For all it's pretentious elitism, the
Royal Academy hosts one of the few truly open art exhibitions; this 246th year they chose more than 1,000 prints and paintings from the over 12,000 submitted. Always there are true masterpieces from the 100+ Royal Academicians and some notable distinguished and foreign Honorary Academicians, like
Anselm Keifer and
Georg Baselitz. Every room is overflowing and the walls are absolutely covered from floor to ceiling. My first impressions several years ago were similar to the sensory overload of arriving in India. Over the last few years, I have become accustomed to the style of several better known Academicians, such as Sean Scully,
Barabara Rae and Tracey Emin.
But this year, similar to last, I discovered some new and great talents to watch. My 3 favourites are the bright stylised flowers and fruit of
Gillian Ayres, the clean contemporary lines of Michael Craig-Martin and the geometic colours and shapes of
Mali Morris. I also love the links between Venice Biennale artists and the uncertainties of knowing who will become truly great in the eyes of the world... And of course, there was an almost hidden masterpiece of film in the final room titled "
walking drawings across estuaries" where horses and people make
stunning marks in the bare sandy beaches of a northern English estuary.
