Sylvia Vetta

Sylvia Vetta on a special Modern Art Oxford show

Sylvia Vetta says Fang Zhaoling’s collection of paintings are a delight

Sylvia Vetta marvels at the Ai Weiwei show at Blenheim Palace

Artist wants viewers to engage with his exhibition, states Sylvia Vetta

Sylvia Vetta sees how the palace is commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War

Oxford resident Dr Steven Parissien is director of the glorious Compton Verney. Opening its latest exhibition Turner and Constable: Sketching from Nature, he said: “The landscape oil sketch first appeared in British art in the 1770s, flourished during the first two decades of the 19th century pioneered by JMW Turner and John Constable and then effectively disappeared…”

Contemporary artist Stephen Willats’ connection with Modern Art Oxford (MAO) began in 1967 and this, his fourth MAO exhibition externalises the idea of networks of people. Stephen says his fundamental aims involve exploring relationships between people and his idea that connections are fundamental to civilisation.

Visit The Ashmolean and see the museum’s first major exhibition of contemporary art. Contemporary too is the smartphone technology available to enhance your experience of this outstanding exhibition. Some readers may be surprised that a Chinese artist, Xu Bing, has been chosen for this landmark event. Director Christopher Brown says that “The Ashmolean has possibly the best collection of post-war Chinese art outside of mainland China” acquired with the help of the Sullivan Fund.

What an apt title! Lights, Camera, Action! Blenheim’s special exhibition starts on February 9 when the palace reopens as the star of TV and film. The palace has become part of cinematic history as a jewel location for many films and TV dramas. One of the aims of this exhibition is to point visitors to the scene locations. Some are easy to recognise and others more surprising. For some scenes in The Young Victoria (2008), Blenheim doubled for Buckingham Palace while, in the same film, it became the Laeken Palace where King Leopold holds conversations with Prince Albert about the young Victoria played by Emily Blunt. Rupert Friend, who played Victoria’s husband Prince Albert, is now famous across the Atlantic for his role in series two of Homeland. Comments by him and some of the costumes from The Young Victoria are on display in the Long Library.

All Together Different is a great title for a collaborative exhibition, in a unique location, making a contribution to a rather special charity, Calibre (Talking books for the blind). The artist, Caroline Meynell, came up with the concept of inviting nine Oxfordshire-based artists, working in different media, to show their contemporary art against the background of a Tudor house. The Tudor house is, in fact, her home and so turning it into a gallery for four days, involves quite a lot of furniture moving!