Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
While on our trip to Glasgow we visited a few museum and galleries, but the Kelvingrove was by far my favourite. It was the largest out of them all meaning that there was something for everyone to enjoy.
The aim for these was to change the whole idea of chairs and other furniture from just being essentials to being main pieces in a household. As I am doing product design, this area of the museum really interested me because it showed what furniture looked like in the 1890s when style first was being added to these designs. The chair that I like the most out of the three above is the one on the right. Unfortunately I couldn’t see the designer of this chair so I can’t find out more about their work. What I like most about this design is the geometric shapes that have been used and the intricate cut outs that have been made in the wood on the back of the chair. I like how everything has been split into three, like the over all main splits as well as the triangles. This leaves it standing out agains the other chairs that have all been split into two or four. I also like the added amber gems that have been added, they break apart that harsh shapes and go well with the colour of the wood.
This is one of the pieces that interested me the most. In India it is very common for trucks to have these intricate designs on them, which are to make each truck unique to the person owning them. Metal, plastic and plywood are the most common materials to be used for these, this will be because they will be cheap and accessible to whoever is making them. I particularly liked this design because of the warm but bright colour palette that has been used against a black background. This really helps the colours and patterns stand out. I also like how it has been made 3D by cutting areas of the material and layering it. This gives it a really interesting effect, leaving me wanting to stand and look at it for ages to take in all the details.
Out of a room full of large paintings I found myself drawn to this one the most, despite not being overly interested in ballet. What I love the most about this is how most of the colours that have been used are neutral but then there is the bright pop of red. It gives it the whole artwork a majestic feel and makes the dancer look like she’s floating. The red also suggests that dancing is her passion with this being a main eye catching part of the painting. The ballerina in that paining is the famous Anna Pavlova from Russia. The contrast in shades makes it look like she is dancing on a stage with bright lights directed all towards her.
I loved seeing a little exhibition of these because I always remember being fascinated by glass paperweights when I was younger, so it was interesting to read about what inspired them. According to the text in the image, a large theme in paperweights was started by Colin Terris in 1968 when he made a series inspired by space exploration. The design on the top left is ‘Illusion’ which was part of this series. It is clear that these designs have inspired glass paperweights to this day because similar shapes and patterns can be found very commonly in most designs. My favourite in this image is ‘Winter Dreams’ by Peter Holmes which is at the top right. I like this one because it is more elegant than other designs that are usually seen. I like how only clear glass and smaller dark grey spheres of glass have been used because it creates this very minimalist but elegant design which makes it stand out from the rest.
Although an unusual observation I found all of the frames around the artwork so interesting to look at. Frames are often a beauty that are looked over in museums and galleries, but I think they should be more closely looked at in the future. These intricate designs are traditionally carved into wood and have to be taken care of to ensure they look as grand as they were when first made.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and it definitely exceeded my expectations. I had always wanted to visit here and found it amazing how there was so many different areas to explore that I could never cover them all on one post.
