Talk | Behind the Lens: Johnnie Shand Kydd in conversation with Louisa Buck
6 - 7pm
£18 (£16.20 For Friends and other concessions)
[ Talk )
Buy Tickets >Join photographer Johnnie Shand Kydd and art critic Louisa Buck for an illuminating discussion exploring the creative energy and personal dynamics of the Young British Artists (YBAs) in the 1990s. This event accompanies our major exhibition Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists and will explore Shand Kydd’s candid photographs, currently on view, that capture the intimacy, spontaneity and cultural spirit of a defining moment in British contemporary art.
From studios and private views to beach holidays and bar nights, Shand Kydd’s photographs offer a rare, insider perspective and portrait of the group of artists that came to symbolise ‘Cool Britannia’. Discover how these images reflect not only friendships and collaborations, but also how art and life were often one and the same for the YBAs.
The conversation will also explore Shand Kydd’s more recent photography projects in Naples and Suffolk, expanding on his continued interest in place, people and community.
The event will include the opportunity for a Q&A at the end.
This talk is part of our new monthly series of Thursday Lates. Visitors are invited to enjoy our galleries and visit this season’s temporary exhibitions including Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists after hours and engage with other activities throughout the evening including a show and tell in the library, tour and drop-in life drawing workshop.
Johnnie Shand Kydd
After 13 years working as an art dealer for The Fine Art Society in Bond Street, Johnnie Shand Kydd decided he needed a career change becoming a photographer in the mid 90s. His first subjects were the Young British Artists who he informally chronicled working in their studios and partying late at night. This project culminated in the publication Spitfire, Thames & Hudson, 1996 and in the Royal Academy’s commission to provide artist portraits for their Sensation catalogue in 1997. His next long-term project was a study of the Italian city of Naples. The resulting images were published in Siren City, Other Criteria, 2009 and shown in museums both in Naples and London. Other projects have included photographing the last 21 surviving service men from the First World War and recording the fragile ecosystem on the Bawdsey Peninsula in Suffolk where he spends much of his time.
Louisa Buck
Louisa Buck is a writer and broadcaster on contemporary art. She is a Contributing Editor and London Contemporary Art Correspondent for The Art Newspaper and a regular reviewer and commentator on BBC radio and TV.
She is the author of a number of catalogue essays for institutions including Tate, Whitechapel Gallery, ICA London, MCA Australia and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Her books include Moving Targets 2: A User’s Guide to British Art Now (Tate 2000); Market Matters: The Dynamics of the Contemporary Art Market (Arts Council England 2004) and Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector’s Handbook (co-authored with Judith Greer) (Cultureshock Media 2006). Commissioning Contemporary Art : A Handbook for Curators, Collectors and Artists was published by Thames & Hudson in October 2012 and in 2016 she authored ‘The Going Public Report’ commissioned by Museums Sheffield.
Louisa was a judge for the 2005 Turner Prize and is a founding member of The Gallery Climate Coalition.
