The art of theft: Why do thieves steal famous paintings when they’re so hard to sell? October 28, 2014 On a freezing Stockholm evening just before Christmas 2000, a group of six to eight Middle Eastern men put into action a plan they’d been working on for months. The group parked cars in the middle of the three central roads leading to the Swedish National Museum and set them ablaze. As fire engines [...]
YBA Gavin Turk: From blue plaques to bin bags October 14, 2014 Gavin Turk was born in Guildford in 1967. The Royal College of Art refused to award his MA when all he exhibited for his final show was a single blue plaque reading “Gavin Turk worked here, 1989-1991.” This did nothing to stop a meteoric rise culminating in his work being exhibited alongside other Young British [...]
Something for the Weekend: City A.M.’s picks for your days off October 10, 2014 For a bite to eat: BBQ Lunch at Stepney City Farm Top chef Ben Tish cut his teeth at Salt Yard bar and charcuterie and this Saturday he’s bringing his meaty treats to Stepney City Farm for a charity barbecue. On the menu will be burgers from his successful new restaurant Ember Yard. Booking [...]
Art review: Tracey Emin, The Last Great Adventure Is You October 9, 2014 ★★☆☆☆ The title of Tracey Emin’s latest exhibition – The Last Great Adventure is You – is misleading in two ways. Firstly, by “you” she means “me”; once again, Emin is her own muse. Secondly, it’s less of a “great adventure” and more of a casual skip around the parameters of the self. Manifest [...]
How to stop smoking for Stoptober: Five ways to kick your cigarette habit October 1, 2014 Of the many charitable campaigns tied tortuously to calendar months, Stoptober has to be the most effective. Unlike Dryathlon and Sober October, which do nothing more than make you feel slightly better about the 11 month bender that is the rest of the year, the aim of Stoptober is to give up smoking for good. [...]
Something for the Weekend: 26-28 September September 26, 2014 FOR STYLISH DINING: Bourne and Hollingsworth Buildings London party fiends Bourne and Hollingsworth – behind club nights The Chap Olympiad and The Blitz Party – have opened a bar, cafe and restaurant below their headquarters in Clerkenwell. Book at bandhgroup.com. FOR A CHANGE OF SCENERY: Country Life Fair The first Country Life Fair comes [...]
Art review: Anselm Kiefer, The Royal Academy September 26, 2014 ★★★★★ A distant, solitary figure stands before the sea, arm raised in a Nazi salute. The title of the painting: Heroic Symbol. Ironic? Well, yes and no. For though Anselm Kiefer was no Nazi, there is genuine heroism in depicting this image, in recalling the past from the chasm of silence into which Germany fell [...]
Theatre review: Teh Internet is Serious Business, The Royal Court September 26, 2014 IT’S HARD to know what the greying grandees of London theatre criticism would have made of Teh Internet is Serious Business, a play that revels in an online world of memes and trolls, cheeseburger-demanding cats, socially awkward penguins and condescending Willy Wonkas. But what appears as incomprehensible nonsense to most, makes perfect sense to a [...]
Theatre Review: Billie Piper stars in Great Britain at the National September 18, 2014 ★★★★★ With inquiries, investigations, MP select committees and dodgy dealings between opaque institutions, phone-hacking was a very broadsheet kind of scandal. Sex was there, but it was in the background: at root, this was a story about people being in each other’s pockets, not beds. Great Britain gives phone-hacking the tabloid treatment. It ratchets up [...]
Apple-teaser: Are Watch, Pay and iPhone 6 enough to reinvigorate Apple? September 11, 2014 Apple Watch What’s new? Everything. The Apple Watch is Apple’s first brand new product launch since the death of Steve Jobs. It’s also the company’s first entry into the much-hyped wearable tech sector. Three different versions – Apple Watch, Watch Sport and the 18c gold Apple Watch Edition – will be available, with six additional [...]
