Damien Hirst to represent Britain at the Olympics. Sort of.

I’m now officially excited about the Olympics!

As part of the ambitious plans for a national Cultural Olympiad, Tate Modern have announced that they’ll be hosting some exciting exhibitions.  The one I’m most excited about is a survey of Damien Hirst’s work, including some of his most famous work.  Although some commentators have suggested that featuring Hirst is a bit obvious, it’s going to be a massive crowd pleaser.  The exhibition will run from 5th April until 9th September 2012.

Tate are also planning exhibitions focussing on Picasso and Edvard Munch, and a new installation for the Turbine Hall.  There are more details in the press release.

Apparently there’ll be some sport going on too.

Looking forward to an art-filled 2011!

"Yielding Stone" by Gabriel Orozco, 1992

Whatever 2011 brings, it promises to be packed with lots of exciting arty treats.  I’ve put together a list of just a few things on offer

in the New Year.  I’ll be trying to get to as many of them as I can, and, of course, to blog them.  You might not think all of them are blogworthy, but that’s the beauty of being the author - I get to choose!  But please feel free to leave a comment if you know of something which should be added to my list.  (Also, big thanks to a piece in the Observer for kicking this off).

Turner Prize 2010: And the winner is…

The recipient of the Turner Prize 2010 has been announced as Susan Philipsz.  As I’ve said before, I loved Philipsz’s work and I’m glad she was awarded the prize.

Turner Prize: Today’s the Day

The recipient of the 2010 Turner Prize will be announced today, during a special edition of Channel 4 news at 7pm.

For a long while the Bookies’ favourite was Dexter Dalwood, but recently Susan Philipsz was the odds on favourite to get the prize.  I really loved Philipsz’s piece, and I think she’d be a very worthy recipient.

Having said that, I’ve got a feeling Angela de la Cruz might get it.  I think her work pushes things further than Philipsz or Dalwood.  I also think she’d be a suitably challenging-but-not-too-controversial choice.

I guess we’ll find out later…

Turner Prize 2010: Susan Philipsz

Susan Philipsz has been nominated for the presentations of her work Lowlands at the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art and Long Gone in the group exhibition Mirrors at MARCO Museo de Arte Contemporánea de Vigo, Spain.  Philipsz uses her own voice to create uniquely evocative sounds installations that play upon and extend the poetics of specific, often out-of-the-way spaces.