallery, London, Charlotte Mei, Like a Melody: Myths, Memories, and Fantasy
Somerset House, London, Various artists, Cute
Phillips Auction House, London, Various artists incl Marina Abramovich, Dale Chihouly etc, Seeing Red
Tate Modern, London, Various artists incl David Hockney, Andreas Gursky, etc, Capturing the Moment
Pace Gallery, London, Yto Barrada, Bite The Hand
White Cube, London, Darren Almond, Life Line
85 Old Brompton Road Gallery, London, Accidentally Wes Anderson / various artists Accidentally Wes Anderson: The Exhibition
Woodbury House Gallery, London, William John Kennedy, The Lost Archive of Andy Warhol by William John Kennedy
Lumas Gallery, London, various artists incl Luc Dratwa
Tate Modern, London, Yoko Ono, Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind
Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Various artists
HENI Gallery, London, Damien Hirst, The Secrets
Halcyon Gallery, London, Andy Warhol, Beyond the Brand
White Cube, London, Yoko Matsumoto
Canary Wharf, London, Various artists, Winter Lights Festival
Tate Modern, London, Capturing the Moment
V&A Museum, London, Raphael, Cartoons
Docklands Museum, London, Fashion City
Tate Modern, London, Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Rooms
Phillips Auction House, London, Damien Hirst, Seascapes
Overall, I saw a good variety of artists and genres in 2024 and it helped me to hone in on what inspires me. Tracey Emin said that the house of art has many rooms and I hope to find my room or, even better, to be able to wander around many rooms freely. If you’re interested in art, photography or you’d just like to follow my challenges and learning, please CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER. In it, I’ll let you know what I’ve been doing over the past month, upcoming exhibitions I’m planning to attend, and I’ll also link to any blogs I’ve published (like this one) so that you don’t miss any.
If you’d like to join me at any openings or exhibitions, let me know. Also, if you’d like to invite me to any art or photography events, I’m keen to get involved.
Loren x
Loren at an installation artwork by Rebecca Louise Law, La Fleur Morte