'We're still here': new contemporary painting in the UK
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
Course Code: VB687
Duration: 4 sessions (over 4 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Center for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
Every now and then, painting is declared ‘dead’ or ‘redundant’ in contemporary culture. This course aims to debunk this tired myth by exploring the work and practice of some of the most exciting contemporary painters currently working and exhibiting in Britain today, many of whom have also gained prominence internationally.
Each week we will discover up to two artists’ work, examining their individual approaches to painting – their individual response to colour and form, and how some artists utilise visual ‘sampling’ or integrate art historical references into their work. On this course we will study the work of Michael Armitage, Jadé Fadojutimi, Rachel Jones, Alison Katz, Matthew Krishanu, Flora Yukhnovich and Angelina May Davis. How do these artists use the medium of painting to address (or re-address) experiences and subjects that are both universal and individual?
At times, this course may contain content that some learners may find of a sensitive or challenging nature’.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
• The background and context to each artist’s work covered on the course.
• We will identify and discuss what is distinctive or exciting about each artist’s paintings.
• We will discuss and analyse how each artist’s work challenges or contributes to the ‘canon’ of contemporary painting in the UK and internationally.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
· Identify one key theme or subject explored in at least two artists’ work.
· Describe some of the painting methods or techniques used by one artist.
· Explain how at least two artists address or represent a contemporary issue in their painting.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for all levels.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information and instructions on the basic elements of Zoom software, like the usage of the microphone and camera..
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught by lecture with slide images and you will be invited to participate in group discussion. Resource lists, glossary and teaching slides will be provided by your tutor to support your learning on the course; these will be available online/digitally for download, not printed out for you.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Makers not Muses: Claude Cahun, Eileen Agar and Isabel Rawsthorne
Focus on: Cornelia Parker.
Chantal Condron has worked widely in the public and private arts sector for over 25 years including at the Government Art Collection, Tate, Sotheby's, Visiting Arts and University of London Library. She holds a BA in History of Art & Architecture from the University of East Anglia; and an MA in History of Art & Archaeology from SOAS, University of London. Chantal is currently the curator of public engagement at the Government Art Collection where her recent projects include delivering the public programme for Ways of Seeing, the loan of almost 70 artworks to unusual public spaces in Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture. As curator of modern and contemporary art, she led art programmes at the University of Hull, Whitechapel Gallery, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Ulster Museum, Belfast; and she has presented art talks widely in the UK and abroad. In 2019, her book, 'Peter Hedegaard', the first monograph on the Danish abstract artist, was published by Rocket Gallery, London.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.