Phyllida Barlow RA: cul-de-sac, Royal Academy - ★★★★ - Until June 23, 2019


The protagonists of space and sculpture interact with each other and finally with the audience in this challenging show. Installed across the three rooms of the relatively new Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries, the exhibition can be read from beginning to end, and then in a new way on the return journey... a cul-de-sac that becomes a voyage into questions about the relation between space and the objects that inhabit it and the assumptions we make about the structures that surround us. In the first room, we enter to contemplate a portal with a heavy, cement shadow that questions our sense of materiality. Similarly, the draped canvases which suggest lightness and yet require heavy supports to maintain them make us reassess initial perceptions. Indeed, all Barlow's objects reward us by raising more questions the longer we contemplate them. Spend some time in this provocative and illusory environment.

 Reviewed by J.C.

 Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆ 

WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until Jun 23, 2019
Daily: 10 am - 6 pm, Fri: 10 am - 10 pm
Royal Academy
Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/phyllida-barlow
Map & Location: Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 0BD, UK

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