Andy Warhol at The De La Warr Pavilion

I was surprised to see that The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill is currently playing host to an Andy Warhol exhibition, and a very impressively curated one at that. Displayed over three floors in the historic pavilion that overlooks the seafront, the exhibition guides viewers through a detailed journey of Andy Warhol's varied works and accurately documents the influences behind each stage of his artistic career. I would usually expect to see a Warhol exhibit hanging within a major London gallery, but instead it was a joy to visit the De La Warr exhibition so free from crowds and chaos; even when I turned up on Saturday morning the rooms were still quiet.

It was interesting to learn that Warhol's obsessions included not only the infamous commodification of celebrity and American culture, but also the subject of assassination and death, which hugely explains his fascination with skulls and guns. His eye-catching works ranged from huge photographs, to drawings, to prints (see my dodgy i-phone pics) and the exhibition was colourful to say the least. In one room his huge prints of hamburgers and army prints were juxtaposed against a wallpaper of Warhol's pink cow.

The exhibition will be on display until Sunday 26th February and it's well worth the visit. Entry is free, however a £2 donation is requested.

The Most Scandalous Muses in Art History

Flavorpill have written a fascinating account of the 'enchanting, free-spirited, tortured men and women' that inspired artists to do great work. Ranging from Marie-Therese Walter whose love affair with Picasso influenced his emotive Cubist style, to Francis Bacon's twisted companionship with his gay lover George Dyer all the way to Leonardo Da Vinci's patient servant Gian Giacomo whose serenity and calm translated into beautiful portraits. They tell a curious story of the true influence behind these great works of art. Definitely worth a read.

Nan Goldin

Nan Goldin is an example of an artist who works at the most intimate level: her life is her work and her work, her life. It is nearly impossible to discuss Goldin's photographs without referring to their subjects by name, as though the people pictured were one's own family and friends. It is this intimate and raw style for which Goldin has become internationally renowned. Her "snapshot"-esque images of her friends -- drag queens, drug addicts, lovers and family -- are intense, searing portraits that, together, make a document of Goldin's life. Goldin herself has commented on her photographic style and philosophy, saying, "My work originally came from the snapshot aesthetic . . . Snapshots are taken out of love and to remember people, places, and shared times. They're about creating a history by recording a history."

Life-like Illustration by Cath Riley

As an artist aiming for ultimate realism, you know you've got it right when viewers double take. In the case of Cath Riley, I would not be surprised if she fooled the lot. Her skin-tight illustrations appear so much like photos you really do have to look twice. Applying the simple medium of pencil to paper, Riley creates exquisitely detailed hand-drawn portraits, focusing specifically on depictions of the flesh and the human body with a confident definition I've never witnessed before. Riley has recently exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition with commissions from big brands such as The Economist and Nike.

Pop-Art Mountains

These colourful photographs were taken by Mexican artist Sara Marjorie Strick who plays with layering and textures to create captivating images of mountainscapes. Through the contrasting materials, Strick seems to be demonstrating nature's magnificent colour palette, by positioning the images as paintings against the equally bright man-made fabrics. The prints are fairly kitsch in style with hints toward Pop-Art. I can safely say Andy Warhole would have loved these.

Lake Baikal Land Art

Whilst we're somewhat used to seeing art crafted upon some rather unusual canvases, nothing quite beats the latest project by Land artist Jim Denevan. Spanning 31-km-sq, Denevan's project is a 'drawing' on the frozen surface of the Siberian Lake Baikal, in the form of beautifully symmetrical crop circle designs. The series of patterns are actually based on the Fibonacci sequence; a number pattern present in many of nature's forms. As is the way of the natural world, Denevan's drawing dissolved after a few months, but his works were captured on film by Director Meredith Danluck for the Art Hard documentary, screened at The Nevada Museum of Art.