Tate Modern

A trip home to London is never complete without a visit to the Tate Modern and I took myself up there on friday. Just the walk along the river to get to it is stunning and it helped that the weather was cool and sunny.

My main interest was the Gerhard Richter exhibition that opened a few weeks ago. It is called Panorama and is a showcase of the range of work that he has produced over his lifetime. Each room is devoted to a particular moment of his career and the exhibition includes figurative work, as well as monochrome abstraction. I loved the variety of work on show and particularly the highly "photographic" pieces that have a slightly eery edge to them.

As well as the Richter exhibition, I was interested to see the work of Tacita Dean, the latest artist to create a commission for the famous Turbine Hall - a massive cathedral-like space that one first encounters when entering the gallery. She is best known for her use of film and decided to use old-school celluloid film (instead of digital film) to create a rather haunting piece which consisted of everyday film images being shown on a massive screen at one end of the darkened hall. There was no sound and so the acoustics of the hall became the soundtrack. It's like watching a silent movie, but with the hustle and bustle of people around you. She wanted viewers to be able to move about the space and see it form different angles.

I really love the surreal quality of Richter's candle and skull paintings, but there is also an almost kitschy feel to them too.....

Some of the figurative paintings were based on family photos from Richter's collection or from images he found in newspapers and magazines. I love the retro '70s feel of this one with the use of colour and clothing, but also find it a bit unnerving. The lack of a face and the fact that she is looking away from the viewer make you question it.

This painting reminds me of a Dutch painting in the colouration, but also in the style and pose. I love the intensity of the subject and the fact that it draws you in.

The immensity of the Turbine Hall creates a great atmosphere for Tacita Dean's work and I loved watching how people moved around the space. I also loved the silhouettes that were created from people standing watching the piece.