Francis Bacon is internationally acknowledged as among the most powerful painters of the twentieth century. His vision of the world was unflinching and entirely individual, encompassing images of sensuality and brutality, both immediate and timeless. When he first emerged to public recognition, in the aftermath of the Second World War, his paintings were greeted with horror. Shock has since been joined by a wide appreciation of Bacon’s ability to expose humanity’s frailties and drives.

This major retrospective gathers many of his most remarkable paintings and is arranged broadly chronologically. Bacon’s vision of the world has had a profound impact. It is born of a direct engagement that his paintings demand of each of us, so that, as he famously claimed, the ‘paint comes across directly onto the nervous system’.

Francis Bacon exhibition at Tate Britain, 26 September 2008 - 4 January 2009

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The period after the Second World War was one of anxiety and tension but also one of great optimism and unprecedented technological development. This exhibition examines how design was shaped by the cold war period against the backdrop of the battle between communism and capitalism, the advances of the space race, and the international competition to be modern.

Concentrating on the years from 1945 to 1970, the exhibition displays objects from around the world including the USA, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Italy, France, East and West Germany, Cuba and the UK.

Home - Cold War Modern - Victoria and Albert Museum

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Rather than spending GBP 12,5 on the Rotho exhibition, spend a mere GBP 8 on Meireles. This Brazil born installation artist surprises by the interactivity of his work. Many of his installations and setups are meant to be walked in, out, over; which makes a nice change from the “Please do not touch” signs you find at art exhibitions world wide.

Meireles’ father being an Indian, you’ll notice how he gets inspired by the colonisation era of his home country, as well as contemporary politics.

Meireles feels that good art should move you instantaneously. I’m not saying I experienced this with his every work, but some of them certainly captured my attention (or my toes!) immediately.

Should you still be in London before Jan 11th, then visit.

Tate Modern| Current Exhibitions | Cildo Meireles

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Last weekend, I visited the Rothko exhibit at the Tate Modern in London. Well, although Rothko is off course a very respected artist and although he remains very important in the development of abstract art, the exhibition merely confirms this; nothing more, nothing less.

I have seen Rothko’s work as I know it from numerous photos, art publications, documentaries, etc… It’s always nice to see his paintings in life size, but quite frankly: that is not worth paying GBP 12,5.

Maybe you are a very big Rothko fan and are dying to see yet another of his exhibits (OK, the exhitib revolves around the Seagram murals, so that might be something new for you), then, go, otherwise spend your money on the Meireles exhibition.

Mark Rothko exhibition at Tate Modern, 26 September 2008 - 1 February 2009

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Amazon Link: African Masks: From the Barbier-Mueller Collection (Art Flexi Series)

The Musée Jacquemart André is currently showing the masterpieces of the Barbier-Mueller collection of African and Oceanic art. That collection is considered to be the most beautiful showcase of primitive art in the whole world.

The exhibition continues until August 24th. (more…)

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S.M.A.K., Vooruit and 5VOOR12 npo are challenging the summer with the first edition of Electrified. It will be a pioneering cooperation, and will resound in musical and artistic circles.

For years, the three partners have been in each other’s proximity, but they will only meet each other for the first time this year in Electrified. The meeting place is the border territory between the visual arts, the art of sound and electronics. The result of the encounter: an innovative project including an exhibition and a live programme, linked to the night happening by 10 Days Off in Vooruit during the Festival of Ghent.

(more…)

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Organised by the New york-based Scope Foundation, this event for ‘young’ artists hits Basel a day earlier than the main art fair. It returns for the second year to Basel in a new venue, a 60,000 square foot glass pavilion situated on the Rhine. Within walking distance of Art Basel 39, SCOPE will present its most international fair yet, showcasing 85 galleries from all over the world.

More info: www.scope-art.com

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On Friday 25 (18-22 pm), Saturday 26 (10am-6pm) and Sunday 27 (10am-6pm) April 2008 you can visit the third edition of ‘Art Route Leuven’.
During these three days about 40 artists in Leuven open their studio to you.
The editions 2006 and 2007 were a big success. With thirteen new artists this edition will be still more interesting and varied.
‘Art-route-Leuven’ gives you a unique opportunity to explore the places where artists are active. Discover their creations, sources of inspiration, techniques, atmosphere and work processes. And don’t hesitate to ask questions: the focus lies on the meeting between artist and public.
With the map you can plan a route along the studios of your choice. You can visit as many artists as you want following your own choice.
Get inspired, watch and enjoy. And who knows: perhaps you will take home the work of art of your dreams.
You’ll find the free printed leaflet and the map at the artists’ studios, at ‘In&Uit Leuven’ and at the principal cultural centres in Leuven (from the beginning of April).
You can also find the map, the addresses and the pictures on this website (in Dutch): www.kunstroute-leuven.be.

Opening hours:

Friday 25 April 2008: 18-22 pm
Saturday 26 April 2008: 10am-6pm
Sunday 27 April 2008: 10am-6pm

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Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Francis Picabia were at the cutting edge of art in the first half of the twentieth century, and made a lasting impression on modern and contemporary art.  Duchamp invented the concept of the ‘readymade’: presenting an everyday object as an artwork, Man Ray pioneered avant-garde photographic and film techniques and Picabia’s use of kitsch, popular or low-brow imagery in his paintings undermined artistic conventions.

Their shared outlook on life and art, with a taste for jokes, irony and the erotic, forged a friendship that provided support and inspiration. At the heart of the Dada movement and moving in the same artistic circles, they discussed ideas and collaborated, echoing and responding to each other’s works. Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia explores their affinities and parallels, uncovering a shared approach to questioning the nature of art.

• Where: Tate Modern, London
• When: 21 Feb -  26 May 2008

(Source: Tate Modern website)

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Spanish artist Juan Muñoz (1953-2001) came to international prominence in the mid 1980s with dramatic sculptural installations that placed the human figure in specific architectural environments. His reputation was built on his power to create an intriguing tension between the illusory and the real, the contrasting acts of looking and receiving, and the poignant isolation of the individual amongst a crowd. This exhibition includes well-known sculptures such as Many Times (1999), The Prompter (1988) and Conversation Piece (1996), the “raincoat drawings”, and important pieces with sound, light and mechanical elements.

Where: Tate Modern, London

When: 24 January  –  27 April 2008

(more…)

Categories: Events