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You might not know this, but the team at The Conversation is spread out across the UK and that includes the arts team. We curate your cultural content from Yorkshire, London and the rural environs of Glasgow.
This week, however, we came together to catch up, celebrate our wins and see Something Good together. As we looked at what was on in England’s capital we were excited to see that the art world is gearing up for summer with many blockbuster shows opening. So we decided to dedicate this newsletter to the shows our academic experts are most excited about.
We have to start with the exhibition we visited together, even though it was decidedly NSFW (not safe for work) – Beryl Cook/Tom of Finland at Studio Voltaire in London.
Radical, fleshy and full of frolics, the images created by Cook and Finland are a joy but also not for the fainthearted. When our editor Jane was looking for pictures to accompany our brilliant review, she struggled to find many which were on the less risqué side. Finland’s illustrations are of men, all bulging muscles dripping in sex and leather; while Cook’s paintings are often of larger-than-life women raucously indulging in similarly hedonistic pursuits.
Both artists revel in exaggerated bodies which have, for one reason or another, been criticised or condemned. Their art also........