Messy Lines
Ever since accidentally falling into a History of Art degree at university, I've had a passion for art. After one too many conversations about why art has value, I started writing Messy Lines. I try and make things a bit clearer for the casual observer in the hope that maybe they will go to see some art they otherwise may not have done. Couldn’t ask for a better city than Liverpool to do it from, really.
Review: Fearless Creatures, The Gallery
Review: Fearless Creatures
The Gallery, until July 7th
Words, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
Club kids, whether in photos, films or occasionally on the streets of London’s Soho,...
Review: Ericka Beckman & Marianna Simnett, FACT
Ericka Beckman & Marianna Simnett, FACT, until 16th June
Words, Julia Johnson, Messy Lines
These five works by Ericka Beckman and Marianna Simnett cover over three...
Review: Broken Symmetries
Broken Symmetries, FACT, until March 3 2019
Words & pictures, Julia Johnson
Particle physics: undoubtedly astounding, yet frequently utterly bewildering. It’s one thing to understand that...
Guest publication: Messy Lines: Why I Write
Guest publication:
Messy Lines: Why I Write
Why should we care about art? To us readers of and contributors to an art magazine, the answer to...
Review: Caroline Coon: The Great Offender
Caroline Coon: The Great Offender, The Gallery, until 27th May
Words & Pictures, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
Caroline Coon’s first ever solo exhibition makes its statement...
Review: Viking: Rediscover the Legend
Viking: Rediscover the Legend, The Atkinson, until Saturday 7th July, £5
Two of the loveliest pieces in Viking: Rediscover the Legend are saved for the...
Review: From Warhol to Walker, at The Atkinson
From Warhol to Walker: American Prints from Pop Art until Today
The Atkinson, until 10th March
Words, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
It was perhaps inevitable that Andy...
Review: The Pier Head – Tom Wood
The Pier Head – Tom Wood
Open Eye Gallery, until 25th March 2018
Words, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
It’s one of my favourite things about living in...
Review: John Piper at Tate Liverpool
John Piper
Tate Liverpool, 17th November - 18th March 2018
Words, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
John Piper is a Very British Artist. In our current age, this...
Review: Ice Cream for Crow (Captain Beefheart weekender at Make. North...
Ice Cream for Crow (MAKE North Docks, Event Sunday 12th November, work on display Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th 2-8pm)
The city of Liverpool puts...
Review: Lubaina Himid at Walker Art Gallery
Lubaina Himid “Naming the Money”
Walker Art Gallery, until 18th March 2018
Words, Julia Johnson
It’s an awkward but undeniable fact that considerable parts of Liverpool’s past...
Review: Aleksandra Mir: Space Tapestry, Tate Liverpool
Aleksandra Mir: Space Tapestry
Tate Liverpool, until 15th October
Words, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
Space: The Final Frontier. As science and technology erode the mysteries of the...
Review: Pierre Henry: Liverpool Mass
Review: Pierre Henry: Liverpool Mass
Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Saturday 13th May 2017
Words, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
It’s a rare treat, to be able...
Review: Larissa Sansour: In the Future, They Ate From the Finest...
Larissa Sansour: In the Future, They Ate From the Finest Porcelain
Bluecoat, until 24th June
Words, Julia Johnson (Messy Lines)
What do we really know about the...
Review: Public View at Bluecoat: Why it Matters
Public View at Bluecoat, until 23rd April
Words, Julia Johnson, Messy Lines
Happy birthday Bluecoat. 300 is quite an age to reach: it makes it the oldest...
Review: Art of Solidarity: Cuban posters for African liberation
Think of the words “revolution” and “1960s”, and most of us think of Peace and Love. But in most of the world at the time, “revolution” meant something much more serious.
Review: Will Self: The Roy Stringer Memorial Lecture
Will Self: The Roy Stringer Memorial Lecture
FACT, 10th November 2016
Words, Julia Johnson, Messy Lines
It’s about the point where he’s comparing artists who collaborate with...
Review: No Such Thing As Gravity, FACT
No Such Thing As Gravity
10th November 2016 – 5th February 2017, FACT.
Words & Images, Julia Johnson, Messy Lines
For all that they are usually pigeonholed...
Review: Kelly Hayes: The Image Affect
Kelly Hayes isn’t criticising the domestic or familiar, but she does make us pause and check whether what we’ve got is all it seems.
Review: Gifts for the Gods: Animal Mummies Revealed
Gifts for the Gods: Animal Mummies Revealed
World Museum, until 26th February 2017, free
Words, Julia Johnson, Messy Lines
Most people’s understanding and recognition of the Ancient...
Review: Utopia Deferred at Corke Gallery
Utopia Deferred
Corke Gallery, until 9th September 2016
Words, Julia Johnson, Messy Lines
Look at any great human civilization and you can’t help but notice that people...
Review: Of Angels and Demons by Ernesto Muniz
These works have all been created since Ernesto Muniz arrived in the UK in July, and the results are a delight for the senses.
Review: Suzanne Treister HFT: The Gardener – Liverpool Biennial 2016
Software plays an increasing role in our lives, but the line between lived reality and that presented to us by lines of code is increasingly difficult to define.
Review: Liverpool Biennial 2016 at ABC Cinema
Every two years I get to explore a city space in a new way, and this year the ABC Cinema on the corner of Lime Street is a highlight. How many times have I walked past this building and never given it a second thought?
Review: Di-Andre Caprice Davies and Leasho Johnson, Jamaican Pulse at Bluecoat
When it comes to Jamaican visual art, our understanding is more limited. Most of what we are familiar with as Jamaican visual culture comes from album covers or postcards. Why don’t we know about what’s going on in the studios, or on the streets?