Spent yesterday at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich to see the Alberto Giacometti exhibition “A Life Through Time“. First time visitors to the centre and have to say we were very impressed. Much to see for free and the light and space to be found in the building makes a welcome change from some of the more claustrophobic art centres and museums that we’ve visited.
It would be fair to say that my knowledge of Giacometti was limited to his sculptures. To see his paintings, lithographs and draughtsmanship was therefore a bit of an eye opener. And to see his work in the context of other artists working in Paris and his relationship to a generation of British sculptors who were interested in similar themes provided for a more involving and meaningful experience than a straight forward retrospective. Probably the most interesting part of a very well put together exhibition was the finale, which focuses upon Giacometti’s influence upon post-war British art, although whilst some of that work was very fine indeed, some of it (Robert Clatworthy) bordered on conservative copying. Works by the likes of artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, William Turnbull, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elisabeth Frink, Frank Auerbach, Henry Moore, and Isabel Rawsthorne are included to illustrate Giacometti’s broad influence in Britain. What is undeniable however is just how fresh and ‘modern’ Giacometti’s output is, fifty years after the artist’s death.
Fittingly A Line Through Time appears in conjunction with a superb display of Henri Cartier-Bresson photographs, some of which have found their way into an exhibition (‘Paris‘) and which we also managed to see. In one we see Giacometti crossing a leaf-strewn Parisian street. This relatively small exhibition was of itself interesting, but I would argue that the Giacometti picture is one of the most arresting, although it was good to see a number of the photographs chosen illustrated the sense of humour that Cartier-Bresson often brought to his work.