Visual & Decorative Arts Blog

With the tagline 'the world's greatest museum of art and design', the Victoria and Albert Museum (better known as the V&A) certainly creates high expectations and promises a lot, and it sure does deliver. Currently, there are over two thousand years of art in almost every medium in the museum's collections, from a multitude of places all over the globe. The contrast between walking through the grand archway that is the main entrance into the museum and the humongous, abstract Dale Chihuly chandelier hanging over the information desk in the lobby wonderfully illustrates just how much the V&A holds. While their special temporary exhibitions are very much worth seeing, it's a must-do to go and see the vast array of art the V&A has on permanent display. Here are just a selection of the movements and artists that the museum covers…

We're Going On a Bear Hunt is the well loved children's read-aloud that's celebrating its 25th birthday this year. A favourite among families and young children, the fun, energetic book is brought to life through the charming illustrations of Helen Oxenbury.

Reviews for the new film Mr. Turner are out, and the general consensus is that this film is just as great as Turner's original paintings. Timothy Spall's performance even won him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival, and a lot of people are saying that his portrayal of J.M.W. Turner could even win him an Oscar. Robbie Collins, of The Telegraph, says, 'His repertoire of grunts alone comfortably extends past a hundred, and you wonder if perhaps Spall went Method for the role, living for years in a sty until he got the voice, posture and smell just right. But beyond the troughfuls of fun tics, Spall makes Turner tenderly and totally human, which has the effect of making his artistic talents seem even more God-given.'

Last night the second episode of Grayson Perry's TV series 'Who Are You?' broadcast on Channel 4. The series follows Perry as he talks to individuals with unique lives, unearthing the stories behind them and the challenges they face. So far we have seen him interview disgraced politician Chris Hune, A Celebrity Big Brother contestant, a White-British convert to Islam, a pair of same sex parents and more.

In Shoreditch right now, you can visit The Art of the Brick. This unique exhibition hosts a variety of artwork consisting of over 1 million Lego bricks and 80 pieces of art. The exhibition has received mixed reviews far, with some reviewers lauding Nathan Sawaya's art as an excellent blend of classic art and contemporary playthings (great for children interested in art), with others outlining the pointlessness of the whole project (rubbish for art connoisseurs). A re-occurrent question certainly seems to be, 'Well, why?'.

We have been working with The Imperial War Museum for the last few years, creating great art calendars and books. So when we heard that there were to be refurbishments at the London museum, well we were more excited than anyone else. As a longstanding institution, IWM stands alone in its portrayal of conflicts across time, especially those that feature Britain and her allies. As proud partners of IWM, let's take a look at the recent refurbishments of the London facility and why its exhibitions are still relevant today.