Premiums 2011

Yesterday the Royal Academy of Arts opened Premiums, its annual exhibition of postgraduate students in their second year at Royal Academy Schools. This is the public's chance to predict the Big Names of the future and to buy an artwork for as little as £250. Archie Franks' Fuseli (2010) is an example of what to expect. It makes me despair of contemporary art. Remember, Franks had to graduate from an art college before he could apply to study at the RA. After five years of study, he produces an oil painting that a 6-year-old could paint! Obviously a potential Big Name. The show continues in the Sackler Wing of Galleries until 20 February (title link). Admission is free.