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Currently there are two prestigious art shows in town which are radically different and yet have more in common then meets the eye; the Frank Auerbach show at the  Courtauld Gallery and the Gustav Metzger exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery. 

Both artists are pioneers of outstanding work, both are now in their eighties and both are originally from Germany, both arrived in London in 1938 with the Kindertransport, which rescued predominately Jewish children from Nazi occupation. But despite this shared life experience and the trauma they must have gone through at an early age, which has fuelled their imagination and creativity, the messages within their work could not be more different. 

Auerbach’s show at the Strand focuses on the work produced between 1952 and 1962 and takes the rebuilding of post-war London as its theme. In rich ochre, tones of reds and browns, gold and clay he towers oil paint in his typical, sculptural style, creating the illusion of an organic occurrence which is quite reminiscent of Gaudi’s architecture with a dash of Frances Bacon. At second glace we find that although Auerbach depicts, quite accurately, cranes, steal frames, ladders and muddy foundations, what he paints are clearly metaphors of reconstruction. The shiny paint reflects the light and creates grooves of darkness but nevertheless Auerbach portraits a lush new beginning, an optimism of order which comes not without effort. The exhibition allows us to see how his projects come to fruition from charcoal drawing to oil sketch, to the final - monumental painting. These works allow us to see our familiar London from a different perspective where the big landmarks of Oxford Street and St. Paul’s Cathedral stand vulnerable but proud in their skeletal form, padded out by plenty of glowing colour. It can be said that this is a very compact show. 

On the other hand side the exhibition at the Serpentine shows a darker sensibility of the political activist and eco guru Gustav Metzger. It is a long awaited resume which includes the work of over six decades, generously spaced over various rooms.  Metzger’s work tackles propaganda in advertising and the media. He reveals the flaws of globalisation and unmasks consumerism as a shallow farce through installations and interactive art. We also find a number of uprooted trees in the show as well as a car-wreckage with the relevant video documentation of its demolition. Perhaps the most striking work for me is his 1960s videos of ‘anti-paintings’. Metzger sets up a blank outdoor canvas which he slowly etches away with an acid fluid until the city-scape behind it is bit by bit revealed. 

I have always found it an almost impossible task to compare artists or assume influences but for me to see these two shows back to back was quite eye opening and gave me an insight about how similar experience can translate into such opposite aesthetic manifestations: where Auerbach rebuilds - layer by layer, Metzger etches and grinds away.  

London Building Sites 1952-62 is on until 17 Jan. 2010 

Decades 1959 – 2009 finishes 8 Nov. 2009

Posted by Valeria Melchioretto