Arts Summary

November 9, 2018

Outrageous Ornament: Extreme Jewelry in the 21st Century at Katonah Museum of Art, through January 27, 2019

“Jewelry in one form or another has been around since the beginning of time. From prehistoric evidence of decorating the body with ornamental symbols made of found materials such as shells and bones and the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman use of newly discovered glass to the vibrant, multicolored, carved stone and gem-set gold ornaments of Renaissance Europe, jewelry announced a sense of identity and confirmed the status of the wearer. Most recently, and especially since the turn of the 21^st century, new, very bold, sometimes startling, and often outrageous ‘jewels’ have extended beyond our cultural expectations of personal adornment. The traditional boundaries that have for so many centuries defined body ornaments are reimagined – makers rethink it, remake it, ponder its place in history, and expand our definition of jewelry. This exhibition presents fifty examples of the most striking work being created today. The show features the work of Iris van Herpen from the fashion world, Joyce Scott, Jennifer Trask and Robert Baines – jewelers who use traditional materials in new ways, conceptualist Ted Noten, photographer Lauren Kalman, and Jonathan Wahl, artist, designer, and teacher, among many more international makers.” — Katonah Museum of Art

Robert Baines (Australian, born 1949). Yellow Giraffe bracelet, ca. 2012. Silver, powdercoat, electroplate, paint. 3 15/16 x 4 3/8 x 3 9/16 inches. Courtesy of Gallery Loupe

Gijs Bakker (Dutch, born 1942). Dewdrop neckpiece, 1982. Photo print, PVC, gilded brass. 19 ½ x 21 5/8 x 1/16 inches. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Helen Williams Drutt Collection, museum purchase funded by the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Family Foundation with love and in memory of Leah Grossberg, 2002.3591

John Baldessari (American, born 1931). Mr. Bluebird on My Shoulder (with Diamonds), 2013. Enameled silver, diamonds, metal, suede. 3 7/8 x 2 ½ x 3 7/8 inches. Private collection. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth, New York, and Marian Goodman Gallery

Naama Bergman (Israeli, born 1982, lives and works in Germany). Salt Necklace 10, 2018 Iron, salt Pendant. 1 3/16 x 6 7/8 x 5 1/8 inches, Chain 17 5/16 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Loupe

Daniel Jocz (American, born 1943). Pot Shots neckpiece from “An American’s Riff on the Millstone Ruff”, 2007. Formed aluminum, air brushed auto body lacquer, chromed copper and photograph on aluminum panel neckpiece. 12 x 25 ½ x 18 inches, photograph 36 x 30 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Lauren Kalman (American, born 1980). Lip Adornment from the series Hard Wear, 2006. Inkjet print, 23 x 35 inches. Courtesy of Sienna Patti

Ted Noten (Dutch, born 1956). Bitch Bag (Icepick Bag), 2005. Acrylic, ice pick, ring, cocaine, found handbag handle. 8 x 7 5/8 x 2 inches. Collection of Marion Fulk

Marjorie Schick (American, 1941-2017). Spiraling Over the Line, 2008. Canvas, paint, wood, copper alloy. 44 inches diameter. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri (The collection of Marjorie Schick) 2017.80.2

Joyce Scott (American, born 1948). The Sneak necklace, 1989. Beads and thread, 13 ½ x 11 x 2 ¼ inches. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Helen Williams Drutt Collection, museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Foundation, 2002.4077

Jennifer Trask (American, born 1970). Volute neckpiece, 2013. Antique frame, antler, 23k gold leaf. 14 x 16 x 4 inches. Private collection

Jennifer Trask (American, born 1970). Encroachment, 2013. Wood, gold leaf, gesso, antique frame fragments, bone, antler, calcium carbonate, druzy quartz, teeth, resin, mica. 32 x 24 x 7 inches. Courtesy of Gallery Loupe

Iris van Herpen (Dutch, born 1984). Chemical Crows, Skirt, Collar, 2008. Umbrella ribs, boat filament, yarn, leather, metal. 60 x 40 x 15 ¾ inches. Iris van Herpen Studio

Michael Gitlitz, KMA’s executive director remarks, “Even though Grace Kelly noted that, ‘A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls,’ the desire for ornament has been central to both men and women since the dawn of civilization. Ornamentation and jewelry have always served as one of the most important aspects of human expression and Jane Adlin has curated an extraordinary exhibition presenting the most innovative and sophisticated practitioners of this artistic form.”

Outrageous Ornament is organized by Jane Adlin, former curator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum, who is currently working on independent, international projects on wide-ranging topics about contemporary architecture and design.

Images courtesy Katonah Museum of Art.

November 8, 2018

Liu Ye: Storytelling at Prada Rong Zhai, Shanghai, November 10, 2018 – January 20, 2019

“Prada presents Storytelling, a solo show by Chinese painter Liu Ye curated by Udo Kittelmann, with the support of Fondazione Prada. The exhibition project shows the work of Liu Ye through a selection of 30 paintings realized from 1992 onwards. It will take place at Rong Zhai, a 1918 historical residence in Shanghai restored by Prada and reopened in October 2017.

Liu Ye expresses an intimate and sensual imagination, that feeds on heterogeneous sources related to literature, history of art and popular culture from the Western and Eastern hemisphere, giving rise to atmospheres which evoke introspection, purity and suspension. In the artist’s oeuvre the stylistic features of fairy-tales coexist with the sense of humor and a parodic vein.

Referring to his own artistic production, Liu Ye underlined that “every work is my self-portrait”. Combining different elements and sources, his paintings are generated by a plurality of creative forces: memory, observation, imagination and artistic education. All his works are pervaded by a certain ambiguity as they seem suspended between two worlds: reality and invention.

Within the decorated spaces of Prada Rong Zhai, Liu Ye’s enigmatic works acquire a new layer of meaning, engaging a dialogue with the architecture and the unique atmosphere of this historic, early 20th century mansion, which was originally conceived as a place of encounter between European and Chinese traditions.” — Fondazione Prada

Liu Ye. Bird on Bird, 2011. Acrylic on canvas, 22 x 48 cm. Wang Bing Collection, Beijing

Liu Ye. Romeo, 2002. Acrylic on canvas, 65 x 80 cm. Fu Ruide Collection, Netherlands

Liu Ye. Chet Baker, 2009. Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 cm. Private Collection, Beijing

Liu Ye. Miffy Getting Married, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 cm. Private collection, Berlin

Liu Ye. Book Painting No. 1, 2013. Acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 cm. Liu Lan Collection, Beijing

Liu Ye. Untitled, 1997-98. Acrylic on canvas, 170 x 200 cm. Private Collection of W. Tanoko, Indonesia

Liu Ye. Mondrian in the Morning, 2000. Acrylic on canvas, 180 x 180 cm. Private Collection, Beijing. Photo: Cao Yong (曹勇）

Liu Ye. Prelude, 2018. Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 cm. Private Collection, Beijing. Photo: Cao Yongc (曹勇）

Liu Ye. Book Painting No. 20, (Blossfeldt, Urformen der kunst, verlag Ernst wasmuth GMBH, Berlin, 1936), 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 37,5 x 52 cm. Private Collection, Beijing. Photo: Cao Yong (曹勇）

Liu Ye. The Goddess, 2018. Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45 cm. Private Collection, Beijing. Photo: Cao Yong (曹勇）

As Udo Kittelmann highlights, “I experienced his paintings as sensitive pictorial messages relayed between two worlds that are often viewed as contradictory: Western cultures versus Asian cultures. Even back then, Liu Ye’s paintings struck me as manifesting a dialectical constellation, for his work is not only interwoven in many ways with China’s manifold cultural developments; it also bears witness to a profound knowledge of the history of European culture and painting. His pictures are grounded equally in traditional Eastern and Western intellectual and artistic trends, conjoining the strengths of the past and the future.”

Images courtesy Fondazione Prada.

November 7, 2018

The Orléans Collection at New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), October 26, 2018 – January 27, 2019

“In celebration of the city of New Orleans’ Tricentennial in 2018, the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) presents The Orléans Collection, an exhibition of selections from the magnificent collection of the city’s namesake, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1689-1723). Universally praised during his lifetime, the exceptional collection was comprised of some of the most important works in the history of art. The Orléans Collection brings together, for the first time, a selection of masterpieces from institutions such as the National Gallery of London, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the National Gallery of Scotland to tell the story of the collection’s formation, its reputation, and its impact in early 18th century Paris.

The Orléans Collection situates Philippe II as the preeminent collector of his time. The astounding number of paintings recorded at the time of the Duke’s death—772—demonstrate the scope of his collection, which remained in his family for two generations until its sale in London in the 1790s during the French Revolution. Its dispersal represents a watershed event in the history of collecting, and contributed to the formation of Europe’s first public museums, among them, the National Gallery of London.” — NOMA

Paolo Caliari, called Veronese (Italian, 1528-1588). Supper at Emmaus, mid 1570s. Oil on canvas, 66 x 79 cm (26 x 31 1/8 in.. Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2571. Photographer: Studio Tromp, Rotterdam

Guido Reni (Italian, 1575-1642). The Meeting of David and Abigail, ca. 1615-20. Oil on canvas, 155.5 x 163.8 cm (61 1/4 x 64 1/2 in.). Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., 71.524

Godfried Schalken (Dutch, 1643-1706). Precious Recognized, late 1660s. Oil on panel, 44.2 x 31.2 cm (17 3/8 x 12 5/16 in.). National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Purchased 1898, NGI.476. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland

Francesco Albani (Italian, 1578-1660). Saint John the Baptist Seated in the Wilderness, ca. 1603. Oil on copper, 49.2 x 37.1 cm (19 3/8 x 14 5/8 in.). The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, The State Art Museum of Florida, Florida State University, Sarasota, Bequest of John Ringling, 1936, SN115

Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594-1665). Ecstasy of Saint Paul, 1643. Oil on panel,41.6 x 30.2 cm (16 3/8 x 11 7/8 in.). The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the State Art Museum of Florida, Florida State University, Sarasota, Museum purchase, 1956, SN690

Eustache Le Sueur (French, 1616-1655). Alexander and his Doctor, ca. 1648-49. Oil on canvas, 96 x 96 cm (37 13/16 x 37 13/16 in.).The National Gallery, London, Bought with the support of a number of gifts in wills, 1999, NG6576 © National Gallery, London / Art Resource, NY

Attributed to Guy Noël Aubry (French, 18th-century). Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, 1715-1723. Oil on canvas, 248 x 160 cm (97 5/8 x 63 in). Musée des Beaux Arts d’Orléans, Orléans, France, 842.3A © François Lauginie.

“Renowned at the time of the founding of the City of New Orleans, The Orléans Collection celebrates the artistic sensibilities of Philippe II,” said Susan Taylor, the Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of NOMA. “His legacy is his patronage of the arts: architecture, painting, music, dance and theatre. As an institution that is committed to celebrating all of the arts, it is fitting that NOMA takes on this project during New Orleans’ Tricentennial.”

Images courtesy New Orleans Museum of Art.

November 6, 2018

Luigi Valadier: Splendor in Eighteenth-Century Rome at The Frick Collection, October 31, 2018 – January 20, 2019

“The Frick presents the first monographic exhibition devoted to one of the important figures of eighteenth-century Italian decorative arts, Luigi Valadier (1726–1785). He was a talented draftsman, designer, goldsmith, silversmith, and bronze founder, using precious stones as well as enamel, wood and glass, to create whimsical and elegant works of art for noble clients. Luigi Valadier: Splendor in Eighteenth-Century Rome highlights Valadier’s oeuvre, presenting more than fifty objects as well as drawings that represent the breadth of his career. Never before has an American museum audience been able to view together so many examples of his production, with significant loans coming from public institutions as well as private collections in Europe and the United States.

As with the Frick’s highly acclaimed 2016 exhibition on Pierre Gouthière, this project allows the broader public to enjoy a much-needed study of a significant figure in the decorative arts whose imagination and skills made him one of the soaring figures in his time. In this case, the subject is Roman rather than Parisian, and the exhibition and book add dimension to a strong year of Italian programming at the Frick, which began this summer with an exhibition related to a commission by sculptor Antonio Canova and continues this winter and spring with shows on painters Giovanni Battista Moroni and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.” — The Frick Collection

Luigi Valadier. Herm of Bacchus, 1773. Bronze, alabastro a rosa, bianco e nero antico, and africano verde. H. 68 7⁄8 inches. Galleria Borghese, Rome. Photo: Mauro Magliani

Luigi Valadier. Herm of Bacchus (detail), 1773. Bronze, alabastro a rosa, bianco e nero antico, and africano verde. H. 68 7⁄8 inches. Galleria Borghese, Rome. Photo: Mauro Magliani

Luigi Valadier. Table with Dodecagonal Porphyry Top (one of two), 1773. Giallo antico, portasanta, bianco e nero antico, gilt wood, gilt bronze, and porphyry. 36 5⁄8 × 55 1⁄8 × 34 5⁄8 inche. Galleria Borghese, Rome. Photo: Mauro Magliani

Luigi Valadier. Caddinet (cadenas) with the Coat of Arms of Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, ca. 1785. Gilt silver. 4 x 14 7/8 x 11 7/8 inches. Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018

Luigi Valadier. Clock for Don Abbondio Rezzonico, 1765–70. Gilt bronze, shagreen, and other materials. Clock: 26 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches. Bracket: 12 5/8 x 13 3/8 x 8 5/8 inches. Private Collection

Luigi Valadier. Casket (cantinetta) for Wine Bottles with the Coat of Arms of Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, before 1788. Gilt silver, 13 × 13 3⁄8 × 9 inches. Giordano Art Collections, Italy

Luigi Valadier. St. Louis, ca. 1773. Silver and gilt metal, 48 × 13 × 15 inches. Cathedral of Santa Maria la Nuova, Monreale. Photo: Mauro Magliani

Luigi Valadier. St. Rosalia, ca. 1773. Gilt bronze and silver, 42 1⁄8 × 13 × 15 inches. Cathedral of Santa Maria la Nuova, Monreale. Photo: Mauro Magliani

Luigi Valadier. Egyptian Clock, 1785. Hardstones, various marbles, gilt bronze, and mosaic. 24 3/4 x 14 1/8 x 9 1/2 inches. Private Collection. Photo: Mauro Magliani

Luigi Valadier. The Triumph of Bacchus, 1780. Agate, alabaster, ancient hardstones, ancient glass paste, gold, gilt metal, and gilt bronze. 24 3/4 x 25 x 6 1/8 inches. Musée du Louvre, Paris © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. Photo: Les frères Chuzeville

Luigi Valadier. Reduction of the Temple of Mercury, ca. 1778. Lapis lazuli, amethyst, garnet, red porphyry, portasanta, green porphyry, and gilt bronze. 17 7/8 x 17 3/8 inches. Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid

The exhibition is curated by Alvar González-Palacios, who has dedicated most of his life to scholarship on the artist and is considered its foremost expert.

Images courtesy The Frick Collection.

November 5, 2018

Martha Rosler: Irrespective at Jewish Museum, November 2, 2018 – March 3, 2019

“Martha Rosler: Irrespective is a survey exhibition of the work of the influential artist Martha Rosler. Rosler is considered one of the strongest and most resolute artistic voices of her generation; she is also a prolific writer, lecturer, professor, and advocate for social justice. She skillfully employs diverse materials to address pressing matters of her time, including war, gender roles, gentrification, inequality, and labor. From her feminist photomontages of the 1960s and 1970s to her large-scale installations, Rosler’s vital work reflects an enduring and passionate vision.

Martha Rosler: Irrespective showcases both well-known and rarely seen selections from more than five decades of work. Installations, photographic series, sculpture, and video represent a practice continually evolving and reacting to the shifting contours of political life. Throughout, Rosler’s work has been characterized by intellectual rigor and sharp wit, along with a sense of urgency directed at social and political issues that remain as relevant and immediate as when they first emerged.” — Jewish Museum

Martha Rosler, Cleaning the Drapes, from the series House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, c. 1967-72, photomontage. Artwork © Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler, First Lady (Pat Nixon), from the series House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, c. 1967-72, photomontage. Artwork © Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler, A Gourmet Experience, 1974, Multipart installation with banquet table, video, slide projections, audio, books, and cookbook readings. Artwork © Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler, still from Semiotics of the Kitchen, 1975, black-and-white video, 6 min., 33 sec. Artwork © Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler, still from Vital Statistics of a Citizen, Simply Obtained, 1977, color video, 40 min. Artwork © Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler, Unknown Secrets (The Secret of the Rosenbergs), 1988. Detail. Artwork © Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler, Photo-Op, from the series House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, New Series, 2004, photomontage. Artwork © Martha Rosler

“Martha Rosler believes that art should teach, provoke, and motivate,” says Darsie Alexander, Susan and Elihu Rose Chief Curator at The Jewish Museum. “From her early photomontages to her pioneering feminist videos and her current work interrogating gentrification and income inequality, Rosler’s art is a call to action.”

Martha Rosler: Irrespective is organized by Darsie Alexander, Susan and Elihu Rose Chief Curator, with Shira Backer, Leon Levy Assistant Curator, The Jewish Museum, in close collaboration with the artist and her studio.

Images courtesy Jewish Museum.

October 31, 2018

Lydia Cabrera and Édouard Glissant: Trembling Thinking at Americas Society, through January 12, 2019

Lydia Cabrera and Édouard Glissant: Trembling Thinking is an exhibition that focuses on the ideas developed by the prominent Caribbean thinkers Lydia Cabrera (Havana, 1899-Miami, 1991) and Édouard Glissant (Sainte-Marie, Martinique, 1928-Paris, 2011). The exhibition presents modern and contemporary artists whose works respond to Cabrera and Glissant’s notions of literary ethnography, difference, opacity, and cultural multiplicity.

“Édouard Glissant was one of the most important writers and philosophers of our time. He called attention to means of global exchange that do not homogenize culture but produce a difference from which new things can emerge,” said Hans Ulrich Obrist. “His poems, novels, plays, and theoretical essays are a ‘toolbox’ I use every day in my praxis as an exhibition curator.”

“Lydia Cabrera not only pioneered the study of Afro Cuban traditions, which is a fundamental path for understanding the history and culture of the Caribbean, but examined its various creolizations,” commented Gabriela Rangel. “Cabrera was a self-taught polymath who should be paired to Glissant and who understood José Marti’s idea of the archipelago as a passage to the crossroads of the world. Trained as an artist in Paris in the 1920s, Cabrera’s mastering of ethnographical storytelling requests to be revisited by both artists and social scientists as anticipatory of the role of subjectivity vis-a-vis documentary truth.”

Lydia Cabrera reading, 1925. Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami Libraries, Coral Gables, Florida.

Wifredo Lam, Retrato de Lydia Cabrera (Portrait of Lydia Cabrera), 1940s. Oil on canvas board. 8.75 x 7.38 inches; 22.2 x 18.7 cm. University of Miami, Lowe Art Museum. Bequest of Lydia Cabrera, 91.0295.18. © 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

Mestre Didi (Deoscoredes Maximiliano dos Santos), EJO AWURU—Serpente da madrugada, 1980s. Palm frond, painted leather, shells, and beads. 11¾ x 22¾ x 5⅞ inches; 30 x 68 x 15 cm. Photo: Andrew Kemp. Courtesy of Almeida & Dale Galeria de Arte, São Paulo.

Etel Adnan, Hommage à Édouard Glissant, 2014. Paper. 13 x 4¾ x ¾ inches; 33 x 12 x 2 cm. Private Collection. Photo: Arturo Sanchez

Édward Glissant, Mounsieur Toussaint: A Play. Washington: Three Continents Press, 2005. Dedicated book. 9 x 6 inches; 22.86 x 15.24 cm. Photo: Arturo Sánchez.

Édouard Glissant, Poèmes Complets. Paris: Gallimard: 1994. Dedicated book. 8.13 x 5.5 inches; 20.7 x 13.97 cm. Photo: Arturo Sánchez.

Wifredo Lam, Homenaje a Jicotea (Homage to Jicotea), ca. 1943. Ink and colored pencil on tracing paper. 6¾ x 8¼ inches; 17.1 x 21 cm. University of Miami, Lowe Art Museum. Bequest of Lydia Cabrera, 91.0295.12. © 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

Matta, Untitled, circa 1938. Colored wax crayon and pencil on paper, 12.5 x 19.4 inches; 31.75 x 49.28 cm. Private collection.

Matta, Morfologia Psicologica Del Ataque, 1939. Graphite and crayon on paper, 22.6 x 28.6 inches; 57.5 x 72.7 cm. Private collection.

Amelia Peláez, Mujer con pez (Woman with Fish), 1948. Oil on canvas. 51 3/4 x 40 inches; 131.4 x 101.6 cm. Isaac and Betty Rudman Trust.

Julie Mehretu, Topoglyph (Mutation), 2015. Ink and acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 inches; 76.2 x 101.6 cm. Private Collection. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York. © Julie Mehretu.

Manthia Diawara. Édouard Glissant: Poèmes complets, 2017. Video; color, sound, 26:45 minutes. Courtesy of the artist.

Asad Raza, Untitled (Q.M. II), 2009. Inkjet pigment print. 43¼ x 27⅝ inches; 110 x 70 cm. Courtesy of Kathrin Jira.

Tania Bruguera, Destierro (Displacement), 1998 [2005 version]. Cuban earth, glue, wood, nails, and textile. Variable dimensions. Courtesy of the artist.

Lydia Cabrera and Édouard Glissant: Trembling Thinking is organized in partnership with the Cuban Heritage Collection of the University of Miami and curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, London), Gabriela RangeI (Chief Curator and Director of Visual Arts, Americas Society), and Asad Raza (Artist) with the assistance of Diana Flatto (Assistant Curator, Americas Society),

Images courtesy Americas Society.

October 27, 2018

Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at 60, November 5, 2018

In honor of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 60th anniversary, Artistic Director Robert Battle, Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, and choreographer Rennie Harris join in a conversation moderated by author and television producer Susan Fales-Hill that spotlights what truly makes Ailey so special. Ailey’s dancers will perform highlights from signature classics by Alvin Ailey, repertory favorites by Robert Battle and Jamar Roberts and commissioned premieres that continue to break new ground, including Wayne McGregor’s Kairos, and Rennie Harris’ Lazarus – the Company’s first-ever two-act ballet.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the New York City Center stage November 28 – December 30 for a season that has become a holiday tradition. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle during the Company’s 60th Anniversary celebration, Ailey’s extraordinary dancers will perform an expansive repertory of more than two dozen works, including the world premieres of Rennie Harris’ Lazarus and Ronald K. Brown’s The Call; the Company premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Kairos; new productions of ballets by Robert Battle and Judith Jamison; and Alvin Ailey’s timeless masterpiece, Revelations.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Gert Krautbauer.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Linda Celeste Sims and Glenn Allen Sims in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Andrew Eccles.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Yannick Lebrun in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

Members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Photo by Andrew Eccles.

Alvin Ailey in performance, c. 1950s. Photo by Zoe Dominic.

Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison. Photo by Andrew Eccles.

Artistic Director Robert Battle. Photo by Andrew Eccles.

Images courtesy Guggenheim Museum.

October 25, 2018

Edward Burne-Jones at Tate Britain, October 24, 2018 – February 24, 2019

“Tate Britain presents the first major Burne-Jones retrospective to be held in London for over 40 years. Renowned for otherworldly depictions of beauty inspired by myth, legend and the Bible, Edward Burne-Jones (1833–98) was a pioneer of the symbolist movement and the only Pre-Raphaelite to achieve world-wide recognition in his lifetime. This ambitious and wide-ranging exhibition brings together over 150 works in different media including painting, stained glass and tapestry, reasserting him as one of the most influential British artists of the 19th century.

Edward Burne-Jones charts his rise from an outsider of British art to one of the great artists of the European fin de siècle. Burne-Jones rejected Victorian industrial ideals, offering an enchanted parallel universe inhabited by beautiful and melancholy beings. The exhibition brings together all the major works from across his four-decade career, depicting Arthurian knights, Classical heroes and Biblical angels. Spectacular large-scale paintings like Love among the Ruins 1870-73 and The Wheel of Fortune 1883 shows his international impact, including at the 1889 Exposition Universelle when he emerged on the world stage as the leading light of symbolist art. Two rooms dedicated to the artist’s most famous narrative cycles are shown together for the first time. These huge canvases are among his finest and best-loved works, telling the action-packed story of Perseus and the dreamlike fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.” — Tate Britain

Phyllis and Demophoön, 1870.  Watercolour on paper, 93 x 47 cm . Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi, 1861. Oil paint on three canvases. Tate

Love among the Ruins, 1870-3. Watercolour, bodycolour and gum arabic on paper, 96 x 152 cm. Private collection

Laus Veneris, 1873-8. Oil paint on canvas,  1194 x 1803 mm.  Laing Art Gallery (Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums)

The Rock of Doom, 1885-8.  Oil paint on canvas,  1550 x 1300 mm.  Staatsgalerie Stuttgart

The Doom Fulfilled, 1888. Oil paint on canvas, 155 x 140 cm. Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart

The Briar Wood, 1874-84. Oil paint on canvas ,125 x 231 cm. The Faringdon Collection Trust

The Rose Bower, 1886-90. Oil paint on canvas,  125 x 231 cm. The Faringdon Collection Trust

Perseus and the Sea Nymphs (The Arming of Perseus), 1877. Bodycolour on paper, 1528 x 1264 mm. Southampton City Art Gallery

The Death of Medusa (II), c.1881-2.  Bodycolour on paper, 1525 x 1365 mm.  Southampton City Art Gallery

Sir Edward Burne-Jones; William Morris by Frederick Hollyer, platinum print, 1874 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Edward Burne-Jones is curated by Alison Smith, Chief Curator, National Portrait Gallery and Tim Batchelor, Assistant Curator, Tate Britain.

Images courtesy Tate Britain.

October 21, 2018

ON AIR: Tomás Saraceno at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, October 17, 2018 – January 6, 2019

“ON AIR is thought as an ecosystem in becoming, hosting a renewed choreography and polyphony between human and non-human universes, with artworks revealing common, fragile and ephemeral rhythms and trajectories between these worlds. As a hybrid organism, ON AIR builds itself with the myriad presences, visible and invisible, that meet and cohabit within it. Some voices are reduced into quietude, whilst others, usually less heard, are magnified. The exhibition performs a not-yet-audible hymn of the illegible ties between beings, the unspeakable togetherness of earthly and cosmic phenomena, a reality which is impossible to describe, but can maybe be felt. The works gathered reveal what resists our sight. This to build a space and a time in which our knowledge extends beyond what is visible, making tangible physically and virtually, the strength of the presences floating in the air and the way they affect us: from particulate matter to cosmic dust, from radio frequencies to sonic pollution. Thus, the invisible histories that tie us appear, those inviting us to rethink poetically the way we inhabit the world – and to reevaluate our way of being human. Supporting and promoting an interconnected culture, the show celebrates new modes of knowledge production and opens up to the debate and global challenges posed by the Anthropocene, a word proposed to define the current epoch we live in on Planet Earth, in which some human activities leave an impact so important that they modify the geological layers of our planet and its evolution.

It is especially through the activities of Aerocene, an interdisciplinary artistic project initiated by Tomás Saraceno, that seeks to reactivate a common imaginary to collaborate ethically with the atmosphere and the environment, that the visitors are invited to engage collectively in this exercise of planetary attunement. The carte blanche echoes Tomás Saraceno’s artistic practice as it reunites a great variety of collaborators and collaborations, bringing together scientific institutions, research groups, activists, local communities, musicians, philosophers, animals, celestial phenomena and visitors, who equally take part in the evolution of the exhibition as well. Workshops, jamming sessions with spiders, public symposiums regularly enrich the carte blanche and constantly transform Palais de Tokyo, metamorphosed for a few weeks in a vast ‘cosmic jam session’.” — Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, ON AIR Curator

All photos courtesy the artist; Andersen’s, Copenhagen; Esther Schipper, Berlin; Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genoa; Ruth Benzacar, Buenos Aires; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. Images courtesy Palais de Tokyo.

Palais de Tokyo invited Tomás Saraceno to take over the entirety of the 13,000 m. of its exhibition spaces for the fourth edition of its “Carte Blanche”. The Carte Blanche entitled ON AIR is his largest project to date, bringing a selection of his major works together with ambitious new productions that transform Palais de Tokyo into a uniquely sensory experience. Tomás Saraceno was born in 1973 in Tucumán, Argentina. He lives and works on and beyond planet Earth.

October 19, 2018

Pablo Reinoso: “L’Arche” through October 21 & “Le Cercle” through November 7, Paris

Pablo Reinoso presents two spectacular works in a public space with Waddington Custot: ‘‘L’Arche’’ in front of the Petit Palais and ‘‘Le Cercle’’ in the middle of the octagonal basin in the Jardin des Tuileries.

“L’Arche”, made from matt black painted steel and 6-metre high, is part of the Beam Bench series that Pablo Reinoso began in 2011, and in which he continues his reflections on materials. By setting steel girders free from their original function, he creates conditions that are favourable to the creation of new possibilities. The piece seems to frame the entrance to the building, giving passers-by somewhere to sit and providing a new vantage point between the two palaces.

“Le Cercle” rises in the centre of the octagonal basin in the middle of the Jardin des Tuileries. A historical setting, near the Place de la Concorde, for this installation comprising 8 sculptures that rise 6 metres above the water’s surface. “Le Cercle” is taken from the Garabatos series, on which Pablo Reinoso has been working since 2010. For the small octagonal basin in the Jardin des Tuileries, the artist designed an installation that takes its place along the fabulous perspective that connects the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. Extending this exceptional alignment, the sculptures emerge from the water and radiate outwards to form a circle, their movements creating reflections on the water that change with the wind.

Pablo Reinoso (born 1955, Argentina) is a Franco-Argentinian sculptor. He has lived and worked in Paris since 1978. He has worked in series since the 1970’s, always rethinking his rapport with material, object and space. He tricks logic through his seemingly living works, giving his works a life of their own, widening the possibilities of reality.

October 18, 2018

Sanguine – Luc Tuymans on Baroque at Fondazione Prada, Milan, October 18, 2018 – February 25, 2019

“Sanguine is a personal interpretation of the Baroque based on innovative juxtapositions and unexpected associations of works by contemporary artists and Old Masters. Avoiding a rigid chronological order or a strictly historiographical approach, Tuymans evades the traditional notion of the Baroque and invites viewers to reconsider 17th century art, as well as the contemporary research, by placing artists and their role in society at the center of the exhibition narrative.

In the wake of Walter Benjamin’s analysis, according to whom the Baroque marked the start of modernity, Tuymans explores the search for authenticity, the political significance of artistic representation, the emotional turmoil generated by art, the celebration of the author’s personality, and the international dimension of the art scene, recognizing the Baroque as a primary point of reference for today’s art. Not only does Sanguine push the traditional boundaries of the Baroque notion by extending its duration to the present day, but also it shows how over the past two centuries artists have helped redefine it, from the negative sense attributed to the word by art critics during the late 18th century, to the reassessment operated by Postmodernism and the re-establishment of a Baroque and figurative expressiveness in the art of recent years.

The exhibition title—a word that signifies the color of blood, but also a violent and vigorous temperament, and a pictorial technique—suggests a multiplicity of perspectives to interpret the exhibited works, in which violence and its simulation, cruelty and dramatization, realism and exaggeration, disgust and wonder, terror and ecstasy coexist.” — Fondazione Prada

All images are exhibition views of “Sanguine: Luc Tuymans on Baroque”. A project by Luc Tuymans. Photos by Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti. Courtesy Fondazione Prada

Organized with MKHA (Museum of Contemporary Art of Antwerp) and KMSKA (Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp) and the City of Antwerp, the project will be featured in Milan in a new and more extensive version, following its first presentation in the Belgian city from June to September 2018.

“Sanguine – Luc Tuymans on Baroque” was curated by Luc Tuymans. He conceived an intense visual experience presenting more than 80 works by 62 international artists, including 25 exhibited exclusively at Fondazione Prada.

October 17, 2018

Celebrating Tintoretto: Portrait Paintings and Studio Drawings at The Met Fifth Avenue, October 16, 2018 – January 27, 2019

“Jacopo Tintoretto (1518/19–1594) was one of the preeminent Venetian painters of the 16th century and was renowned for his dynamic narrative scenes and insightful portraits. In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the artist’s birth, The Met presents Celebrating Tintoretto: Portrait Paintings and Studio Drawings. This focused exhibition unites 21 works from European and American museums and private collections, bringing them into a larger discussion of the artist’s approach to portraiture and painting, as well as the role of drawings in his workshop.

Characterized by their immediacy, penetrating observation, and startling modernity, Tintoretto’s small-scale, informal portrait heads are an innovative aspect of his portraiture, and one that has been little studied. Seen together for the first time, these portrait studies will reveal Tintoretto’s famous quickness (prestezza) as a painter, capturing both the spirit and appearance of the sitter.

Facets of artistic practice in the Tintoretto workshop will come to light in the exhibition’s exploration of the relationship between Jacopo and his son Domenico. Central here are a series of bold figural drawings and a painting in the Museum’s collection, The Finding of Moses, whose long-debated attribution to both father and son will play a key role in the discussion of this flourishing workshop.” — The Met

Jacopo Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Portrait of an Elderly Man, ca. 1550. Oil on panel. San Diego Museum of Art, Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Portrait of a Man, 1550s. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?), 1550s. Oil on canvas. Private collection

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Head of a Man (Portrait Study). Probably 1550s. Oil on canvas laid on panel Royal Collection / HM Queen Elizabeth II

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Head of an Old Man, 1555–65. Oil on canvas. Private collection, Milan

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Portrait of a Bearded Man, Bust-length, in a Red Gown, ca. 1570 (?). Oil on canvas The Alana Collection, Newark, Delaware

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Portrait of an Elderly Bearded Man, ca. 1570. Oil on canvas. Private collection

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Portrait of Jacopo Sansovino, ca. 1570. Oil on canvas. Klassik Stiftung Weimar

Domenico Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1560–1635 Venice). The Mocking of Christ, 1560–1635. Black chalk, brush and brown ink, gray and white oil paint, on blue paper; squared in black chalk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1994

Domenico Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1560–1635 Venice). Reclining Female Nude Figure, 1560–1635. Black chalk, highlighted with white, on blue paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Robert Lehman, 1941

Domenico Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1560–1635 Venice). Reclining Female Nude, Early 17th century. Black and white chalk on faded blue paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975

Domenico Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1560–1635 Venice). Reclining Female Nude, Early 17th century. Black and white chalk on blue paper.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975

Domenico Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1560–1635 Venice). Reclining Female Nude, Early 17th century. Black and white chalk on blue paper The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975

Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, Venice 1518/19–1594 Venice). Reclining Male Figure, 1560s. Black chalk on blue paper; squared in black chalk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975

“Tintoretto created intensely powerful portraits, and the opportunity to look at these brilliant studies alongside one another allows us to recognize and appreciate the urgency and tremendous skill in these paintings,” said Max Hollein, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Celebrating Tintoretto: Portrait Paintings and Studio Drawings is organized by Andrea Bayer, The Met’s interim Deputy Director for Collections and Administration and Jayne Wrightsman Curator in the Department of European Paintings, and Alison Manges Nogueira, Associate Curator in the Robert Lehman Collection.

Images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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