Exhibition Edit: Mosse and Matisse

It's bank holiday. And it's raining. Why not pop into one of these fantastic exhibitions over the weekend? Oh, and the degree shows are kicking off too. I'm going to try and find time to see what Central St Martins final year students have been up to.

The Enclave - Richard Mosse

Richard Mosse

Captured by the fucia pink landscapes of Deutsche Börse Photography Prize winner Richard Mosses’ series The Enclave, it's too easy to mistake the photographs as fun, fluffy, fodder. But remove the rose tinted specs, read the blurb and discover how the jarring colour palette alerts the viewer to the overlooked humanitarian disaster of The Congo war.

Mosse documents The Congo’s fertile scenery which has remained unscarred by a conflict that has claimed the lives of 5.4 million people since 1998. Mosse shot the images using infrared colour film, used by the military to identify camouflaged targets by revealing infrared light reflected from green foliage in vivid shades of pink. 

The Photographers Gallery until 11th June. Free.

The Snail - Mattisse from Tate

 Matisse

So friendly and fun, Mattisse’s The Cut-Outs will warm the cockles of the most critical of these queue-for-an-hour blockbuster exhibitions popping up in London’s galleries.

A Godfather of the art world, Matisse made the Cut-Outs in the in the last 17 years of his life, swapping the paintbrush for a pair of scissors when he became less mobile.

With the help of his assistants, Matisse explored scale and composed his pieces by pinning and re-pinning directly on the wall of his studio. He drew with a piece of charcoal bound to a long stick to match the scale of the wall canvas, resulting in pure, fluid lines.

The primary colour popping shapes of marine life and dancers featuring on small paper studies to vast stained glass windows is hands down well worth the wait.

The Tate Modern until 7th September. £18.