Reviews by Shoshana Kessler
KALEIDOSCOPE: The Vanished Reality
Shoshana Kessler
KALEIDOSCOPE has consistently played with the concept of an 'exhibition', and The Vanished Reality takes this further, the pieces themselves manipulating the norms of exhibiting. Forming the last ...
8 years ago
KALEIDOSCOPE: The Vanished Reality
KALEIDOSCOPE: It's Me to the World
Shoshana Kessler
The most recent stage of Modern Art Oxford's KALEIDOSCOPE exhibition takes its name from Richard Long's phrase: "My footsteps make the mark. My legs carry me across the country. It's like a way of ...
8 years ago
KALEIDOSCOPE: It's Me to the World
Idomeneo
Shoshana Kessler
Garsington Opera is now in its 28th season. Established in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams, it was originally held in Garsington Manor in Oxford, before relocating to Wormsley Park in 2011. We were there to ...
8 years ago
Idomeneo
Rusty Bicycle
Shoshana Kessler
The Rusty Bicycle sits in pride of place on the corner of the best two streets in Oxford (Magdalen and Hurst). It holds claim to potentially the best outdoor seating in the city, and certainly the ...
8 years ago
Rusty Bicycle
Mystics and Rationalists
Shoshana Kessler
Baths, sharks, floating doors. There is a sense of the subverted real - being "inside the mirror"- in the third instalment of Modern Art's Oxford year-long Kaleidoscope exhibition.
The ...
8 years ago
Mystics and Rationalists
A Moment of Grace
Shoshana Kessler
Modern Art Oxford | KALEIDOSCOPE: 'A Moment of Grace' The title for the next progression of Modern Art Oxford's 50 year anniversary series is 'A Moment of Grace'. A phrase taken an observation ...
9 years ago
A Moment of Grace
Elizabeth Price: A Restoration
Shoshana Kessler
Elizabeth Price's A Restoration is the result of a £60,000 award for the 2013 Contemporary Art Society award. Eighteen minutes long, the video reveals two years of foraging and negotiating the ...
9 years ago
Elizabeth Price: A Restoration
Acanthus at the Randolph Hotel
Shoshana Kessler
I arrive at The Randolph early to indulge in as much high-class comfort as possible (free water). Sadly, the building is still working through the ravages of the fire, so I don't get the thrill of ...
9 years ago
Acanthus at the Randolph Hotel
Big Narstie, Fekky
Shoshana Kessler
I'm being bashed around the floor, and a large topless Big Narstie is chanting BDL BDL BDL to a host of chirruping masses. BDL, or Base Defence League, is the name of Big Narstie's tour. I'm a ...
9 years ago
Big Narstie, Fekky
The Oxford Imps
Shoshana Kessler
We're only ten minutes late, and the upstairs of the Wheatsheaf is already so busy that we can't see the stage. I can hear it though, and improv, as everyone knows, is all about the delivery. And ...
9 years ago
The Oxford Imps
Queen Anne
Shoshana Kessler
The Royal Shakespeare Company (unsurprisingly) seeks to connect 'Shakespeare's world' with the modern day in its choice of production. As Shakespeare's writing essentially encapsulates the human ...
9 years ago
Queen Anne
Demijohn - The Liquid Deli
Shoshana Kessler
Review - Demi John tasting. 26/11/15 Oxford English Dictionary: Demijohn: 'A large bottle with bulging body and narrow neck, holding from 3 to 10 (or, in extreme cases, 2 to 15) gallons, and usually ...
9 years ago
Demijohn - The Liquid Deli
Rewilding Scotland [U] + Q&A with George Monbiot
Shoshana Kessler
Friction Talks are a new collective in Oxford, offering small and intimate talks with artists and academics. Their most recent (and sold out) event saw Guardian writer and environmental activist ...
9 years ago
Rewilding Scotland [U] + Q&A with George Monbiot
Zappi's Bike Café
Shoshana Kessler
Zappi's Bike Café on St Michael's Street has recently begun a grand renovation. The previously snug and packed space has been replaced by a larger – yet still consistently packed – room. The ...
9 years ago
Zappi's Bike Café
Oxford Blue Smokehouse
Shoshana Kessler
The Oxford Blue Smokehouse is the newest meat joint in the Cowley area. The owners – who also run a smokehouse in Witney – have recently expanded into Oxford, taking the place of the old Oxford ...
9 years ago
Oxford Blue Smokehouse