Today at Tate Modern

Published: 19/10/2022

Visits to Tate Modern usually inspire and surprise. Today's visit enabled me to see two exhibitions that on the face of it looked to be very different. The first was the Cezanne exhibition. This brings together about 80 of the artist's works from around the world from across his career. Throughout you are aware of his influence on other artists and indeed, some of the works on show were at one time owned by later  modern artists such as Picasso and Matisse. You are also aware of his interest in former artists and how he built on their work. In the words of the Tate press release: "Cezanne remains a pivotal figure in modern painting who gave license to generations of artists to break the rules. Created amid a rapidly accelerating world, his works focus on the local and the everyday, concentrating on the artist’s own personal experiences to make sense of the chaos and uncertainty of modern life." The exhibition shows the range of his work with portraits, still lifes, paintings of bathers and Provencal landscapes centred on Mont Sainte Victoire (seen in the photo) and l'Estaque. As you look at these painitngs you become aware of how Cezanne was prepared to experiment with colour and technique and explore ways of conveying his feelings about what he experienced and saw. Cezanne painted in his studio (as seen in the photo) and in the open air. What you see in his work is there to be enjoyed for what it is rather than telling a story from myth or history. 

The second exhibition was Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms. The exhibiton centres on two immersive installations with mirrors and lights providing infinite views. One is "Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life" and was made for Kusama's 2012 retrospective at Tate Modern. In this. you walk along a path between pools as a myriad of lights change colour and pulse around you. The lights reflect in mirrors and surround and engulf you; you become part of the environment around you.The other installation is "Chandelier of Grief", a room which creates the illusion of an infinite number of rotating crystal chandeliers and lights. 

As with Cezanne, Kusama is preoccupied with how she feels about the world around her. Both artists appear acutely aware of sensation and seek to convey this.