BP Portrait Award 2018 at the National Portrait Gallery, 14th June to 23rd September 2018

An Angel at my Table by Miriam Escofet is a worthy winner of the BP Portrait Award for 2018. But all is not what it seems in this painting. There are clues that something else is going on. Why is the statuette blurred and the tea plate have a double image? And who is the second cup meant for? To my eye, this is a painting with a hidden narrative that has so far gone unremarked.

Cézanne Portraits, The National Portrait Gallery, 26th October 2017 to 11th February 2018

A pivotal figure in the history of western art, Cézanne is best known for still-lifes and landscapes. But throughout his life, Cézanne also painted portraits of those closest to him – his wife, family, friends and himself. These portraits though divide opinion. For some, Cézanne captures the physical presence of his sitters. But for others, these portraits are not likenesses, but studies drained of life by obsessional deconstruction. This exhibition successfully provides the opportunity to enjoy these works but fails to offer any new insights into Cézanne’s paradoxical portraits.