"Silence is golden," according to the proverb, but the stillness in the paintings of Vilhelm Hammershøi is distinctly white, charcoal, and every shade of grey in between. However, there's nothing dull about the Dane's restricted palette, as we were able to appreciate, not for the first time, in Hammershøi: The Eye that Listens at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. His subject matter -- so often sparsely decorated rooms in which the doors, windows and light sources become focal points -- is mesmerising. This picture -- Sunbeams or Sunlight. Dust Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams. Strandgade 30 -- is so very typical. Apparently empty, lacking any subject matter -- just one wall of a room with a door, panelling and a window. Yet you are captivated by the illumination, and the space. Look how Hammershøi has depicted the light coming in through the window and on the frames round the panes. See how it casts a shadow on the jambs and follow th...
Swiss-born Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943) was one of the leading abstract artists and designers of the early 20th century, working across a wide range of media from textiles through puppetry and painting, but she's never had a retrospective in the UK. That changes on July 15, when Tate Modern in London opens an exhibition that brings together her most important works from across Europe and the US, many of which have not been on display in Britain before. The show comes direct from the Kunstmuseum in Basel and is at the Tate until October 17, after which it moves on to MoMA in New York. If you're looking for something more cuddly than Germanic abstraction, you should head to the British Library for Paddington: The Story of a Bear , a family-friendly exhibition uncovering the inspiration behind the star of Michael Bond's classic children's books. There are first editions and original artwork for the grown-ups, and a marmalade trail to follow for the younger visitors. F...