In this guest post Margaret Doherty describes Spring and Summer 2010 London exhibitions which she has visited at the Tate Britain, Royal Academy, Natural History Museum and British Museum.

“Whether it’s sculpture, contemporary art, photography or the work of a great painter that floats your boat, there’s something for everyone in London’s spring and summer exhibitions.

One way to lift the winter gloom is to pay a visit to the vibrant and colourful Chris Ofili exhibition at Tate Britain. Ofili’s canvases are a multi-layered maelstrom of paint, glitter, collage, map pins, resin and, probably his most famous material, elephant dung. Ofili emerged in the mid 90s and won the Turner Prize in 1998 – many of his well-known works from this period are included and draw on a variety of influences including black culture (blaxploitation movies, gangsta rap and hip hop) and his immediate environment (the prostitution and the seamier side of life near his Kings Cross Studio). Also included is The Upper Room (1999-2002), thirteen large jewel-like canvases of rhesus macaque monkeys displayed in walnut panelled room designed by the architect David Adjaye. Now living in Trinidad, Ofili’s more pared-down recent work reflects his new environment, its landscape and mythology with many of the works on show have coming straight from the artist’s studio.

Chris Ofili The Raising of Lazarus 2007 Oil and charcoal on linen 278.7 x 200.4 cm
Courtesy David Zwirner, New York © Chris Ofili

For stunning images of the natural world make your way to the Veoila Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year is owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine. On one wall a cute little orangutan clings to its mother while on another a bloody-mouthed lion rolls on its back just after feasting on a kill. Frozen wastes, humid jungles, exotic oceans – even a public park – provide backdrops for the animals in this year’s competition. Alongside the wonderful pictures you’ll pick up some amazing facts. Did you know that the sailfish is the fastest fish in the ocean? Or that for hares, moulting time is triggered by the number of hours of daylight? And though the winner of this year’s competition was subsequently disqualified you can vote for your favourite on line or at the exhibition itself.

© Fergus Gill / Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009

The season’s blockbuster though is without doubt Van Gogh and his Letters at the Royal Academy. The first major Van Gogh exhibition in London for over 40 years, it features paintings, drawings and letters that convey more of the intelligent, hard-working, dedicated artist than the mainstream image of the crazed eccentric who cut off part of his own ear. Many of the letters on display were written by Vincent to his brother Theo, who was financially supporting his brother’s artistic career. Written in Dutch, English and French, in them Vincent describes everything from his efforts to improve his skills, his latest works and the materials he needs. He even draws sketches of works in progress or paintings he has just finished – many such letters are displayed next to the works they described. Above all, the exhibition conveys the intensity, intelligence and passion behind in the unique paintings he produced in a tragically short ten year career. The exhibition runs until 18th April 2010. Make sure you book in advance and expect crowds.

Van Gogh at the Old Bond Street bus stop by 601TV

Henry Moore at Tate Britain, like the Van Gogh at the Royal Academy, is an attempt to take another look at a towering and familiar figure of 20th century art. Probably most famous for his large outdoor sculptures that were commissioned for public spaces and New Towns in post-war Britain, this exhibition draws on over 150 works including wood carvings, stone sculptures, bronzes and drawings from his early years, through his work as an Official War Artist in the 1940s to his larger landscape works. The exhibition underlines Moore’s radical qualities and how his work constantly reflects and engages with new ideas with influences ranging from non-western art, surrealism, wartime experiences in the First World War, the theories of Freud and Jung and post-war political uncertainty. Whether it’s recurring motifs such as the reclining female figure, a mother and child, or a more abstract sculpture, they are expressed through a respect for materials and passion for direct carving.

Henry Moore 24 February – 8 August 2010 Tate Britain Henry Moore Mother and Child 1932
Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, University of East Anglica Credit: Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation Photo: James Austin

A wonderful glimpse of the sophisticated, well-connected and wealthy culture that thrived in Ife in West Africa from the 12th to 15th centuries is on show at the British Museum in Kingdom of Ife:sculptures from West Africa. By 1100, thanks to the developing trade routes across Africa, the forested city of Ife was a powerful trading centre near the river Niger. Despite legendary tales of its treasures, it wasn’t until the discovery in the early part of the 20th century (1910 and 1938) of a number of metal, stone and terracotta sculptures that the contemporary perceptions about African art were challenged and the objects’ technical and artistic merits began to be recognised. The exhibition features over 100 pieces of sculpture from small figurative stone carvings of the sacred ruler, the Ooni, to animal pendants and large stone carvings from the Ore Grove, one of many the sacred sites, domestic shrines and temples found in and around Ife. But it’s the quality and naturalism of the heads, whether in terracotta, stone or metal that is remarkable. Some wear elaborate headdresses while others have holes where around the mouths, necks and hairlines where it is thought headpieces or other adornments would have been attached. A small terracotta head bears weals probably generated by the extract of blister beetles the royal family painted on their faces for certain ceremonies while others show different facial striations reflecting the wide tribal, regional or familial links of the different peoples drawn to Ife at this time. Creased necks and fat stomachs are also common, denoting as they did health and beauty born of affluence and a full diet. Don’t miss some of the smaller pieces – the little terracotta head with massive ears, the ricketts-ridden leg, or the poor bloke suffering with elephantiasis of the testicles – found in a grove thought to have been a refuge for those suffering ill-health.”

Credit: Copper seated figure, Tada, Ife. Late 13^th-14^th century. © Karin L. Willis/Museum for African Art/National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria