Studio International visited this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition before the party began, and talked to some key figures behind the scenes, responsible for this eclectic display of over 1,200 works of art. Some of the works are by renowned Royal Academicians, some by honorary Academicians – and others by those whose reputations are yet unknown.
Royal Academy of Arts, London 9 June – 17 August 2014
And so this annual exhibition – first begun in 1769 – has become known as an example of democratic display, where those without reputation are exhibited alongside those who have, as Turner Prize-winner Grayson Perry explains with subversively playful wit, “got lucky and found an audience willing to pay for their work”.
The recently appointed Royal Academy artistic director, Tim Marlow, spoke to us about his role and future plans for the Academy. Edith Devaney, head of Summer Exhibition and contemporary curator at the Royal Academy of Arts, gave us her thoughts on this year’s exhibition.
Cornelia Parker spoke to Studio International at the opening of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014. Photo: Martin Kennedy.
Royal Academician Cornelia Parker spoke about her thinking behind the black and white gallery that she’s curated for this exhibition, and artist, Royal Academician and director of this year’s selection and hanging committee, Hughie O’Donoghue, talked to us about the process of hanging the show, his thoughts on making and viewing paintings, and the condition of painting today.
Interviews by MK PALOMAR Filmed by WILLIAM KENNEDY
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014Hughie O’Donoghue talking to Studio International about the process of hanging the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014. Photo: Martin Kennedy.Edith Devaney, head of Summer Exhibition and contemporary curator at the Royal Academy of Arts talking to Studio International at the opening of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014. Photo: Martin Kennedy.Royal Academy artistic director, Tim Marlow, speaking to Studio International about his role and future plans for the Academy at the opening of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2014. Photo: Martin Kennedy.
Cornelia Parker, Agnes Denes and Otobong Nkanga are among 15 artists hoping to change our response to the climate crisis. But can an art show alter people’s behaviour?
From the synthetic detritus of the oyster industry washed up on the Kent coast and the organic softness of sheep’s fleece, Bailey conjures up fascinating work. She explains what motivates her and how she became obsessed by these two very different materials
From the shed blown up by the British army to drone-shot footage of the Commons Chamber to a new work referencing Brexit, from the vast to the intimate, this major survey takes us through 30 years of Parker’s work
Roberts, the director of Vital Arts, which commissions projects for five London hospitals, talks about the range of artists and work involved and the transformative power of art on the wellbeing of patients and staff
The spectacle that is the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the stylishness of its visitors has, it seems, never waned and, from the outset, the press has contributed to its reputation. Its visitors are just as important as the artworks they come to see