Royal Academy, Piccadilly – Summer Exhibition 2011

Realising that I had left it rather late this year (it closes on 15th August) I took myself off to Piccadilly to spend a quiet 60 minutes surveying this years’ contemporary arts delights. Walking past the cool fountains of water in the forecourt, I was stopped in my tracks by the huge sculpture “Maquette for Rainbow Division Memorial” by James Butler. It depicts a soldier carrying his dead comrade and is very moving. I was particularly pleased to note that the date of my visit (and also my birthday) – 26th July – featured on its inscription.

Unlike some exhibitions, I like the Summer Exhibition as it is so relaxed and informal and feels as if art has been crammed into every available space. I am sure that there is some rhyme and reason to the way that over 1,100 pieces are laid out but to me it feels like a higgledy-piggledy collection from someone’s shed. It’s hard to focus your attention as both the walls and floor space are littered with paintings and objects – some of them beautiful, a few of them odd and some distinctly weird.

In the first room, I was struck by a large blow up doll encased in baby blue plastic titled “Think Pink” by Allen Jones and “Endless sugar” by Cornelia Parker which was 30 pieces of silver plate flattened by a 250 ton press. I thought how difficult it would be to dust if it graced my home. But then again, I don’t think I’d want 30 flat sugar bowls suspended from my ceiling.

For the record, the pieces that I particularly liked:

Marina on white (Mona Kuhn) – A soft and atmospheric nude on a white sun-dappled bed. I was tempted to buy but the £10,000 price tag was a deterrent.

Anthony Green – I spied three of his works – they were not displayed together but easily identified by his distinct style and unusually shaped canvasses. The first was Summer Landscape, Autumn Lovers which was a delightful triangular painting. Older lovers doing what comes naturally in the quiet sunshine.

Deep impact (Keith Tyson) – An explosion of red and vibrant colour on aluminium this was a vast piece and very dramatic.

Mirjam, 2001 (Julian Opie) - A simple representation of a pregnant woman in blue holding an apple. I don’t know what it was about this picture that I liked – but it stuck in my brain for some reason.

Binary Rhythm (James Hugonin) – This piece reminded me of Bridget Riley’s optical illusion work. A large expanse of seemingly random dots that looked quite different depending on whether you were near or far.

Gaddafi’s Tent 2011 (Stephen Farthing) – The colours in this oil painting were rich. I also thought it was funny to see Kit Kats featured and the lyrics of Billie Holliday’s Strange Fruit on the computer screens were touching.

Bombus Terrestris (Odile Kidd) – A perfect painting of a Bumble Bee mid-flight. Now this is unquestionably a brilliant artist.

Tree (Stephanie Carlton Smith) – Bronzes were always a favourite of mine and I liked this one set at an angle in acrylic. Simple and dramatic.

Evening Light (Scott Mead) – Another tree – but this time in fantastic detail on a huge, round canvas – another temptation to buy, but at £10,000 still out of my league.

What God of love inspires such hate in the hearts of men (Tim Shaw) – This strange black sculpture of wax, steel and polythene was mildly disturbing. But compelling.

Are you ready for harvest? (Silvio Zivkovic) – A few strands of wheat, artfully sculptured in metal, hiding a skull. You couldn’t help feel moved by this piece.

Dog in a bin (Simon Brundret) – This sculpture made me laugh out loud. It’s a greyhound like dog with his nose stuck into a kitchen bin. It captures the essence of the scavenging, opportunistic and naughty family pet precisely.

So there's something for everyone - no matter what you taste, whether you like traditional oil paintings, funky sculptures or art that conveys a deeper religious or philosophical meaning. So what caught your fancy this year? And remember that there is an App for it!