White cube shows - Georg Baselitz and Rosson Crow

While I have been here, I have found two shows quite exciting for their handling of paint. Both are hosted in White Cube Galleries. In White Cube Hoxton, in the main space, is the work of Rosson Crow. A Texan of only 27, she paints large, powerful works that invite the viewer in with the idea of depth, then flatten with drips and arcing swipes that bars the way into the painted space. The show, titled Texas Crude indulges in the myths of the West - Cowboy country, big banquets, hunting, and the ever-present oil well. The work comes across as confident and proud, reflective of the artist, who has shown up at previous openings in full cabaret costume.

Georg Baselitz may be an old man, but that does not seem to prevent him from putting up a killer show. Over a dozen works comfortably fill what is one of the nicest galleries I have ever been in - White Cube Mason's Yard. The exhibition,
Mrs Lenin and the Nightingale, is simple in its imagery - Two figures sit on a couch, but, in typical fashion, are portrayed upside-down. An unpainted band greets the viewer at the bottom of the work. The image is blocked in first with colour - usually a very limited palette. The figures are loosely defined with black paint, which is applied with a thin brush overtop of the colour. This is how all the works are constructed, yet there never is a feeling of repetition. Each work stands on its own, offering intriguing and, again, confident handling of the medium. Baselitz is, I believe, plays up to his strengths. His painting is incredible, and he fits himself in to the history of painting with his cheeky titles - "Tracey looks behind the sofa where she finds his drawing, or rather, what Bob had left of it", "Sunning and mooning in the house of Jeff and Damien", etc. He seems aware that he is not about to change the world, but still has something to offer of himself. Tracey Emin was at the show. She casually glanced at the work that bore her name, but spent most of the time looking bothered and unappoachable. But when you're Tracey Emin, you can get away with that.

No images on the 'net, so you'll have to go to the White Cube website to see stuff.