Lisbon Art Guide - October

After a busy September full of new exhibitions, it’s time for even more events. What I recommend, is to follow and visit various art festivals in the city. Besides the one which I mention below, check out Temps d'Images Lisboa, which is dedicated to performative and visual arts in an experimental and interdisciplinary way. Secondly, doclisboa a film festival with the aim to search for a freedom in film and explore the new problems that cinematic image implies.

I

Exhibition: 8.ª Abertura de Ateliês de Artistas
Artists: Various Artists
Venue: Various Locations 
Dates: 13th to the 15th of October, 2017

Between 13th and 15th of October there will be an amazing opportunity to visit artists studios in Lisbon. It’s eight edition of the event, which is called 8.ª Abertura de Ateliês de Artistas and there are more than eighty participants opening their ateliers in order to introduce visitors to what they do. It will be great opportunity for research about Portuguese artists of all mediums, styles and age. Also, perfect occasion to learn more about not touristic spots and neighborhoods of the capital.

8.ª Abertura de Ateliês de Artistas

II

Exhibition: Sottile sfumatura di rumore
Artist: João Ferro Martins
Venue: Galeria 3+1 Arte Contemporânea 
Dates: Until November 11th, 2017

Sottile sfumatura di rumore is a solo exhibition by João Ferro Martins, one of my favourite Portuguese artists. In this project he transformed the gallery space into a film set, full of unpredictable objects, making connections between them and his previous artworks. Visiting it is like a game, a puzzle for the viewer, what happened here or what will happen in the future? The works reflect a rich universe and the disquieting formal exploration that Ferro Martins pursues in sci-fi, technique, notions of performance and art history in a production that points generically to cinematographic practice. 

3+1 JFM Untitled -green light 2017.

III

Exhibition: Bill Fontana. Shadow Soundings. 
Artists: Bill Fontana
Venue: MAAT- Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia
Dates: Until December 2nd, 2018

In Oval Gallery of MAAT visitors can find a new sound and video installation by American artist, Bill Fontana, which was created especially for Lisbon. The exhibition space is built of seven projections with dynamic sound and a livestreaming video component. Fontana used sonority from the 25th of April Bridge which crosses the Tagus river (iconic symbols of Lisbon) and amplified them until they acquired a musical quality. 

Bill Fontana. Shadow Soundings. 2017.MAAT.

Los Angeles Art Guide - October

I.

Exhibition: No Title
Artists: Bernd and Hilla Becher
Venue: Sprueth Magers
Dates: Until October 21st, 2017

Bernd and Hilla Becher present “a language of heavy industry” in a typographic and poetic fashion where form and function are at play within each individual photograph and structure. A near perfect example of abstraction in repetition, the architecture becomes sculptural and the formalism comes alive. They create beauty from structures typically not considered beyond their function, nor even considered architectural entities in their own rights, yet the photo studies somehow create visually and conceptually beautiful urban landscapes.

Bernd and Hilla Becher @ Sprüth Magers

II.

Exhibition: wave form walks the earth
Artist: Elaine Cameron-Weir
Venue: Hannah Hoffman Gallery
Dates: Until November 4th, 2017

 
Elaine Cameron-Weir’s wave form walks the earth, possesses a dystopian, futuristic and simultaneously medieval narrative. Made of chain mail, her hanging piece, Dressing For Altitude (2017, Pewter, stainless steel, leather, sandbag) references the body or the body that could have once worn such a costume. When looking, one becomes almost obsessively aware of weight - the weight of the metals, weight of the sandbag that holds it mid-air, the weight of all of this on top of a human body. Visceral, formal, these sadomasochistic leather bindings and metallic mechanisms are aestheticized and eroticized.  

Elaine Cameron Weir @ Hannah Hoffman

III.

Exhibition: No Title [Group Show]
Artists: Thomas Demand, Katharina Fritsch, Robert Gober, Brice Marden, Ken Price, Martin Puryear, Charles Ray, Paul Sietsema, Anne Truitt, Terry Winters
Venue: Matthew Marks Gallery LA
Dates: Until October 21st, 2017

Matthew Marks’s group show presents an array of sculptural and wall works that all somehow play with lifelike forms and color. One of the highlights of the exhibition is Katharina Fritsche’s Still Life 7 (2017), in which a yellow statue of Saint Aloysius stands modestly next to a black-painted apple, strawberry and seashell. Each of these items in black represent the feminine and also the temptations of the chaste Saint. It is the velvety pigment that is the most mesmerizing of visuals – inviting to the touch. The second highlight is Ken Price’s Fung (2009). Whether considering his shapes, materials, or process, our consideration of Price’s sensual sculptures take on an otherworldly allusion, while directly referencing our own organs and the corporal forms we recognize in ourselves. It’s the brilliant variety of color that enraptures and ensnares.

@ Matthew Marks

IV.

Exhibition: No Title [Group Show]
Artists: Various Artists
Venue: Regen Projects
Dates: Until October 28th, 2017

The group show at Regen Projects presents a sprawling, cultural dialogue between two great artists and makers. Abraham Cruzvillegas and Gabriel Kuri have curated a very necessary, very insightful artistic history of the Latin American cultures that define our city and impact culture worldwide. Ariel Schlesinger’s Bubble Machine, an engaging kinetic sculpture, utilizes humor to call one’s attention to violence, something that rings true especially in our current political climate. Cuban Samba, by Simabuku, elegantly brings together found materials. A simple arrangement of a tin can that emanates the sounds of raindrops on metal, he recalls the memory of a beautiful chance encounter and creates a poetic sculptural installation out of something that typically points towards damage and destruction.

@ Regen Projects

Take a tour with Sharón in LA to discover more!

The Oh-So-Arty Side of Shanghai's Fashion Week

Shanghai Fashion Week is approaching and it means that besides long lines for fashion shows, gorgeous, androgen models and bizarre and uber trendy fashion victims you also get to check out some new fashion activities crafted under the independent platform- Labelhood. I already mentioned it last season, that the real fashion week happens here and not in the official Shanghai Fashion Week tents. Lablehood is a great example of how government institutions recognized the potential of China’s new emerging design scene and truly support and fund that potential. Within this alternative event Labelhood offers a holistic experience of fashion presentation, fashionable art exhibitions, live concerts and a super cool market selling branded Labelhood products. These guys know what they are doing. Here is a what you need to be prepared for between 12-15 of October if you are in town. 

I.

The Flocks
October 12th to October 15th
Labelhood

The Flocks are a brand that offers daily dress and accessories for young hipsters. Each season they try to capture their creative process within some experimental output- videos, photos, magazines and performance. This season their exhibition will revolve around the topic of partying. They chose to reflect on the notion of human interaction through the carpet as an object that both fixes people in their position but also liberates new forms of expression. You will see some cool interpretations on carpet like fashion objects/products and live performance to maximize the whole experience. Join the Flocks!

II.

Studio Aubruino
October 10th to October 15th, 2017
Labelhood

Studio Aubruino is a newly designed studio founded by Aubrey and Chih Chiu. Both artists attended London universities, Central Saint Martins and  Royal College of Art, respectively. They are showing their exploration of addiction. Their approach is very cool as they compare 60-70’s cyber punk to the current “Appelomania”. From the radical experimentation of back then to the minimal design approach of the iPhone which brought us technology packed in sleek conservatism. They will show the absurd and satiric side of technology and human progress, and of course, clothing.

III.

Angel Chen
October 15th, 2017 at 20:00
Labelhood

Angel Chen is probably one of China’s more curious designers. She is described as Chinese Punk, by the local press, but she could easily be credited for being globally cool. Having trained at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College in London, Angel was named as one of the “Top 5 graduate designers of the year” by i-D magazine, before going on to work for fashion houses Alexander Wang, Marchesa and Vera Wang. Now based in Shanghai, Angel Chen shows collections in London, Milan, Paris and across Asia. Last season she put up a mini quirky concert with Petite Meller and other awkwardly wonderful people to show her collection. This year, she is going back to traditional fashion presentation, though for a punk, nothing is traditional, so let’s see which subculture she going to hunt this time.

IV.

Staff Only
October 14th at 18:30
Labelhood

Staff Only is a pretty cool brand, founded by designers Wen Ya and Zhou Shimei, both studied in London and worked for renowned fashion houses, Alexander Mcqueen, Tom Ford and more. Since they founded Staff Only, these two have rocked deconstructed, radical and cutting edge reflections on the modern life uniform. Quite conceptually and sometimes humorous they challenge gender, urbanism and bring a fresh breeze to the Shanghai fashion scene. This season they are carelessly turning their models and probably us into fishermen- “Catch More Fish” inspiration images and show invite make me want to put on water resistance boots and hop in a river! 

V.

Asian Dope Boys
October 13th at 23:00

Asian Dope Boys, Tianzhou Chen's power house of music performances, parties, fashion label and platform for unique experiences are hitting Shanghai Fashion Week again. Last April they put up one of the best shows in SHFW with a radical collection presented on the coolest kids in town in collaboration with Zebra Katz. This time they are having a multitude of unique live performances. When in Shanghai, be high.

Take a tour with Hadas in Shanghai to discover more!
 

Jerusalem Art Guide - October

If you are visiting Jerusalem this October, the choices for unique art events and exhibitions around the city are in abundance. A few must see events include Manofim Art Festival and The Jerusalem Biennale, but below I’ve narrowed it down to a few events not to be missed. 

I.

Exhibition: Alternative Topographies
Artist: Avner Sher
Venue: Tower of David Museum
Dates: October 8th to November 16th, 2017 

This massive installation on the roof of the Tower of David examined the tension between eternal and the transient, a metaphysical and concrete characteristic of Jerusalem. Avner Sher researches, examines and observes the complexities that result from this tension. The exhibition contains two series, made intensively from worked cork, which refer to the constant state of change and development in the city.  

Image: Avner Sher, Alternative Topographies

II.

Exhibition: Letters to Fritz and Paul
Artist: Inas Halabi
Venue: Al Ma’Mal Foundation for Contemporary Art
Dates: October 11th to November 24th,  2017 

The exhibition explores the expeditions of the Swiss second cousins, lovers and scientists, Fritz and Paul Sarasin who ventured across the Dutch and British colonies as well as parts of Africa and the Middle East between 1893-­1907. Working with original material from the Ethnographic Museum of Basel's archives, Halabi explores the relationship between colonialism and science, ethnographic objects and their collectors, and the settings in which these objects have been placed.

Image: Inas Halabi, Letters to Fritz and Paul

III.

Exhibition: Manofim Contemporary Art Festival
Artist/s: Various Artists    
Venue: Various Venues
Dates: October 24th to October 28th, 2017

This is the 9th annual Manofim Festival for contemporary art, a week which includes a night of exhibition openings throughout the galleries in the city and special events like gallery talks, thought provoking seminars and performances. A word from Manofim founders, Rinat Edelstein and Lee he Shuluv: “ We invite you to take a moment and linger on the city from this unique place, which overlooks the city with a stunning panoramic view. This year, the Festival’s opening night will take place entirely on Mount Scopus. In the following four days, we will wander through the inner parts of the city in the hope to answer the question: “What are we doing in this place? The question “What do we do with art?” which leads the Festival’s annual conference, is revisited in this time of political instability, social and environmental changes, and local and international cultural revolutions.”

Image: Neil Folber Gallery Taking Measures

Image: Ronit Agassi at Ticho House, Jerusalem

Take a tour with Jenna or join her public tour of the Jerusalem Biennale to discover more!

Warsaw Art Guide - October

I.

Exhibition: Love, Memory, Curiosity
Artists: Alicja Bielawska, Tymek Borowski, Magdalena Karpińska, Olga Micińska, Shana Moulton, Katarzyna Przezwańska, Mikołaj Sobczak, Stach Szumski, Nomadic State
Venue: Polana Institute in Geological Museum
Date: until November 6th

Love, Memory, Curiosity is the first exhibition of contemporary art at the Geological Museum. It shows contemporary art as yet another stage of evolution, with the title referring to the words of Charles Darwin: “the difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind.” Love, memory, and curiosity are common to humans and animals.

The idea for the exhibition was born out of fascination with the function and space of the Geological Museum, where nature becomes a history that needs to be preserved for future generations. Visitors usually struggle to grasp the immense durations of geological eras; the exhibition artists deal with this exercise in geological imagination by incorporating magic and surrealistic elements in their art.  For me the interior of the Geological Museum is the opposite of the white cube. Observing the art object of young artist in such surrounding was a very refreshing and stimulating. 

Magdalena Karpinska_Love, Memory, Curiosity_exhibition view_2017. Photo by Bartek Górk

II.

Exhibition: Views 2017
Artists: Ewa Axelrad, Przemek Branas, Agata Kus, Honorata Martin, Łukasz Surowiec
Venue: Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
Date: until November 12th

Views 2017 is the eighth edition of the competition for young artists, organized by Deutsche Bank Polska S.A. and Zachęta – National Gallery of Art. The committee led by painter Paulina Ołowska selected five finalists. Participating in this year’s Views are artists born between 1984 and 1987, representing various regions of Poland, whose art is linked by a shared interest in humanity — both in the individual, as well as in the social perspective.

The show is a good occasion for an overview of contemporary young art in Poland. This years edition is special because of its vivid comment on the actual political and social reality. 

Honorata Martin „Wikiup”, Zachęta, fot. Marek Krzyżanek

III.

Exhibition: Early Polishness
Artists: Katarzyna Przezwańska
Date: until November 4th

In the gallery window Katarzyna Przezwańska shows a handmade diorama made from paper, depicting the area of Warsaw about a hundred million years ago. The capital of Poland was overgrown with palms and subtropical forest inhabited by dinosaurs. The area was located closer to the equator. The artist sums up, shortly- Poland was better before it was Poland. Przezwańska focuses on the time before humans, escaping from Anthropocene.  

Katarzyna Przezwańska, Early Polishness, by B. Górka. Courtesy of Fundacja Sztuki Polskiej ING

Take a tour with Zuzanna in Warsaw to discover more!