Melbourne Art Guide - December

As summertime begins in Melbourne, many of the smaller galleries finish their last exhibitions for the year before taking a long holiday, while the larger institutions are opening their summer blockbuster exhibitions just in time for the holiday crowds. This year is no exception. The Heidi Museum of Modern Art is presenting Jenny Watson: The Fabric of Fantasy, a large survey exhibition of one of Australia’s leading female artists. The National Gallery of Victoria is presenting the inaugural NGV Triennial, an exhibition focused on art and design in the Asia-Pacific region. The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art is presenting Unfinished Business: Perspectives on art and feminism a large group exhibition surveying a diverse number of artists within a feminist scope. 

I.

Exhibition: Jenny Watson: The Fabric of Fantasy
Artist: Jenny Watson
Venue: Heide Museum of Modern Art
Dates: Until March 4th, 2018

Jenny Watson is a leading Australian artist whose conceptual painting practice spans more than four decades. Jenny Watson: Fabric of Fantasy is curated by Museum of Contemporary Art Curator Anna Davis and the survey features works from the 1970s to the present, including examples of Watson’s early realist paintings and drawings, and a number of key series of works on fabric. Many of Watson’s works feature self-portraits and alter egos, a cast of longhaired women, horses, ballerinas, rock guitarists and cats, who enact life’s ongoing psychodramas. 

Jenny Watson, Self Portrait as a Narcotic, 1986, oil, ink, animal glue and collage of paper on linen, courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, copyright the

artist.

II.
 
Exhibition: NGV Triennial  
Artists: over 100 artists and designers from 32 countries  
Venue: National Gallery of Victoria
Dates: December 15th, 2017 to April 15th, 2018

Featuring the work of over 100 artists and designers from 32 countries, the NGV Triennial surveys the world of art and design, across cultures, scales, geographies and perspectives. The NGV Triennial is a celebration of contemporary art and design practice that traverses all four levels of NGV International, as well as offering a rich array of public programs to coincide with the exhibition. 

Ntozakhe II, Parktown 2016. Courtesy the artist and STEVENSON gallery, Johannesburg.

III.

Exhibition: Unfinished Business  
Artists: over 50 various artists
Venue: Australian Centre for Contemporary Art  
Dates: December 15th 2017 to March 25th, 2018

Asking why feminism is still relevant, necessary and critical, Unfinished Business is a major exhibition conceived to animate these discussions around a selection of artistic practices. Adopting a collaborative, polyphonic form which encourages diverse voices, practices and debates, Unfinished Business presents new commissions and recent work alongside selected historical projects, programs of film and performance, and a publication. The exhibition aims to stimulate new debates and discussions around the ‘unfinished business’ of feminism today. The curatorial team for this exhibition includes: Max Delany, Annika Kristensen, Paolo Balla, Julie Ewington, Vikki McInnes, and Elvis Richardson .

Sarah Goffman, I am with you 2017 (detail), cardboard, permanent marker, approx. 7.0 x 7.0 m. Courtesy the artist. Photograph: Andrew Curtis

Banner image: Jenny Watson: The Fabric of Fantasy, installation view.

Book a tour with Charlotte in Melbourne to discover more!

Brussels Art Guide - December

I.

Exhibition: Jean Glibert. Peintre en bâtiment
Artist:   Jean Glibert
Venue: Bozar
Dates:  Until January 7th, 2018

Since the late 1960s the painter Jean Glibert (Brussels, 1938) has pursued a creative logic in his work that is close to that of the architect. From the method of finalizing the designs through to completion and reception by the client, his work displays the same principal characteristics. Like an architect, he too works on the constructive image of the environment. Push and pull, stresses and rhythms… are all present in his work. 

II.

Exhibition: Gilbert & George, The beard pictures
Artists:  Gilbert & George
Venue: Albert Baronian Gallery
Dates: Until December 23rd, 2017

Albert Baronian exclusivley presents in Belgium, Gilbert & George's very last series of works. This production approaches with humor and impertinence the phenomenon of beard as a sign of the times.

III.

Exhibition: Paul Wackers, Parts of everything that are pieces of everything are all around us
Artist:  Paul Wackers
Venue: Alice Gallery
Dates: Until January 26th, 2018

In these paintings of shelves, windows, and interior landscapes, forms range from non-representational layers of abstract paint to discernible objects. While Wackers creates an illusionistic construction of space with subtle angles and perspectival lines defining depth, a physical dimensionality is built through varying levels of paint application.  

Take a tour with Jacinthe in Brussels to discover more!
 

Paris Art Guide - December

I.

Exhibition: William Forsythe x Ryoji Ikeda
Artists:  William Forsythe and Ryoji Ikeda
Venue: Grande Halle de la Villette
Dates: Until December 31st, 2017

You have one month to merge into the impressive large-scale light installation by Japanese sound artist Ryoji Ikeda that just opened at La Villette. The piece is the latest iteration of Ikeda's test pattern project, in which the artist converts electronic music into binary barcode patterns, in real time. The installation goes with a piece by choreographer William Forsythe, also reflecting about the body in space and time.

II.

Exhibition: Etre moderne : le MoMa à Paris (Being Modern: MoMa in Paris)
Artists: Various artists
Venue: Fondation Louis Vuitton
Dates: Until March 5th, 2017

Etre moderne : le MoMa à Paris is one of the big exhibitions opened last October during Fiac week. The Fondation Louis Vuitton again demonstrates its strike force in the art world by bringing 200 MoMa masterpieces by Cézanne, Malevich, Calder, Joseph Beuys, Yayoi Kusama and others. The exhibition tells the story of modernity in the 20th Century, and how New York won the challenge over Europe thanks to powerful acquisitions. If you haven't seen it yet, Christmas in Paris is a great occasion!

III.

Exhibition: Lucien Hervé, Bâtisseur d'ombres
Artists: Lucien Hervé
Venue: Galerie Maubert
Dates: Until December 23rd, 2017

Maubert gallery invited me to co-curate a Lucien Hervé exhibition that I must recommend, even more if you're fond of photography and architecture. Lucien Hervé (1910-2007) was Le Corbusier's official photographer. He documented the construction works of Chandigarh, Marseille and Oscar Niemeyer's Brasilia. We decided to bring these famous pictures together with a more intimate part of his work, where his mastery with lines, shadows and composition shows. Take the occasion to shop Christmas gifts in the shape of witty, original artist editions at GDM just across the street. 

Take a tour with Judith in Paris to discover more!
 

Insider Tips for Collecting Contemporary Art

Our local guide in Brussels, Jacinthe Gigou, does not consider herself a collector and yet she has many insights about finding and purchasing art that uplifts and inspires. Explore the pieces she has personally selected to surround herself with and learn why they are significant to her. 

Image: © Morgane Delfosse

What is your personal philosophy when it comes to collecting art for yourself?

I am not a collector, I just like to have some pieces around me in my daily life. I have always been fascinated by art, even more so by artists. Owning one of their pieces also evokes for me their personality or a memory shared with them. Art uplifts and inspires me.

Can you tell us about one of your favorite pieces you have collected?

There are several I like a lot. They often touch on themes of time and disappearance. 

1. I like vanities and their representations, making permanent something ephemeral. The graffiti artist Steve Locatelli, from Antwerp, paints skulls and crossbones more than anything else. This one almost taunts us with its smile, but it is brightened up by the vivid colours and the roses that surround it and comprise it. I think it is beautiful, it calms my fears, haha!

Work by Steve Locatelli. Image © Morgane Delfosse

2. Here is a piece by Léopoldine Roux, from Brussels, who often bases her work on old documents, in this case a postcard of a forest in Beirut onto which she has painted a host of coloured dots. It has a strange beauty; the perspective makes it almost architectural. 

Work by Léopoldine Roux. Image: © Morgane Delfosse

3. Piotr has a way of depicting skies and nature which evokes the great Classical painters for me. The materials he paints on can be very unusual everyday things, in this case a vinyl record painted on one side.

Work by Piotr. Image: © Morgane Delfosse

4. This ceramic piece by Evor, from Nantes, is a sort of neo-rock, somewhere between a meteorite and an organic shape. I love ceramics because it reveals the void.

Work by Evor. Image: © Morgane Delfosse

5. This photo by Michel François, from Brussels, shows a detail of a book being passed from one hand to another. It was taken in Cuba in the aftermath of a hurricane. The hurricane’s victims are hurriedly recovering some of their belongings amid the wreckage of their homes. Saving a book is a very powerful symbol.

Work by Michel François. Image: © Morgane Delfosse

What is your advice for other contemporary art collectors today?

Follow young artists and creators.

Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series with our other local guides.

Take a tour with Jacinthe to learn more about her taste and contemporary art in Brussels!

Milan Art Guide - December

I. 

Exhibition: Leon Golub
Artists: Leon Golub
Venue: Fondazione Prada Milano
Dates: Until January 15th, 2018

The exhibition is part of a research program of the Chicago art scene in the post-war period, presented at Fondazione Prada as a unique project.  Through the expressive force of his painting, Golub shows us the brutality of imperialism, encouraging us to take a moment to think about the dramatic reality represented on the canvas. A reflection relevant for this moment, now more than ever.

II. 

Exhibition: Bill Viola alla Cripta del San Sepolcro
Artists: Bill Viola
Venue: Crypt of San Sepolcro
Dates: Until January 28th, 2018

The oldest underground church in Milan has reopened to the public presenting an extraordinary exhibition of Bill Viola in its Crypt, showcasing three video artworks that create a living dialogue between the space and the themes the artist has explored in his works. A unique experience in the heart of Milan, thanks to the location and the masterful installation of the works.

III. 

Exhibition: Sol LeWitt Between the lines
Artists: Sol LeWitt
Venue: Fondazione Carriero
Dates: Until June 23rd, 2018

Fondazione Carriero presents a retrospective of Sol LeWitt that aims to explore the relationship between the artist’s work and the architecture. All the artworks are displayed starting from the peculiarities of the spaces of the Foundation in order to investigate and rethink the concept of site-specificity. A must to see!

Take a tour with Sara in Milan to discover more!