Latest news with #TraceyEmin
Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
How posh is your tea towel?
When the National Portrait Gallery in London reopened its doors in 2023 following a three-year, £41.3-million renovation project, one of the most striking innovations was a new entrance on Ross Place. Standing sentinel at that entrance are three monumental bronze doors, covered in 45 panels created by Tracey Emin. According to the artist these bas-reliefs are all portraits of women representing 'every woman, every age and every culture throughout time'. Now you can take some of the portraits home with you — and dry your mugs with them. • This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Tracey Emin has collaborated with the National Portrait Gallery shop on a range of three tea towels (£15 each), each one featuring a reproduction of one of Emin's preparatory drawings for the entrance doors. The aim of these portraits was to counterbalance the original roundels displayed on the gallery's façade that depicted prominent male figures. 'Women in history are greatly underrepresented. I didn't want to depict specific or identifiable figures,' Emin explained at the time of the commission. 'I want people to stand in front of the doors and say, 'She looks like my mother, she looks like my best friend, my daughter.'' The panels for the gallery's doors were cast in bronze from Emin's own drawings. As such they make fantastically graphic, evocative images for reproduction on homeware. The tea towel collaboration follows on the heels of Emin's previous collection for the National Portrait Gallery shop, which saw some of her portraits reproduced on a plate, mugs and a jug. There is a stoic beauty — filtered by Emin's signature raw, unflinching eye — to each of the portraits selected for the new tea towel range. With their diadems, crowns and exaggerated shoulders, the figures might be Roman matrons, warrior women or creatures of myth — but they are also archetypes that women might recognise not only in those around them but in facets of their own personalities. • Read more luxury reviews, advice and insights from our experts One design, featuring the word 'Mum', the only one that guides what we are perhaps meant to see, is sure to make an excellent gift for many an artistic, house-proud mother. Rendered in deep blue on a stark white background, the images recall the brushstrokes of Emin's preparatory acrylics. Exclusive to the National Portrait Gallery shop, the organic cotton, UK-made tea towels also feature a reproduction of the artist's signature. If these have whetted your appetite for a chic tea towel, here are ten of the most luxurious, exclusive tea towels you can buy now: You can find culinary inspiration while you're doing the dishes with this Burberry tea towel. Get stuck into the quintessentially British beef Wellington with this hand-drawn illustration of the dish plus ingredient list and instructions. The design is laid out on a matching, classic Burberry-check backdrop. The Italian-made linen/cotton towel is accompanied by a plain white tea towel with complementary logo banner in this two-towel set. Also available featuring Eton Mess. £120, Every Christmas since 2018 the designer and socialite Nicky Haslam has produced a tea towel featuring a list of things he finds common. This, the inaugural version, features such controversial gems as 'saying bye bye' and 'most young royals', although we can probably all agree on 'living statues'. Keep your tongue firmly in your cheek in the kitchen. Designed by Nicky Haslam Studio Ltd and exclusive to Selfridges. £50, Add a touch of whimsy to your washing-up with this linen tea towel featuring an illustration inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Cheshire Cat grins from its perch on a tree branch while Alice sprouts ears and a tail. £18.95, These wonderfully graphic lapis blue and leaf green tea towels come in a bold gingham pattern. Stamperia Bertozzi has been making hand-painted and block-printed table linen since 1920. The dyes used are created from vegetal bases to a secret recipe passed down through three generations. £70, The French luxury linen brand, founded in 1845, is known for its craftsmanship and elegant, poetic designs. Such is the case with this tea towel, which evokes the splendour of a fireworks display at Versailles. Golden flurries shoot across a deep blue sky in a spectacle that would have pleased even Louis XIV. Crafted from 100 per cent organic cotton and made in France, the tea towel adds a touch of splendour to the everyday. Also available in cream. £45, There's something about a lobster that screams extravagance — and this tea towel is no exception. This dapper little fellow, inspired by an illustration created for a 1938 catalogue called Entertaining Made Easy by WM Hendy, who worked for Punch magazine, is a decadent delight. Designed in Fortnum's signature eau de nil, the lobster wears a tiny red top hat and balances a pink and red ball on one of his whiskers — entertaining made easy indeed. £15.95, Find yourself instantly transported to the deep south of France with Les Toiles du Soleil, a brand that has been producing vibrant, striped fabrics and homeware since 1897 in St Laurent de Cerdans, close to the Spanish border. This set of three tea towels is made on historic shuttle looms, a process that creates particularly durable fabric — handy for those serious about their cuisine. £43, Tea towels are often food and drink themed. For a more cerebral approach there is this playful design that doubles as a chessboard. Handmade in India, the 100 per cent linen towels are crafted with eco-friendly pigments and produced in small quantities. £36, If classic is more your thing, these green-and-white-striped tea towels from Daylesford are made in India from certified organic cotton. As at home in the kitchen as they are by the barbecue. £12, The Proust Questionnaire is a modern invention inspired by a list of questions popularised by Marcel Proust as part of a parlour game. Questions include 'what is your idea of perfect happiness?' and 'how would you like to die?' Something to consider while you do the dishes. €26,
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Seeing Each Other: Artists Through The Eyes Of Artists At Pallant House Gallery
Lucien Freud Portrait of Celia Paul at Pallant House Gallery. Lee Sharrock A powerful exploration of artistic connection and mutual gaze, Seeing Each Other: Artists Through the Eyes of Artists is a new exhibition at Pallant House Gallery featuring intimate portrayals and tributes of celebrated modern and contemporary artists, from Francis Bacon and David Hockney to Tracey Emin and Lubaina Himid—revealing the creative bonds that shape British art across generations. Step into a living constellation of faces, gazes, and friendships at Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists, the sweeping new exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester. Spanning 125 years of British art, this poetic gathering of over 130 works —from drawings and sculpture to film and photography—unveils the tender, complex, and often electrifying relationships between artists and their creative kin. More than 80 voices echo through this show, including Lucian Freud, Paula Rego, Lubaina Himid, David Hockney, Lee Miller, Francis Bacon, Barbara Hepworth, Maggie Hambling and Peter Blake. Their portraits do more than capture likeness; they tell stories of admiration, rivalry, love, and influence—from the intimate circles of the Bloomsbury Group to the bold bravado of the Young British Artists. Covering a period of 125 years–and featuring drawings, installations, paintings, photography, prints and sculpture–the exhibition sets out to document some of the most intriguing images by artists of their creative peers. Mary McCartney, Being Frida, London, 2000, Giclée Print © Mary McCartney © Mary McCartney At its heart, this is an exhibition of artistic dialogue—painter meeting painter, friend painting friend, and women artists capturing the essence of their peers with unwavering insight. Lindsay Mendick's ceramic tribute to Tracey Emin reshapes a moment of performance art into permanent form, while Lubaina Himid's painted wooden figures honour a lineage of women whose images and ideas continue to shape the canon, and Mary McCartney's enigmatic image of Tracey Emin as Frida Kahlo captures the spirit of both women. Highlights include; a projection of Johnny Shand Kydd's enigmatic images capturing the YBAs when they were young and hanging out at The Groucho Club and Colony Rooms in Soho; and new commissions including a magical portrait by Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year winner Curtis Holder and double portraits by artists and long-term friends Ishbel Myerscough and Chantal Joffe studied together at the Glasgow School of Art. Double portraits by Ishbel Myerscough and Chantal Joffe © Lee Sharrock From previously unseen gems like Seóirse MacAntisionnaigh's 1924 painting The Slade Tea Party–of Slade School students including Mary Adshead and Eileen Agar–to Curtis Holder's luminous new portrait, each piece hums with connection. Whether glimpsing Johnny Shand Kydd's Soho snapshots of the YBAs or lingering before Ishbel Myerscough and Chantal Joffe's dual portraits of one another, visitors are invited into a world where artists become mirrors. While there are many husband-and-wife artist couples featured who have painted or drawn portraits of each other–from Barbara Hepworth and John Skeaping to Winifred and Ben Nicholson, and Lucian Freud and Celia Paul –there is also a strong presence of women artists who have immortalised fellow women artists through portraiture. Lubaina Himid installation at Pallant House Gallery. © Lee Sharrock Lindsay Mendick's ceramic ode to Tracey Emin in the form of a ceramic reimagining of Emin's 1996 performance Exorcism of the last painting I ever made is a highlight, as is Lubaina Himid's sculptural artwork featuring painted wooden full length portraits of female artists from past and present, including Bridget Riley, Élisabeth Vigée-le Brun, Frida Kahlo and Himid's friend, artist Claudette Johnson. Lindsay Mendick's ceramic ode to Tracey Emin. Photograph by Lee Sharrock. Lee Sharrock The exhibition features artists' portraits of fellow artists spanning several genres, movements and locations, starting at the turn of the 20th century with portraits of Walter Sickert, Sylvia Gosse and Nina Hamnett, through to The Bloomsbury Set in London and Suffolk, Newlyn School in Cornwall, pre-war modernism in Paris, to Pop Art art, the London School, YBAs and finally to contemporary artists and photographers such as Cindy Sherman and Mary McCartney and the British Black This final chapter in Pallant House's trilogy on modern British art—following still life and landscape—offers a deeply human tapestry. Curated by Melanie Vandenbrouck with scholarly grace, Seeing Each Other is a celebration of the artist's gaze—not just outward, but across the room, into the eyes of someone who understands. Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists runs from 17 May to 2 November 2025 at Pallant House in Chichester, Sussex. Curtis Holder painting. © Lee Sharrock
Irish Examiner
17-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Examiner
Esther McCarthy: How do we live a sustainable life without living in a treehouse in the forest?
We have a little game we've been playing since the kids were small. Every time we go to the beach, we each pick up three pieces of rubbish. It's automatic now. Last weekend we came back to the house with bits of rope, soft drink cans, and an old bleach bottle that we turned into a bit of tree art. Wipe your eye, Tracey Emin. We do little things to try and reduce our environmental impact. The boys cycle or walk to school. I cycle to work when I can. It serves to get the adrenaline pumping before the editorial meeting. There's nothing like having a Mazda sedan try to veer you off the road to make you feel ALIVE of a Monday morning. I'm trying to be more sustainable with the clothes thing. I've bought a couple of pre-loved bits alright, and I regularly sneak off to the Big Dunnes to get a fix. CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB I try on clothes in the dressing room, preening like a pre-menopausal peacock, swishing around in front of the perfectly-placed mirrors so I can see exactly how big my arse looks in this, without having to turn my husband into a cliché. Then I put everything back on the rails with a wistful sigh and return home groceryless, having forgotten I was going to do the big shop. (I'm lying, who does the big shop in Dunnes? Who am I, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers?) So we try to do our bit. My husband doesn't trust the recycling fairies, so he's got a contraption to de-pod the aluminium: he pushes out the grounds, rinses the capsule, saves the coffee grounds for my homemade body scrub. (I'm lying. Who am I? Charlotte Tilbury? I do sling them around the garden though.) Take that, Big Coffee! And slugs. But then, we'll be hopping on a plane at some point to go on our holidays. We have a gas guzzler of a car — we moved to a seven-seater when the dog got bigger than the teenagers. In my defence, it was unforeseen. His mother came up to my shin. I remember looking nervously at his paws when we got him as a puppy — they were like shovels. We signed up for Scrappy-Doo and came home with Scooby. We stayed in a hotel in Killarney recently. I tried not to think about the laundry, the single-use shampoos, the plastic milk yokes the kids bizarrely associate with luxury. They surreptitiously guzzle them by the coffee machine like they're microdosing some posh dairy drug. Big guilty milky moustaches on them as I glare darkly, drinking a cup of black tea. Does that make us hypocrites? How do we live a sustainable life without going and living in a treehouse in the forest? We'd probably muck that up too — dislodging an endangered squirrel colony to install a composting loo. I sometimes get despondent, worrying about the world we're passing on. So to cheer myself and yourself up, here's three reasons to have hope for the future. Billionaire nerdlinger Bill Gates is funding a solution to cow burps Methane from livestock is a major contributor to global warming, and cows burp out a fair bit of it. I can't find fart-related data. Enter awfully clever scientists who've figured out that feeding our bovine friends a tiny amount of red seaweed reduces methane emissions by up to 90%. The idea is being trialled across farms, and Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures is backing it. It's utterly simple, a bit absurd, and I am here for it. Great Green Wall of Africa This is a project so ambitious it sounds fictional. So, the aim is to plant a belt of trees across the continent, from Senegal to Djibouti, to halt desertification and restore native plant life to the landscape. And, reader, it's working. National Geographic reports that Senegal alone has planted more than 50,000 acres of trees, creating jobs and reviving farmland in the process. A small portion of the trees are also fruit-bearing, which, when mature, will help combat the high levels of malnutrition in the country's rural interior. Even more incredible is the project's potential social impact. The BBC reckons that the improvements in Mali could help curb terrorism, combating the spike in political and religious extremism caused by famine and poverty. And here we are with robot trees on Pana. Tsk. The clean energy tipping point Solar and wind are now cheaper than fossil fuels in many places. You can't turn around in Bishopstown for solar panels on semi-Ds. Even oil-rich countries are investing heavily in renewables — think Saudi Arabia's Neom city or the UAE's Masdar City. Now they are nutso , and possibly dystopian — that Neom city gives me a pain in my tummy. But, maybe we're finally reaching a point where green is good business. So next time you're standing at the sink, rinsing gross chicken juice out of a plastic container, remember this: Yes, the planet has problems. But it also has people — brilliant, bonkers, stubborn, imaginative people — who are tackling them in unexpected ways. And that should give us all hope. (I'm not even lying this time.)
Scottish Sun
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Scottish city ranked third in WORLD for culture by travel experts
'Just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes along' SIMPLY THE FEST Scottish city ranked third in WORLD for culture by travel experts Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SCOTS tourist spot has been named among the best places for culture in the WORLD. Travel experts at Time Out surveyed thousands of people from around the world about culture in their city. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 The streets are soaked in history 6 There's always something going on during the Festival 6 The capital is drenched in culture 6 Paris was number one on the list Each city was then ranked according to how locals rated the quality and affordability of its culture scene as well as the amazing venues, events and festivals they love the most. This was then combined with scores from a panel of Time Out culture experts who voted for their favourite destinations. And coming in at number three across the whole of the globe was Edinburgh. The Scots capital has long been a magnet for culture cultures with is stunning castle, history-soaked streets and world-renowned festival. The Time Out team said: "Best known to some for the world-renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, this Scottish city is also home to brilliant museums, a rich literary history and electric live music. "But, just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes along – like the buzzing Days Festival, back for a second year this May with its underground dance lineup. "Europe's first museum of contemporary Palestinian art also opens its doors, while Chappell Roan lights up the Summer Sessions with her only UK gigs beyond Reading and Leeds." Paris topped the list as Best City in the World for Culture, according to locals with an impressive 96 per cent of Parisians rating their city's cultural offering as either 'good' or 'amazing'. The French capital has long stood at the forefront of the global arts scene, home to the Louvre - the world's largest and most visited museum - as well as iconic institutions like the Musée d'Orsay, Palais de Tokyo and the Pinault Collection at the Bourse de Commerce. Locals highlighted all of these in their responses, as well as a packed calendar of cultural events, from the city-wide Fête de la Musique to La Villette's open-air film festival, Cinéma en Plein Air. W Edinburgh Crowned Scotland's Hotel of the Year 2025 The only other city to beat Edinburgh was Florence, which came in at number two. The Italian city's culture scene is a melting pot of Renaissance splendour and cutting-edge culture, including Tracey Emin's exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, open-air movies at Villa Vardini and contemporary dance in a Roman amphitheatre. Florence received the second-highest number of votes from Time Out's arts and culture experts, while 73 per cent of locals said the scene was top notch. CITIES OF CULTURE HERE is the top 10 in full: Paris, France Florence, Italy Edinburgh, UK Mexico City, Mexico Sydney, Australia Barcelona, Spain Chicago, USA Lisbon, Portugal Hanoi, Vietnam Cape Town, South Africa Grace Beard, Travel Editor at Time Out said: "Time Out's annual ranking of the world's best cities for culture is the definitive travel guide for those seeking a cultural city break where experiencing art in all its forms is affordable and accessible. "Informed by the insights of 18,500 city-dwellers and a panel of Time Out experts, this list reflects the global destinations where art and culture isn't confined to mammoth museums and major arts venues (though there are plenty of those). "Think pop-up festivals in unlikely locations, late-night museum parties, and a new class of creatives pushing the boundaries of performing arts. Each of these 20 cities has a lively programme of cultural events alongside legacy institutions for the arts – that's why they're the cultural capitals of today." 6 Locals rated their city for culture
Scotsman
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Scottish city named among ‘World's 10 best cities for culture' in 2025 by Time Out
In compiling this year's list, Time Out used two data sources. First, more than 18,500 people around the world were surveyed about culture in their city. Each city was then ranked according to how locals rated the quality and affordability of its culture scene. They were also asked about the cultural venues, events and festivals they love the most in their hometown. This data was then combined with scores from a panel of Time Out culture experts – Time Out's global network of city editors and culture experts – who voted for their favourite destinations. To ensure the list reflects cultural cities globally, only the highest-scoring cities for each country were included on the longlist. Grace Beard, Travel Editor at Time Out, said: 'Time Out's annual ranking of the world's best cities for culture is the definitive travel guide for those seeking a cultural city break where experiencing art in all its forms is affordable and accessible. Informed by the insights of 18,500 city-dwellers and a panel of Time Out experts, this list reflects the global destinations where art and culture isn't confined to mammoth museums and major arts venues (though there are plenty of those). 'Think pop-up festivals in unlikely locations, late-night museum parties, and a new class of creatives pushing the boundaries of performing arts. Each of these 20 cities has a lively programme of cultural events alongside legacy institutions for the arts – that's why they're the cultural capitals of today.' Take a look through our gallery to see the top 10 of Time Out's Best Cities for Culture in 2025 – and find the full list of 20 here: 1 . World's 10 best cities for culture in 2025 named Time Out has released its annual ranking of the World's Best Cities for Culture - and Edinburgh occupies a lofty position on the prestigious list. Photo: Time Out Photo Sales 2 . 1. Paris, France Time Out says: 2025 is a big year for Paris museums, from the reopening of the Grand Palais with a stunning exhibition from Dolce & Gabbana to the temporary closure of the Centre Pompidou, bowing out with Paris Noir, an ode to France's Black artists in the late twentieth century. In the city of light, its arts scene is embracing after-hours culture, with museums leaning into late-night events, including at David Hockney 25 and at the Nuit des Musées in May, where a number of museums will mix culture, music and light late into the night. Photo: Pixabay Photo Sales 3 . 2. Florence, Italy Time Out says: Florence's culture scene is a melting pot of Renaissance splendour and cutting-edge culture, including Tracey Emin's exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, open-air movies at Villa Vardini and contemporary dance in a Roman amphitheatre. Florence received the second-highest number of votes from Time Out's arts and culture experts, while 73% of locals said the scene was top notch. Photo: Pixabay Photo Sales 4 . 3. Edinburgh, UK Time Out says: Best known to some for the world-renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, this Scottish city is also home to brilliant museums, a rich literary history and electric live music. But, just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes along – like the buzzing Days Festival, back for a second year this May with its underground dance lineup. Europe's first museum of contemporary Palestinian art also opens its doors, while Chappell Roan lights up the Summer Sessions with her only UK gigs beyond Reading and Leeds. Photo: Pixabay Photo Sales Related topics: EdinburghCultureStaycationsScotland
