Andrew Lambirth

Painting Now doesn’t represent painting now. Thank goodness

The exhibition at Tate Britain is dull with obviousness — for some real painting go for The Elemental North at Messum's

‘Untitled’, 2012, by Simon Ling 
issue 25 January 2014
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  • Painting Now: Five Contemporary Artists

    Tate Britain, until 9 February

  • Euan Uglow Drawings

    Marlborough Fine Art, 6 Albemarle Street, W1, until 1 February

  • The Elemental North

    Messum’s, 8 Cork Street, W1, until 15 February

The death of painting has been so often foretold — almost as frequently as its renaissance — that any such prediction today is nothing short of foolhardy. Of course, painting is alive and well and living in London, but you wouldn’t know that from the current exhibition of five artists at Tate Millbank.
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