Artists Archives - COOLCURATION

May 15, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

David Zwirner London Review: Five Minimalist Masters 2026

Last updated: 15 May 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Five names, one Mayfair townhouse, and a quietly precise group hang. This David Zwirner London review covers Flavin, Judd, McCracken, Ryman, Sandback, on view at 24 Grafton Street until 22 May 2026. Although the artists are familiar, the way David Zwirner has threaded them together is genuinely fresh. So if you've ever wondered what colour itself can do as a material, this is the show to see.

Cool Factor: 4/5

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, Reviews

Tags: art review, Dan Flavin, David Zwirner, David Zwirner London, Donald Judd, Exhibition review, Fred Sandback, John McCracken, London exhibitions, Mayfair galleries, Minimalism, minimalist art, Robert Ryman

April 24, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Cecily Brown Serpentine Review: Picture Making Is a Belated Homecoming Worth Your Afternoon

Last updated: 24 April 2026

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5

Cecily Brown is one of the most successful British painters alive. She's shown at the Met in New York, toured retrospectives across the United States, and regularly sells paintings for millions. Yet somehow, until now, she'd never had a museum show in the city where she was born and raised. Cecily Brown Serpentine South's Picture Making is that belated homecoming. It's free, it's in Kensington Gardens, and it's worth your afternoon. Mostly.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: art, Cecily Brown, Exhibitions, Free London, Kensington Gardens, london, Painting, reviews, Serpentine

April 10, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Schiaparelli V&A Review: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A London

Last updated: 10 April 2026

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

We went into the Schiaparelli V&A exhibition not knowing quite what to expect. We are not fashion journalists. We are curious culture-watchers who appreciate design, craftsmanship, and the occasional moment where something genuinely stops you in your tracks. Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A delivered that moment several times over. This is our honest Schiaparelli V&A review, covering whether this blockbuster show justifies its ticket price, what the standout pieces are, and why it deserves your attention even if you have never owned a couture anything.

Cool Factor: 4/5 (Stone cold)

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5

Published by Tristan in Artists, Arts & Culture, Designers, London, Reviews

Tags: arts and culture, couture, Dali, Daniel Roseberry, Exhibition review, fashion, London exhibitions, Schiaparelli, Surrealism, V&A

April 10, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Chiharu Shiota & Yin Xiuzhen Hayward Gallery Review 2026 – Worth It?

Last updated: 10 April 2026

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Our Chiharu Shiota Hayward review covers two concurrent exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery on London's Southbank: Threads of Life and Yin Xiuzhen's Heart to Heart. For £19 you get entry to both shows, and honestly, that felt like a steal. One of these exhibitions left us speechless. The other left us a little lukewarm. Together, they make for a genuinely memorable afternoon.

Cool Factor: Chiharu Shiota — 5/5 | Yin Xiuzhen — 3/5

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: art review, Chiharu Shiota, Contemporary art, Hayward Gallery, Heart to Heart, immersive art, London exhibitions, Southbank Centre, Threads of Life, Yin Xiuzhen

April 7, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Veronica Ryan Whitechapel Gallery Review 2026 – Multiple Conversations

Last updated: 11 April 2026

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor

★★☆☆☆

2 out of 5

Two weeks ago I walked out of Hurvin Anderson's show at Tate Britain buzzing. It was focused, beautifully paced, and one of the best things I have seen in London this year. Then I paid £16.50 to see Veronica Ryan: Multiple Conversations at Whitechapel Gallery. I walked out feeling flat. Ryan is a Turner Prize winner with four decades of serious, compelling work behind her. So what went wrong? In short, the Veronica Ryan Whitechapel survey tries to say everything at once and ends up saying very little clearly. Here is why.

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: art reviews, London exhibitions, reviews, Turner Prize, Veronica Ryan, Whitechapel Gallery

March 23, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Conceptual Art and Christine Kozlov at Raven Row Review

Last updated: 22 March 2026

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor: 3/5

The Christine Kozlov Raven Row exhibition is a sprawling deep dive into the work and world of one of conceptual art's most overlooked figures. Housed in the gorgeous 18th-century rooms of Raven Row gallery in Spitalfields, Conceptual Art and Christine Kozlov brings together an expansive collection of Kozlov's output alongside works by her peers, including On Kawara, Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Kosuth, and Art & Language. It's free, it's ambitious, and it's open until 26 April 2026. But does it hold together as a show? Our honest verdict below.

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: Art & Language, art review, Christine Kozlov, conceptual art, free London gallery, Lawrence Weiner, London exhibitions, On Kawara, Raven Row, Spitalfields

March 22, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

William Nicholson at Pallant House Gallery Review

Last updated: 21 March 2026

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

The William Nicholson exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester is the first major survey of this extraordinary painter in more than 20 years. Spanning his entire career, from bold graphic posters to luminous still lifes and tender portraits, it makes a compelling case for Nicholson as one of Modern British art's most underrated figures. A friend who studied at the Royal College of Art tipped us off, and they were right. This is a show that rewards close looking, and Chichester itself makes for a brilliant day out.

Cool Factor: 4/5 Stone cold

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews, Travel lover

Tags: art exhibitions UK, British art, Chichester, days out Sussex, Exhibition review, Modern British art, Pallant House Gallery, still life, William Nicholson

March 2, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Rose Wylie at the Royal Academy Review: A Look at the London Exhibition

The Rose Wylie Royal Academy exhibition places one of Britain’s most distinctive painters within the formal context of Burlington House. Rather than framing Wylie as an outsider voice, the exhibition situates her practice within a lineage of British painting that values scale, gesture and visual directness. The result is not a retrospective spectacle but a measured presentation that clarifies the structural intelligence beneath her deliberately awkward surface language.

As with other focused RA exhibitions, the strength of the show lies in pacing. The galleries unfold in a steady sequence, allowing Wylie’s visual vocabulary to accumulate gradually.

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Reviews, Travel lover

Tags: Art editions, Burlington House, Contemporary art, Exhibition review, London exhibitions, Painting, RA London, RA shop, Rose Wylie, Royal Academy

December 6, 2025 — Comments are off for this post.

Howard Hodgkin at Pitzhanger Manor Review: A Detailed Look at the London Exhibition

The Howard Hodgkin Pitzhanger review has already attracted significant interest from London art audiences, and it is clear why. This exhibition, set within the refined Georgian architecture of Pitzhanger Manor, offers a particularly clear reading of Hodgkin’s distinctive approach to colour, memory and emotional temperature. Rather than functioning simply as a showcase of major works, the show uses the character of the building itself to shape a more intimate encounter with Hodgkin’s practice.

Where large retrospectives often expand outward, this exhibition tightens the focus. Viewers move through a sequence of carefully paced rooms, each one revealing a different aspect of Hodgkin’s language of abstraction. The result is an exhibition that feels steady, well considered and quietly resonant.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, London, Reviews, Travel lover

Tags: abstraction, art review, contemporary painting, Howard Hodgkin, London art exhibitions, Pitzhanger Manor

November 6, 2025 — Comments are off for this post.

Collecting Contemporary Art: Gilbert & George’s Ink Washes 2023 – 2025

Bold, British and brilliantly irreverent 🎨

If you’re thinking about collecting contemporary art and want something that shouts personality, Gilbert & George’s ink washes are an ideal starting point. Known for their bold humour and graphic punch, the pair’s most recent works — the Royal Ink Washes (2023) and The 21st Century Ink Washes (2025) — bring colour, chaos and satire to your walls.

These editions are hand-painted on heavyweight 400 gsm watercolour paper, each signed, numbered and limited to 50. Whether you hang one in a hallway or above the sofa, they make a statement that says “serious collector with a sense of humour”.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, Reviews, UK Made

Tags: British artists, collecting art, contemporary art UK, Gilbert and George, home decor, ink washes, modern art collectors, Royal Ink Washes 2023, The 21st Century 2025