August is almost here and, this year, things are really heating up, especially here in Europe where heatwaves are bearing down on us like an overprotective Italian mamma. Many of us will take late July and August as the perfect excuse to spread our wings and fly to some far away destination to relax, explore and adore. If you, like many of us here at Swide, like to place cultural happenings high on your itinerary, we have 5 exhibitions that are running throughout August around the the world that can’t be missed.
Here’s a taste of what’s going on.
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Barbara Hepworth: Sculpture for a Modern World
Tate Britain, London
Ending 25 October
This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the pioneering British sculptor in over 50 years and it should not be missed. Active since the 1930s, it wasn’t until the 50s and 60s that she found international fame and made her one of the most successful sculptors ever. The idea of Sculpture for a Modern World is to bring her work to a new audience, tracing her work from early small carvings through to her mesmerising stone and bronze pieces. These will be exhibited alongside her drawings, sketches and various collages to exemplify her further. A must see… please!
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Fatal Attraction – Piotr Uklanski Photographs
The Met, New York
Ending 16 August
Though this little number ends mid-August, to see the haunting work of New York-based Polish photographer Piotr Uklanski is a treat not to be be overlooked. Since emerging in the mid-1990s, the multi-faceted artist has wowed crowds with his surprising photography, collages made of pencil shavings, paintings made of tie-dye and more. But, here we are introduced to his photography and his homage to defunct modes of expression, in which he explores the popular cliches of popular photography to wonderful effect.
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Gold and Ivory – Paris, Pisa, Florence, Siena. 1250 – 1320
Louvre, Paris
Ending 28 September
If you’re in Paris this Summer, get yourself over to the Louvre and delve into a never-seen before exhibition that explores the links between French Rayonnant art and the early Renaissance. The Louvre’s summer exhibition welcomes pieces that highlight the artistic and cultural exchanges between the Kingdom of France and what is now Tuscany in the latter half of the 13th century. Here, the creativity of four cities, Paris, Pisa, Florence and Siena are revealed through more than 125 works and how the French Rayonnant style went on to influence the early Renaissance. This exhibition is a first of its kind and brings to the forefront a phenomenon that is of utmost importance to the history of art.
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Miro in the gardens
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Ending 11 October
21 sculptures by the Spanish artist Joan Miró are currently standing in the gardens of Amsterdam’s recently renovated gallery Rijksmuseum, marking the first exhibitions of his in the Netherlands. What’s more, is the four-metre-high Oiseau Lunaire is making its first public appearance since it was cast in bronze in the 1980s. The body of work on display shows both types of sculptures that Miro developed; ones which consist of objects from nature (like tree trunks, roots and stones), and then his more recognisable voluminous figures that round and sensual, reminiscent of his paintings. Though he didn’t turn his hand to sculpture until after he was 40, he made around 400 works… here are 21 of them.
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Legendary Artists of Japanese Western Painting
The Met – Tokyo
Ending 6 September
Consisting of famous names that found fame through the Yoga movement (western-style art) including the likes of Ryusei Kishida, Yuzo Saeki and Harue Koga, as well as European artists like Henri Matisse. The exhibition is a celebration of the history of 20th century Japanese art through 100 years of the Nika Association and their wealth of pieces. This is must-see for art buffs who are perhaps out of touch with the Japanese art scene and the close connections that it often shared with artists operating thousands of miles away.