In 'Naked Portrait' Rose Boyt explores her complicated relationship with her beloved father, Lucian Freud, through her diary and other accounts of sitting for him. Enthralled by his genius, it was only after his death that she began to question the version of events she had come to accept. The shock of the truth is profound but what emerges is her love and compassion not just for herself as a vulnerable young woman, but for the man himself, who is shown in all his brilliant complexity.
Renowned jewellery expert and editor at British Vogue Carol Woolton's new book 'If Jewels Could Talk' is a treasure trove of forgotten stories about jewels throughout history. The publication delves into the history, cultural significance and eclectic trivia of jewellery - from Viking silver torques, Imperial jade in China, sixteenth-century Posy rings, snake motifs, Roman cameo carving, Hindu wedding jewellery, Etruscan gold, Ancient Greek coins and Wedding pigs in China.
An exhibition devoted to the work of Francis Bacon titled 'Human Presence', is now on view at the National Portrait Gallery, featuring more that fifty-five works by Bacon from the 1950s onwards. The show explores Bacon’s deep connection to portraiture and the ways in which he challenged traditional definitions of the genre. From his responses to portraiture by earlier artists to paintings memorialising lost lovers, the works on display showcase Bacon’s life story. The exhibition includes portraits of George Dyer, John Edwards, Lucian Freud, and Isabel Rawsthorne, in addition to the artist’s self-portraits.
Gathering together 61 of Vincent van Gogh’s masterpieces from around the world, the National Gallery’s once-in-a-lifetime exhibition the 'Poets & Lovers' is breathtaking. The show marks a hundred years since the gallery’s acquisition of Van Gogh’s resplendent Sunflowers (1888), and reflects on the Dutch artist’s career and how he revolutionised his style when he was living in the South of France: first, in the Yellow House in Arles; then, confined within an asylum outside Saint-Rémy, where he painted landscapes of poetic imagination and romantic love on an ambitious scale.
The Schinkel Pavillon’s large-scale exhibition of works by Sigmar Polke brings together paintings, photographs, films and prints, dating from the 1960s to the 2000s and illustrates Polke’s complexity, astute observations, irony and artistic experimentation. The selected works focus on the political aspects of Polke’s work, demonstrating not only his precise analysis of his present, but also his unique skill as a critical commentator ahead of his time in works that are as relevant now, as when they were made.
Das Minsk Kunsthaus presents the largest international institutional survey to date of the late artist Noah Davis, bringing together approximately 60 works spanning the artist’s complete oeuvre. This major exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of Davis’ extraordinary practice and relentless creativity. The exhibition pays special attention to the art historical and conceptual approaches in his practice, revealing that art history, imagery, humour, and above all, people were the epicenter of his work.
Tate Modern brings together a major UK survey of visual activist Zanele Muholi, one of the most acclaimed photographers working today. With over 260 photographs, this exhibition presents the full breadth of their career to date. From the early 2000s, they have documented and celebrated the lives of South Africa’s Black lesbian, gay, trans, queer and intersex communities. The powerful and reflective images on display explore themes including labour, racism, Eurocentrism and sexual politics.
Curated by Richard Calvocoressi, Gagosian Grosvenor Hill presents 'The Body as Matter: Giacometti Nauman Picasso', the first exhibition to bring together these three artists. Giacometti, Nauman, and Picasso have all redefined sculpture - reshaping traditional mediums and pioneering new ones. Central to all three artists is the idea that the space we occupy, the ways we are perceived, and our effect on others are crucial to their unique methods of existential inquiry.
In her first institutional solo exhibition in Switzerland, Nigerian-born artist Toyin Ojih Odutola presents a powerful new body of works in her signature vernacular of multimedia on paper - drawn using ballpoint pens, pencil, pastel and charcoal - to elicit stories out of her characters. The works on display explore the malleability of identity and the possibilities of visual story-telling, while reinventing the tradition of portraiture.
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