Peter Blake: Four Decades / CHELSEA Futurespace
I went to the private view of a small new Peter Blake show last night, which opens today at Chelsea Futurespace near Chelsea Bridge. Some new, some old; a bit of a money spinner (how people feel they can justify a jump of more than a hundred pounds from unframed to framed I'll never know; in one print's case for nearly 17% of its actual value you can have some wood and glass over it - £1000/£1200).
Not to say it's not worth going to the seemingly makeshift 'Futurespace'. Even though I know a small bit about Blake, I was struck yesterday with the thought that his treatment of the human figure is so incredibly natural. One doesn't associate Pop Art with this, but at some points his treatment of simple human mannerisms is spot on. This is especially true in the case of Alice in the Through the Looking Glass series.
If you're in need of a 'bitesize injection of Blakepop' (as PR might sell it), or you're just wondering why Blake is so highly regarded, then it's worth popping by if you're in the area. In this small space they've managed to fit in a fair few examples of what Sir Peter Blake is all about. Clearly I am a fan, even though it pains me that Blake has an Homage to Damien Hirst series.
'and to show you I'm not proud, you may shake hands with me!', 1970
'But isn't it old!' Tweedledum cried, 1970
'Well This is Grand!' said Alice, 1970
'I Love You', 2004
'Found Art - Watercolours', 2005
'R is for Rainbow' 1991.
Perhaps I'm misinterpreting the last print, but I'm going to file it under Controversial/Perfunctory.
I should also say that the prints in this exhibition were 'selected by the artist', which essentially means that this is in no way a retrospective whatsoever - not even a flirtation.