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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 1d

Born this day in 1901 Alberto Giacometti, was one of the most influential sculptors of the 20thC. His work is currently presented at Barbican with new works by contemporary artists until May 2026.
https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2025/series/encounters-giacometti
#Giacometti #Barbican #Sculpture

Encounters: Giacometti | Barbican

Three groundbreaking exhibitions position historic sculptures by Alberto Giacometti with new works by contemporary artists, in an intimate new space.

www.barbican.org.uk

plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 2d

Exciting news, we're going to be at the LAPADA Fair this year showcasing our conservation work. More updates soon...

plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 4d

Do you know your rust from your iron oxide? Bronze disease from Verdigris?

We delve into the topic of corrosion and patination with our metals conservator Hal:
https://plowden-smith.com/conservation-conversations-patina-vs-corrosion/

Conservation Conversations: Patina vs Corrosion - Plowden & Smith

Read our interview with Hal our metals conservator, exploring some of the nuances of corrosion and patination through the lens of historic arms and armour.

plowden-smith.com

plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 5d

Exciting news in Conservation Science: the Getty Research Institute, University of Akron & New York University have developed a safer more sustainable substitute to an essential paintings conservation adhesive:
www.getty.edu/news/scienti...
#PaintingConservation #FineArtConservation

Scientists and Conservators Reinvent Formula for Vital Art Conservation Material | Getty News

2025 press release about a new formula resulting from a grant funded by Getty.

www.getty.edu

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 5d

"I mention it here because the show does not and seems keen to keep things polite."
Waldemar Janusczcak sees great things in the Lee Miller retrospective but asks for more early-life context.
The Times' Chief Arts Critic reviews Lee Miller @ Tate Britain
www.thetimes.com/article/0725... #photography

The truth about Lee Miller is darker than Tate Britain would have us believe

This exhibition is so powerful I was moved to tears — but it sanitises the American photographer’s complicated early life

www.thetimes.com

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 19d

What's your favourite arts podcast?
Its the equinox and we're looking for something to get into as the evenings draw in.
#Podcasts #Equinox

plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 22d

Making Isinglass in our paper conservation studio. Isinglass is used to consolidate parchment.
Parchment is made from treated animal skins, which is why the consolidant used is different to those more commonly used in our Paper studio for works on paper.
#PaperConservation #Parchment #Conservator

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · 26d

"It happened to Caravaggio, Vermeer, even Rembrandt. Forgotten for centuries, they needed to wait to be remembered. It’s what happened as well to Georges de la Tour."
Waldemar Januszczak reviews Georges de la Tour at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris:
www.thetimes.com/article/0407...
#OldMasters

The mystery of the forgotten master who rivals Caravaggio

It’s so obvious that Georges de la Tour is one of the greats, you wonder how we ever could have missed it — even if we know almost nothing about him

www.thetimes.com

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

For a picture of Giorgio Armani's 50 year legacy in Fashion and the arts @alexanderfury.bsky.social interview in the @financialtimes.com #HTSI, is highly recommended. The article includes tributes from the designer's friends and colleagues. www.ft.com/content/c133...

The last interview with Giorgio Armani

In an exclusive conversation published the weekend before his death, the designer looked back at five decades in business, while friends including Richard Gere, Donatella Versace and Renée Zellweger p...

www.ft.com

plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

Among the myriad items in its collection, the V&A holds an evening ensemble which consists of black chiffon and organza trousers from 1990, available as part of the new V&A East Order and Object service
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72940/...

Evening Outfit | Armani, Giorgio | V&A Explore The Collections

Women's evening jacket and trousers of black chiffon and organza, designed by Giorgio Armani, Milan, 1990

collections.vam.ac.uk

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

In spring 2014, the V&A hosted The Glamour of Italian Fashion 1945–2014, a major exhibition exploring Italy’s fashion heritage. Giorgio Armani, along with Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Prada, Versace, and others, was represented as part of the broader Italian design narrative
www.vam.ac.uk/blog/shop/gl...

The Glamour of Italian Fashion Since 1945 • V&A Blog

The stylish companion, the essential arm candy and the only accessory to be seen with when visiting this stunning V&A exhibition The Glamour of Italian Fashion Since 1945. This lavish book provides a ...

www.vam.ac.uk

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

In the UK, while the V&A has been hosting fashion exhibitions since 1971, the scale and popularity of them has been growing in recent years.
Several Armani items are held in the V&A collection. #V&A

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

"When I walked through the exhibition, I felt as though I were entering a vast theatre stage, where light, sound, and architectural elements combined to create an immersive experience. The spatial staging itself felt like a work of art." Alessandro

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

After New York, in 2001, the exhibition travelled to Bilbao, designed by Robert Wilson, where our Operations & Sales director Alessandro saw the show:
www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/g...

Giorgio Armani | The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation

Giorgio Armani offers a thematic look at the designer’s evolution and contribution to fashion and culture over the last 25 years.

www.guggenheim.org

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

Armani became the first fashion designer ever to be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York. This retrospective broke new ground positioning fashion within the realm of fine art, challenging museums to reimagine their relationship with design
www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/g...

Giorgio Armani | The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation

This exhibition is an exploration of Giorgio Armani’s vision, with more than 400 objects organized thematically.

www.guggenheim.org

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

Armani had a huge impact beyond fashion:

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 11

We couldn't quite believe the news from @theartnewspaper.bsky.social about the passing of Giorgio Armani having just read an interview with him in the FT published the weekend prior to the designer's death aged 91.
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/05/g...

Giorgio Armani, designer who changed how museums engage with fashion, has died aged 91

As well as for his iconic designs, Armani will be remembered for his broad cultural legacy

www.theartnewspaper.com

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 10

The National Gallery announces new wing and move into modern art.
Reported in @thetimes.com by Nancy Durrant
www.thetimes.com/article/5513...
#NationalGallery #ModernArt

Revealed: the National Gallery announces new wing and move into modern art

Director Gabriele Finaldi unveils his plan to expand the gallery and its collection — funded by two record-breaking donations of £150 million

www.thetimes.com

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 10

Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists is at
Pallant House Gallery in Chichester until Nov 2
pallant.org.uk/whats-on/see...

Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists | Pallant House Gallery

Discover the relationships that shaped the last 120 years of British Art in this remarkable portrait exhibition.

pallant.org.uk

plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 10

"Everyone thinks of Van Gogh and his Sunflowers as a joyous explosion of horticultural ecstasy and summer love. But not Gauguin."
Waldemar Januszczak explores artists painting artists in
@thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/article/ff47...

Gauguin, Van Gogh and the secret of a truly revealing portrait

It’s always different when artists paint each other — just look at the marital misery of Mr and Mrs Bratby or Gauguin exposing Van Gogh’s dark side as he painted sunflowers

www.thetimes.com

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Sep 5

"Scholars will not be able to resist speculating. Could this portrait have been a gift from Southampton to Shakespeare? … no other man of the time cultivated as androgynous an image."
@rhysblakely.bsky.social reports a portrait miniature with a hidden secret:

www.thetimes.com/article/ba9c...

Lost portrait ‘may show Shakespeare’s secret male lover’

Does a newly discovered miniature believed to be of the poet’s first patron hint at a doomed love affair?

www.thetimes.com

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Aug 15

‪Our #Exhibition pick of the week is the @royalsculptors.bsky.social "Spaceshifting". The society has invited its international members to show works in the Central Lounge of the luxurious Royal Over-Seas League Clubhouse. Admission is free but booking is required.
sculptors.org.uk/whats-on/202...

Spaceshifting | Royal Society of Sculptors

Join us for the Opening Reception of Spaceshifting, the second exhibition celebrating international members of the Royal Society of Sculptors at the Royal Over-Seas League in London St. James’s. Pleas...

sculptors.org.uk

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Aug 11

This looks excellent

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plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Jul 17

Looking away from art for a second.. that was a close match, we're celebrating a different bronze today. #euros

plowdensmith.bsky.social @plowdensmith.bsky.social · Jul 4

Paris: Is it time for a paradigm shift in how we view Cleopatra? "The Mystery of Cleopatra" exhibition in Paris' Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) seeks to make that change.
• Until 11th January imarabe.org/fr/agenda/ex...
#Museums

Le mystère Cléopâtre

Tous les jours sauf le lundi - Nocturnes chaque mercredi jusqu'à 21h30 Des grandes figures féminines que compte l’histoire, Cléopâtre, la dernière souveraine d'Égypte, est la plus populaire. Autour de...

imarabe.org