As Frank Whitford commented in his introduction for the catalogue of the current 'Summer Exhibition', 'The Royal Academy and the Church of England that other oddly English phenomenon, had much in common. The Royal Academy is a mixture - sometimes an alarmingly volatile mixture - of divergent beliefs, contradictory convictions and conflicting rituals. The membership of both time-honoured institutions consists not only of fundamentalists, for whom yesterday remains more reliable and reassuring than tomorrow, but also of radicals, who are permanently set on questioning and challenging dogma. Every sort of ecclesiastical or artistic opinion can be found in between.'

But, of course, generations come and go up the wide stairway to the galleries themselves. Long gone are the county admirers of the equestrian paintings and rolling shire views of the once notoriously argumentative Sir Alfred Munnings, RA. A new and younger set of artists, such as Allen Jones, Christopher Le Brun, and Norman Ackroyd and John Bellany, now in their full prime, continue to produce stunning work. Tracey Emin has joined this array, filling Gallery VIII with her erotic preoccupations. Here also Julian Schnabel slips in as if through the vestry door; a good measure of Emin's skill and judgement.

The Honorary Royal Academicians, such as Francesco Clemente and Anselm Kiefer (an illustrious list), continue to enhance the assembly, like visiting Papal delegates. The space dedicated to the memory of the late RB Kitaj (Gallery I) contains a masterly selection of works that show his sublime compositional talent and painterly skills, with their combination of high 20th century literacy and remarkable visual juxtapositions, and no less than 27 of his works in varied media are included. Some would say that it is worth visiting the show for this alone. And typical of the Royal Academy's overlapping network, one finds close by the architectural commemorative tribute to the late Sir Colin St John (Sandy) Wilson, a great friend of Kitaj over their mutual careers, as expressed in the family group painting of the Wilson family by Kitaj (entitled 'The Architects').

Wilson's incorporation of the great tapestry, which Kitaj supervised (from his famous painting, 'If Not, Not') and which hangs in the entrance hall of the British Library, also shows the power of the Royal Academy institutionally, to foster collaboration and interaction as between these two distinguished members - Wilson and Kitaj - at the peak of their careers. Kitaj was only the third American to have been directly elected to be a Royal Academician. It epitomised the high degree of the Royal Academy's engagement with contemporary life and times.

Last year's 'Summer Exhibition' (2007) was dramatically charged up by David Hockney's superb wall painting. There was also notable work in that year by Anselm Kiefer, who returned this year with a new and dramatic work. Tracey Emin's selection of works is notable in Room VIII (whose current retrospective at the National Galleries' Edinburgh Festival Exhibition is reviewed in Studio International here this month). Her curatorial focus might have seemed to be predictable, but it all shows the extent to which gender equality has been encouraged here. There still persists an ambivalent attitude to the expression of sexuality overall, perhaps prompting comparison with the Church of England again. Likewise, the proportion of 'ordained' (to borrow the expression) females at the Royal Academy is around 18%, probably ahead of Anglican equivalent. Sorely missed, as compared to 2007, was any work by John Hoyland, RA. But no more than Tracey Emin will ever be, in Anglican terms, has he been 'unfrocked'. He will be back in force.

'Star' architects fill the Architecture Room VI in abundance. A preponderance of exhibits seem not to admit the critical role of equally 'star' engineers in the realisation of contemporary projects with wide spans and parabolic roof systems. Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the current President of the Royal Academy, has also exhibited elsewhere, in the Large Weston Room, a typically poetic summation of 'details' sketched inspirationally, succinct joints and connections, entitled 'Structural Memories' in etching form: these lend a new meaning to the poetics of constructional fragments of building technology. Now, under such capable and 'hands-on' direction, perhaps unlike the still strife-torn Church of England, the Royal Academy would appear to be well set, with its wealth of talent and capable administration, to cross new frontiers of art and architecture. Long may it last, for this uniquely self-governing institution.

Editor