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From the 17th to the 20th century the kimono was the principal piece of clothing in Japan for both men and women. But now it’s an inspiration for fashion all over the world Fashion as we know it – the business of clothes-as-zeitgeist, as distinct from simple dressmaking – was invented in Paris by Louis […] More
Exhibition will feature artefacts from public executions from 1196 to 1868 On 30 January 1649, King Charles I of England took to the scaffold outside the Banqueting House in London’s Whitehall. He had requested two shirts to prevent himself from shivering from the cold, a reflex he thought could be mistaken for fear. He knelt […] More
Ghent, BelgiumThe stupendous restoration of the altarpiece, and the magnificent exhibition nearby, confirm Van Eyck as a painting colossus. Get yourself to Ghent! According to the Italian art critic Giorgio Vasari, writing hundreds of miles away and more than a century later, the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck “delighted in alchemy”. As he mixed up […] More
Chief executive wants to bring art ‘to people’s doorsteps’, but critics say strategy is vague England’s arts chiefs have said they want to create a nation that has better access to culture in every “village, town and city” by 2030, where creativity in each individual is valued and “given the chance to flourish”. Arts Council […] More
Mega-exhibitions and austerity lead to inequality of opportunity, says study In recent years the V&A has attracted record crowds to its exhibitions about musicians such as Pink Floyd and David Bowie, while the Tate Modern has staged hugely popular Picasso and Modigliani shows. But a report by the London School of Economics warns that the […] More
Two new reports suggest the arts still have a inclusivity problem. But Gateshead’s Baltic shows how it can be done The arts are a problem. That’s worrying for a culture columnist like me. A survey among 5,000 people for Arts Council England (Ace) concludes that many are uncomfortable with the term “the arts”, associating it […] More
Curator assures the public that stereotype-busting show will not include Sting or Kama Sutra Forget “no sex please, we’re British”. More a case of “there will be lots of sex, we’re the British Museum”. But the curator has assured the public the first major UK exhibition to explore Tantra won’t be the “pleasure for the […] More
V&A, London Darren Waterston’s remake of the painter’s opulent Peacock Room is a vision of dripping stalactites, decay and ruin. But this ‘showette’ all feels rather ordinary – unlike Whistler’s work The trouble with Filthy Lucre: Whistler’s Peacock Room Reimagined is that it isn’t filthy enough. US artist Darren Waterston has created a ruinous installation […] More
