When was the last time you visited a museum?
Now here’s a question. When was the last time you visited a museum or an art gallery?
I only ask because on the weekend, my wife and I, plus two friends had the loveliest of days, finishing off the day with a meal in a great restaurant in central London.
Being a photographer I am a regular gallery visitor, I’m always looking for and visiting photo exhibitions, plus we visit one or two of our favourite museums in London during the year, especially when one of our favourite artist's works are on show.
But the reason why I mention this is because I'd forgotten how much visiting an art gallery can really take you away from all our present issues, difficulties, problems and anything else that might be troubling you.
For me personally I was totally immersed in the art that was in front of us. The show, at the Royal Academy in London, was by the legendary British painter Francis Bacon, with whom I know little about. The work was very complexed, but the visit allowed me the time and space to just look, read and listen to the commentary, and absorb what was in front of me.
His work was mesmerising, and the more I saw the more I wanted to know, not only about his work but also about the man behind the work.
I loved his bold colours, and sheer size of his paintings, I could only wish to ever see my work printed that large and hung in an exhibition space... maybe one day, you never know.
And the joy of being able to walk around a gallery again, after COVID, was such a blessed relief, although we still had to wear masks, it was still a great feeling to do this, a genteel return to galleries, a much nicer experience for me on this occasion than watching a feature film in the cinema.
I felt inspired, but also felt educated. I can highly recommend taking some time out to check out your local museums and art galleries.
Let’s hope it’s a start of a virus free environment for 2022, I’m looking forward to visiting more galleries and museums this year.
So, when was the last time you popped by your local theatre, museum, or art gallery?
