I really enjoy visiting galleries and looking at a variety of artisits. I remember that in November I went to see Chris Ofili’s The Upper Room in the Tate Britain. The room consisted of thirteen paintings displayed in an environment especially designed by the architect David Adjaye. Critics commented on the chapel-like qualities of the space and its lighting. The arrangement of twelve canvases flanking a thirteenth larger one suggests Christ and his Apostles. I thought the lighting in the room made the paintings look even more impressive.
The entire construction is made of walnut-veneered plywood - floors, walls and ceiling, even the three benches in the room itself. The natural patterns on the veneer have a hallucinatory quality. Turning the corner of the corridor, one enters a semi-dark space, with six paintings on each side wall, and a single larger work at the far end. The corners of the end wall are rounded rather than square, making the room feel longer than it really is.
Each painting depicts a monkey based around a different colour theme. The twelve smaller paintings show a monkey from the side and they are based on a 1957 Andy Warhol drawing. The larger monkey is depicted from the front.
Drifts of glitter and stars float around the monkeys, which are set against decorative plant life, flowers and seed heads and blooms of colour.
"The elephant dung no longer shocks. But Chris Ofili has lost none of his power to delight and surprise" says Adrian Searle from the guardian.
