The James McNeill Whistler exhibition at Tate Britain is big, probably a bit too big, but it's packed with beautiful pictures and it's not in the least bit boring. That's not surprising as Whistler led a colourful life, never shying from controversy and confrontation -- notably pursuing a high-profile libel case against John Ruskin -- and he produced art that was groundbreaking, hugely influential and enormously atmospheric. Including, of course, probably one of the most recognisable paintings in art history, that of his mother in profile, dressed in black. It's in this show, and we'll be taking a look at it shortly. But we start in Whistler's studio, where the artist has painted himself at work, palette and brush in his hands, and looking out directly at us, the viewers. This is the first picture you see in the show, and we're told that for Whistler, the studio was a place for public performance, as well as making art. So here he is, making a statemen...
Is there a more spectacular exhibition on in London at the moment than Dale Chihuly's breathtaking blown-glass creations at Kew Gardens? We doubt it. For Chihuly: Reflections on Nature , more than 30 works have been installed in the grounds and glasshouses at Kew, and the result is, for the most part, absolutely stunning. Summer Sun stands outside Kew's Palm House overlooking the lake, a huge and dazzling fire of red and orange flame that seems to writhe with its own inner life. And just inside the main gate, Sapphire Star , a shimmering modern explosion of blue and white, set in a landscape that evokes classical English parkland, recalls a globe thistle, Echinops ritro Veitch's Blue , to be precise, for the green-fingered among you. It's Kew's Temperate House, the world's largest Victorian glasshouse and a marvel of design and engineering, which reopened last year after a five-year renovation, that's the focus for much of the action, or should w...