The press preview of the Rothko show at Tate Modern in London was heaving and noisy – a foretaste of things to come when it opens to the public on Friday. It's well worth seeing, but – as Adrian Searle points out here – the hang has well and truly stripped Rothko of the mystery, spirituality and religiosity with which his work is often associated. Whereas the Rothko Room at Tate Modern has low lighting and the feel of a chapel, this exhibition puts Rothko out into the cold light of day. OK, not literally into daylight, but into the clear, clean, bright glare of rationality. Like the secrets of a conjuror's tricks exposed, a fascinating section of the show looks at the painstaking way in which Rothko created his marvellous effects – revealing the graft and sheer technical skill of the artist. I loved it – but I loved Tate Modern's recent Cy Twombly show, which had me unexpectedly in tears in the gallery, better.
