Culture mavens from around the globe name the shows that excite them the most—from Alex Prager in New York to Basquiat in Paris.
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Artnet News
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Amid a fall season packed with new gallery shows and museum exhibitions, it can be hard to decide which ones are worth your time. So, we asked 15 international culture mavens, across a broad range of creative industries, what shows excited them most. Here are their picks:
Harmony Korine, Child’s Play Blockbuster (2018). © Harmony Korine. Photo: Rob McKeever, courtesy of Gagosian.
Harmony Korine is having an art opening at Gagosian, and he’s awesome because he always takes you on a surreal journey through his art. You leave feeling confused and inspired after each viewing.
“Harmony Korine: BLOCKBUSTER” is on view at Gagosian Gallery, NYC through October 20, 2018.
Genieve Figgis, Friends (2018). Courtesy of the artist and Half Gallery, NY.
I’m absolutely giddy to see Genieve Figgis at Half Gallery later this month. I just can’t get enough of her. Her work is a bit posh, colorful, super creepy, and entertaining. I believe a few of my friends would describe me the same way.
“Genieve Figgis: Flat Earth” is on view at Half Gallery, NYC, September 12–October 13, 2018.
Martha Araujo, Hábito/Habitante (Habit/inhabitant) (1985). © Martha Araújo, courtesy of Galeria Jaqueline Martins.
September marks a busy month for São Paulo’s cultural scene. Starting with the inauguration of the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo on September 7, which is always an insightful cultural event in the city. The Pinacoteca de São Paulo is showcasing “Radical Women,” an exhibition focused on Latin American Art from 1960 to 1985. Instituto Moreira Sales pays tribute to Irving Penn’s Centennial, while Espaço Cultural Porto Seguro shows Brazilian photographer Bob Wolfenson’s portraits. Some of my favorite art galleries are also initiating new exhibitions: Dan Galeria is showing José Spaniol’s “Tiummmmtichamm” and Galeria Triangulo shows Manuela Ribadeneira’s “Listen.”
The São Paulo Biennial is on view through December 9, 2018.
“Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960–1985” is on view at the Pinacoteca, São Paulo, through November 19, 2018.
Jasper Johns, Untitled (1990). ©Jasper Johns/VAGA, New York.
After raising a remarkable $121 million, the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas, is set to open the Menil Drawing Institute with their inaugural exhibition “The Condition of Being Here: Drawings by Jasper Johns.” Never before has a freestanding building been used solely for the study, conservation, and exhibition of modern and contemporary drawings. If the Menil’s unrivaled Cy Twombly Gallery and Rothko Chapel haven’t yet enticed you to Houston, here’s your chance to make up for it.
“The Condition of Being Here: Drawings by Jasper Johns” is on view at the Menil Collection Drawing Institute, Texas, November 3, 2018–January 27, 2019.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Triumph of the Church. Museo Nacional del Prado.
Gabriella Sanchez, Almost Softly. Courtesy of the artist.
I am excitedly looking forward to “Punch,” a group show curated by artist Nina Chanel Abney, which will be presented by my mentor Jeffrey Deitch on September 14, 2018. I’m sure it’s going to challenge the typical ideas of modern-day culture as we know it!
“Punch” is at Jeffrey Deitch, NYC, September 15–October 27, 2018.
Lavar Munroe, Pinocchio’s Half Sister (2014). Courtesy of the artist.
My selection for the fall season is not one show but one artist: the painter and multimedia artist, Lavar Munroe. Lavar has three solo shows opening practically simultaneously this month: “Rudeboys Like We“ at Jack Bell Gallery in London; “Devil in a White City” at Meadows Museum of Art in Shreveport, Louisiana; and, finally, in his hometown of Nassau, at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, with a 10-year survey, entitled “Son of the Soil,” that runs from September 13 through December 2.
Lavar was selected for a solo position at VOLTA NY in 2015, three months prior to exhibiting in All the World’s Futures, curated by Okwui Enwezor at the Venice Biennale, and we’ve observed him expand his practice literally and metaphorically, as his research has brought him to Tambacounda (Senegal), Paris, and New Orleans, where he claimed his turf by creating a monumental sculpture out of cardboard and discarded Junkanoo costumes, among other objects, for Prospect.4 New Orleans.
“Lavar Munro: Rudeboys Like We“ is on view at Jack Bell Gallery, London, September 7–21, 2018.
“Lavar Munro: Devil in a White City” is on view at Meadows Museum of Art, Louisiana, September 13, 2018.
“Lavar Munro: Son of the Soil” is on view at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, September 13–December 2, 2018.
Jackson Pollock, Number 32, 1949 (1949). Courtesy Sotheby’s.
I’m looking forward to “Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera,” opening at The Met Breuer in November. The Met’s curator Randall Griffey will offer insight into how some artists have used abstraction as a conduit to explore psychological and societal issues.
“Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera” is on view at the Met Breuer, NYC, November 28, 2018.
Christopher Myers, Koi (2018). Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort.
Christopher Myers, “Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me” at Fort Gansevoort, opening September 14th. The show will present the artist’s work in a range of mediums from appliqué tapestries to model refugee boats. Powerful, important work, and so looking forward to this!
“Christopher Myers: Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me” is on view at Fort Gansevoort, NYC, September 14–October 27, 2018.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Grillo (1984). © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat Licensed by Artestar, New York © Fondation Louis Vuitton / Marc Domage.
The rentrée in Paris will be particularly exciting this year. Two top shows I’m very much anticipating are the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition in the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s extraordinary Frank Gehry building, and the massive Franz West retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou.
“Jean-Michel Basquiat” is on view at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, October 3, 2018–January 14, 2019.
“Franz West” is on view at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, September 12–December 10, 2018.
Andy Warhol, Shadows (1978–79). Detail of installation of 72 of 102 paintings at Dia Art Foundation. Photo by Bill Jacobson courtesy of Dia Art Foundation.
Without a doubt, what I’m most looking forward to in the fall art season is “Andy Warhol in New York: From A to B and Back Again,” the Whitney retrospective curated by Donna de Salvo, and “Shadows” (1978–79), Warhol’s environmental work on view at Calvin Klein HQ organized by Dia. Fifteen years ago, I immersed myself in studying everything I could about the artist to prepare for “Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Portraits,” an exhibition I presented at the Bellagio Gallery of Art, Las Vegas, in 2003. I still keep two copies of Warhol’s diaries—one at the office and one at home—and read an entry or two daily. From the mundane to the scandalous, there is a seemingly infinite amount of information about city life, people, and the art market to discover in those pages. These exhibitions will offer equally compelling moments to examine reality and representation as perceived by an artist whose foresight was immeasurable.
“Andy Warhol in New York: From A to B and Back Again” is on view at the Whitney Museum, NYC, November 12, 2018–March 31, 2019.
“Andy Warhol: Shadows” is on view at 205 West 39 Street, NYC, October 26–December 15, 2018.
Fabio Lattanzi Antinori, ASTRO_02 – Astral Chart (2018)
“Artificially Intelligent” at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London through December 23, 2018. The exhibition brings together a group of artists raising questions about artificial intelligence, whose work explores our complex relationships with technology from a philosophical and critical perspective, as well as probe the meaning of being human in a hyper-connected world. Artists on view include Anna Ridler, Katriona Beales, Vladan Joler, and Maral Pourkazemi. I’m really curious as to what they’re going to put out there in this field.
(Kalyanaraman also recently curated the AI-made-art show “Gradient Descent” at Nature Morte in New Delhi.)
“Artifically Intelligent” is on view at Victoria & Albert Museum, London, through December 31, 2018.
Installation view of Alex Prager, A Face In the Crowd (2018). Westfield World Trade Center. Courtesy of Art Production Fund.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the Alex Prager installation at Westfield World Trade Center, presented in partnership with Art Production Fund (anything they touch is bound to be a highlight). For me, Alex’s work often evokes a slightly eerie feeling with her meticulously staged scenes. She’s bringing an excerpt from A Face in the Crowd and displaying the work across the 20-plus screens, including the 280-foot screen in the Oculus. I imagine this piece will really capture the crowd’s attention—pun intended—and I can’t wait to see that interaction. You can expect to see me observing from the sidelines.
“Alex Prager: A Face in the Crowd” is on view at Westfield World Trade Center, NYC & Westfield Century City, LA, September 15–October 14, 2018.
Paloma Bosquê, Blind Arrangement–Egg, with tower (2018). Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood.
Paloma Bosquê is opening her Brussels debut solo at Mendes Wood on Thursday, and I’m excited to see how she will address their beautiful new townhouse gallery in the Sablon. Her installations respond to and are activated by the environment. She’s a poet with materials, working thoughtfully in the tradition of great Brazilian women artists.
I’ve been a fan of Belgian artist Koenraad Dedobbeleer since his show in Brooklyn at Clearing over two years ago. (He recently designed the cafe at the gallery’s Brussels location.) His range of expression and wit will be interesting to see this September at WIELS, where he will have a solo exhibition opening with more than 40 objects.
“Paloma Bosquê: Inventory” is on view at Mendes Wood, Brussels, September 6–October 20, 2018.
“Koenraad Dedobbeleer: Kunststoff–Gallery of Material Culture” is on view at WIELS, Brussels, September 22, 2018–January 6, 2019.
Jason Newsted, Rockstar (2006). Courtesy of the artist.
The show I’m most looking forward to in fall/winter is the art and music experience that is taking place at the Sagamore Art Hotel in Miami Beach beginning the week of Art Basel and running through the month of December. The show will include a large exhibition of my works, along with other reputable international artists from 55 Bellechasse Paris and the Frame Collective. My latest musical project, the Chophouse Band, will be performing at the Sagamore on December 4 and 8.
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