London Art Guide - June

June is the last push for most art professionals, we have been running around everywhere and we cannot wait for our summer holiday! Here are three exhibition choices to gain energy from. 

I.
Exhibition: Focusing Room
Artists: Adolf Luther, Alberto Biasi, Heinz Mack, Christian Megert, Nicolas Schoffer, Peter Sedgley, Nanda Vigo
Venue: Art Circle 48 Albemarle Street London W1S4DH
Dates: 19 May - 9 June, 2017


It's a wonderful way to plunge into the art of the 1960s and 1970s. While we may all know Donal Judd, most of the artists in this show are still relatively unknown, which is a crime given how meaningful they are to this time. This whole generation of artists was fascinated by light and perception. The artists saw themselves as geeky researchers in the field of optics which we can tell while walking around all these optical and lighting illusions. 

II.
Exhibition: Juicy Bits
Artist: Tristan Pigott
Venue: Cob Gallery, 205 Royal College Street, London NW10SG
Dates: 8 June - 1 July, 2017


The kind of people that Tristan Pigott depicts are our real contemporaries. People who are attuned to the way that self-image is constantly chopped up, repackaged and beamed back at us through the wires and lenses of our modern culture. Go and see it, you will never hold your iPhone the same way again. 
 

III.
Exhibition: Procedures & Materials
Artists: Scarlett Bowman, Will Thomson, Alexandra Lethbridge, Leni Dothan and Jessica Thalmann
Venue: Online! https://collectionair.com/exhibitions/75-procedures-materials
Dates: Until 24 July, 2017


Not all exhibitions have to be experienced physically, we are, after all in a time of progress. Here is a great online exhibition by curator Ariane Belisle discussing processes and materials with a group of young artists. In the mid-1960s, process became a marked theme within the history of art. Rooted in the Dada movement and Abstract Expressionism, materials, procedures and facture began to take precedence over the final work. Eschewing the fabricated modular units of Minimalism, the artworks intentionally left exposed traces of their creation. Echoing the common refrain ‘it’s the journey, not the destination,’ Procedures & Materials follows in this tradition, investigating new processes in art.

- by Marine Tanguy

Zurich Art Guide - June

The international art world is soon to descend upon the city for Zürich Art Weekend (10 & 11 June), a precursor to Art Basel the following week (13–18 June), and Zürich’s galleries are preparing stellar shows to greet them. 

I. 
Exhibition title: For Evergreen
Artist: Thomas Flechtner
Galerie: Bildhalle
Dates: Until 24 June. 2017


My breath caught when I entered Bildhalle’s bright white lofty space, punctuated with large-scale colour photographs by Thomas Flechtner (b. 1961, Switzerland). Vibrant colours, seeping into lurid, alongside glimpses of nature felt just right to accompany summer’s arrival in the city. But any sense of purity soon receded - things were not quite what they seemed. 

Flechtner’s exhibition, For Evergreen, combines photographs from different series made over the last 10 years - Bulb, Germs, Leaves, Grasses and News. The obvious connection is nature, but these are predominantly artificial landscapes. When looking at Germs No. 8, for example, I imagined delicate shoots of grass growing from islands of red flesh floating on a bright blue lake. What was this place? I learnt that this landscape is wholly constructed - the artist had dipped cotton balls in red ink and placed them on a mirror reflecting the sky. Both confusing and compelling, Flechtner also plays with scale, further mystifying his works’ origins. In another piece, News, the artist cultivated seeds in his garden, and germinated the vegetation over 100 international newspapers, which he assiduously watered. Over time, the newspaper print faded and receded as nature took over. The straight photographs document an aesthetic and ideological dialogue between the green shoots and the news images and text below. 

The works continue to surprise, wherever Flechtner has intervened with the environment, creating tension between what is natural and man-made. 

Thomas Flechtner, News, 2010
© Thomas Flechtner, Courtesy of Bildhalle

II.
Exhibition title: Press ++
Artist: Thomas Ruff
Galerie: Mai 36
Dates: 9 June – 29 July, 2017


Since the late 1970s, having famously studied with Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1977 alongside Thomas Struth, Candida Höfer and Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff (b.1958, Germany) has been exploring the internal structures of the photographic medium and questioning the construction and meaning of an image. 

Press ++ includes photographic prints Ruff collected over many years - American and Japanese press photographs from the 1930s to 1970s, which span politics, society, science, technology and fashion. For this series, he scanned the front and backs of each found photograph and merged the two sides in a single image. The results include images of astronauts, airplanes, car crashes and film stars interrupted by pressroom scribbles, stamps, ink stains and pencil drawn crop guidelines. 

Looking at these pieces reminded me of my days working with Magnum Photos, poring over boxes of vintage press prints, where the backs with all their stamps, scribbles and fingerprints were often more intriguing than the images themselves. Observing Ruff’s works on this vast scale (224 x 185 cm), being able to inspect the rough notations, transports us back to the heyday of photojournalism, which holds special meaning in today’s digital age. However, the scale of the works takes them into a different realm from press prints – they have a formidable presence and a contemporary aesthetic. As with earlier series, Ruff makes us contemplate the authenticity and meaning of a single image. 

Thomas Ruff, Press ++32.64, 2016
© Thomas Ruff, Courtesy of Galerie Mai 36

III.
Exhibition title:  No title
Artist: Danny Lyon
Galerie: Edwynn Houk
Dates: 24 May – 29 July 2017


It’s difficult not to enter this exhibition with a great deal of expectation. Danny Lyon (b. 1942, USA) is such a cult figure, thanks to his seminal works from the 1960s on the Civil Rights Movement (“The Movement”, 1964) and the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club (“The Bikeriders”, 1968). 

Lyon is best known for creating a new style of documentary photography by embroiling himself in the lives of his subjects. He would get close, very close! Most notably, when he was only 23, he joined the Chicago Outlaws, a group maligned for living free of the conventional expectations of society. The resulting photographs, alongside his earlier work covering the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement, led to his association with the “New Journalism” of Hunter S Thomson and Truman Capote in the late 1960s / early 1970s. Even the intrepid Hunter S Thomson, however, wrote him a letter warning him against staying with the Chicago Outlaws: “Dear Danny, I think you should get the hell out of that club unless it’s absolutely necessary for photo action”. Lyon’s belief that documentary photography was a powerful instrument of truth seems somewhat old-fashioned and romantic today (think Ruff’s conceptualizing of the “truth” of an image), however his non-conformist attitude produced gritty and intimate imagery, which inspired generations of younger photographers.

Far from outdated, I found these images highly relatable at what feels like a moment of intensified political and racial tension globally. Arrest of Taylor Washington, Lebs Restaurant, Atlanta, 1963 (image below) is a salient image of a violent police clash with a young black student, which could just as easily have been taken today. In his Bikers photographs, such as Memorial Day Run, 1966 (image below), we can connect with their sheer defiance and sense of freedom. 

It is definitely worth following with a visit to the Fotomuseum in Winterthur, to see Danny Lyon: Message to the Future (until 27th August), which has toured from the Whitney Museum of American Art (NYC) and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. 

Arrest of Taylor Washington, Lebs Restaurant, Atlanta, 1963
© Danny Lyon / Courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery Zürich

Memorial Day Run, Milwaukee, 1966
© Danny Lyon / Courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery Zürich


Header Image: Thomas Ruff, press++21.04, 2016
© Thomas Ruff, Courtesy of Galerie Mai 36

- by Diana Poole

Jerusalem Art Guide - May

Exhibition Title: Perspectives of Protest & In The Body of Wood 

Venue: Jerusalem Print Workshop

Dates: On view until June 30, 2017. 

The Jerusalem Print Workshop’s exhibitions are always a fascinating glimpse into the  progress of printmaking in Israel’s current artistic trends, as well as a celebration of printmaking in Israel’s history. Two current exhibitions celebrate the influence of Israeli printmaking Jacob Pins, who worked primarily with woodcuts, 100 years after his birth.

Perspectives of Protest highlights the work of the second generation of woodcut artists in Israel, some of whom were Pins’ students. These works from the 21st century convey various expressive forms of criticism, revolution and protest typical of the woodcut medium in modern art.  

In The Body of Wood presents the works of the winners of the Jacob Pins Prize for an Israeli Graphic Artists. This exhibition indicates the medium’s continuity and its renewed blossom since the 1980s. Awarded every two years since 2008, each winner presented in In The Body of Wood presents a body of work that unravels the process of form and content present in printmaking and reflects on the medium’s contemporary relevancy. 

Alexander Vojik From Iphone to Pushkin

Exhibition Title: The Day When Nothing Happened

Venue: Art Cube Artists’ Studios

Date: On view until June 30t, 2017. 

A collaboration between Polish artist Magdalena Franczak and Israeli artist Yael Frank. These two artists first collaborated on an exhibition from two years ago at Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Poland. Now, they return to work together, reflecting on the dialogue between the two artists who are physically and culturally far away yet examining the possiblity of a joint artwork that cracks in the process.

Exhibition view of The Day When Nothing Happened

Exhibition title: Thou Shalt Not

Venue: Museum on The Seam 

Dates: Opens May 12, 2017

Faith that seeks to strictly preserve the boundaries and laws of Jewish tradition has always experienced difficulties coping with rapid changes around it, whereas contemporary art serves as a mirror depicting our times and their constant change. It seems that lately and interaction is taking place between these two worlds, however faith and art will continue to seek the path between confrontation and reconciliation. This group exhibition serves as a bridge while helping us understand this renewed discourse and brings together these two worlds through the powerful messages that the artists choose to convey to us. 

Aaron Weiner "Attack of Satan" collage 2014

Exhibition title: Eat, Fall Apart, Collect

Venue: Beita Jerusalem 

Dates: On view until May 19th

Eat, Fall Apart, Collect presents the songs of Cheli Tal Shalem, an Israeli bibliotherapist and poet, printed on a translucent platform and presented on the windows in the exhibition space; along with the paintings of Yael Oren and videos of chef and restaurateur Omer Tal documenting the preparation of small portions of food using modern cooking techniques. All of these works come together to provide discourse on one subject: food. Food is a distinct memory agent, a geographical messenger carrying with it ethnicity and culture. The transition from nourishment to food is complex, and in the paintings, poems and videos, the danger of dissolution from one to the other, a shattering and longing for a festive nourishment, is present in an illusionary yet relatable revelation. 

Yael Oren, "Four Elements"

Brussels Art Guide - May

I.
Exhibition title: BORIS TELLEGEN, a friendly takeover
Artist: Boris Tellegen
Venue: Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (MIMA), Quai du Hainaut 41, 1080 Bruxelles
Dates: Until May 28, 2017

A monumental and playful installation in situ, spread over 3 floors, crosses 20 years of work, from the street to the museum, by Boris Tellegen aka Delta, the “Dutch Master” of graffiti.

II.
Exhibition title: YVES KLEIN, LE THÉÂTRE DU VIDE
Artist: Yves Klein
Venue: BOZAR, Rue Ravenstein 23, 1000 Bruxelles
Dates: Until August 20, 2017

After the prestigious Tate Liverpool, Bozar is hosting this exhibition by famous French artist Yves Klein. Klein became renowned thanks to his monochromatic works painted with the "international Klein blue". Like no one before him, his art expressed the idea of an infinite spirituality and his quest for the immaterial. Through his pictorial pieces and his spectacular performances, Yves Klein is considered to be a precursor of the Happening and Body Art movements. The exhibition presents outstanding pieces, some of which were never shown before, and offers to the public the possibility to discover this avant-garde artist.

III.
Exhibition title: POL BURY / TIME IN MOTION
Artist: Pol Bury
Venue: BOZAR, Rue Ravenstein 23, 1000 Bruxelles
Dates: Until June 4 2017

The belgian artist Pol Bury (1922-2005) is one of the founders of Kinetic Art. He started as a painter influenced by Magritte, and was also part of the artistic groups Jeune Peinture belge and CoBrA. He then decided to follow his own artistic path. Fascinated by the art of Alexander Calder, Bury explored the medium of sculpture and integrated movement in his pieces Thanks to a profoundly personal work, with a strong surrealist influence and a great sense of innovation, he became a key player in the Paris and New York art scenes, thus gaining an international recognition. 

Warsaw Art Guide - May

May is your last call to see many exciting exhibitions in Warsaw, from small solo shows to larger ones.

I.
Exhibition title: THE BEGUILING SIREN IS THY CREST
Artist/s:Korakrit Arunanondchai, Evelyne Axell, Alex Baczyński-Jenkins, Zdzisław Beksiński, Louise Bourgeois, Eugène Brands, Agnieszka Brzeżańska, Bernard Buffet, Claude Cahun, Liz Craft, Edith Dekyndt, Christian Dietrich, Leo Dohmen, Drexcyia and Abdul Qadim Haqq, Elmgreen & Dragset, Leonor Fini, Ellen Gallagher, Goltyr Painter, Justyna Górowska, Zdzisław Jasiński, Dorota Jurczak, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Birgit Jürgenssen, Tobias Kaspar, Marek Kijewski, Aldona Kopkiewicz and Mateusz Kula, Łukasz Korolkiewicz, Gina Litherland, Jacek Malczewski, Witek Orski, Sylvia Palacios Whitman, Pablo Picasso, Krzysztof Pijarski, Aleka Polis, Agnieszka Polska, Karol Radziszewski, Joanna Rajkowska, Carol Rama, Erna Rosenstein, Tejal Shah, Franciszek Siedlecki, Tomasz Sikorski, Penny Slinger, Juliana Snapper, Franz von Stuck, project „Warsaw’s Sirens” (Jacek Łagowski, Danuta Matloch, Katarzyna Opara, Aleksandra Schönthaler), Alina Szapocznikow, Stanisław Szukalski, Jerzy Bohdan Szumczyk, Wacław Szymanowski, Dorothea Tanning, Wolfgang Tillmans, Tunga, Anne Uddenberg, Aleksandra Waliszewska, Wojciech Wilczyk, Hannah Wilke, Ming Wong, Marcelo Zammenhoff, Anna Zaradny, Artur Żmijewski.
Venue: MUSEUM ON THE VISTULA/ MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Dates: Until 18 June, 2017 

This is the first exhibition at the newly opened pavilion of Museum of Modern Art. The show, the first ever of this scale to discuss the siren, aims to portray and activate its potential as a symbol. 
It combines different takes on hybridity, national identity and mythology. The exhibition can be read on many levels, everyone will find something for themselves.

II.
Exhibition title: Aneta Grzeszykowska, Zofia Rydet
HEAD, SKIN, FACE
Artist/s: Aneta Grzeszykowska, Zofia Rydet
Venue: Raster Gallery
Dates: Until 20 May, 2017

The joint exhibition of works by Zofia Rydet (1911–1997) and Aneta Grzeszykow­ska (born 1974) is a show of two artists who use the camera to con­struct cap­tivating and rhetorically rich images of the female body. The two artists express a similar allure of over­coming the two-imensionality of photography, in both time and space. The exhibition presents unique photographic items by Rydet from her Trans­for­mations cycle, and heads of leather sewn by Grzeszykow­ska.

III.
Exhibition title: GORDON PARKS: I USE MY CAMERA AS A WEAPON
Artist/s: Gordon Parks
Venue: Zachęta - National Gallery of Art
Dates: Until 21 May, 2017

Gordon Parks was born as the fifteenth child of Mr. and Mrs. Parks, he had to fight for survival, for jobs, for means to support his family, and finally he fought for African American civil rights. This monographic exhibition shows photographs, which are not only iconic but also are an attempt of fighting for human rights. 

- by Zuzanna Zasacka