'Untitled' by Mark Rothko (1944/1945) will be on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC as part of the 'Mark Rothko: Paintings On Paper' exhibition. Photo: AFP
Dive deep into the world of Johannes Vermeer, explore Mark Rothko's art from a new perspective, or escape into the phantasmagorical world of Yayoi Kusama.
The art exhibitions on the agenda for 2023 promise to be as diverse as they are interesting.
Here are five must-see shows to catch worldwide.
Yayoi Kusama: 1945 To Now at the M+ museum in Hong KongM+, the new museum of contemporary Asian art, chose to celebrate its first anniversary in November with a major exhibition devoted to Yayoi Kusama. It was, in fact, in Hong Kong that one of her famous Pumpkins sold for US$5.8mil (RM26mil) in 2019. The exhibition Yayoi Kusama: 1945 To Now traces the Japanese artist's artistic and personal journey over the past seven decades. It is structured around more than 200 works, from private and public collections, as well as works that have never previously left Yayoi Kusama's studio. A must-see! Yayoi Kusama: 1945 To Now runs until May 14 at the M+ museum in Hong Kong (China).
Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Exhibitions dedicated to Johannes Vermeer are relatively few and far between. After the Louvre's 2017 show, which featured 12 paintings by the Dutch master, the Rijksmuseum's offering is even more ambitious, bringing together 28 Vermeers out of the 35 or 37 he is said to have painted during his lifetime (the exact number is still a matter of debate). Among them are Girl With A Pearl Earring, housed at the Mauritshuis, in The Hague, as well as The Milkmaid and Girl Reading A Letter At An Open Window. Some of the pieces, including Girl Interrupted At Her Music, had not left the North American continent since their acquisition more than a century ago. A retrospective not to be missed! Vermeer runs February 10 through June 4 at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
Basquiat x Warhol. Painting 4 Hands at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris. Few friendships have marked the history of art as much as that of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. At the time, newspapers referred to Basquiat as a "disciple" or "mascot" of the Pop Art king. However, the two artists produced some 160 paintings together between 1984 and 1985, including some of the greatest of their respective careers. The Fondation Louis Vuitton looks back on this fruitful and volatile collaboration in Basquiat x Warhol. Painting 4 Hands. The show includes more than 100 co-created paintings, as well as a collection of works by Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer and Kenny Scharf. An impressive immersion into the art scene of downtown New York in the 1980s. Basquiat x Warhol. Painting 4 Hands runs April 5 through Aug 28 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (France).
Marina Abramovic at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Marina Abramovic has been radicalising performance art for half a century - so much so that she has become a true pop culture sensation. The Royal Academy of Arts is paying tribute to the artist and her work in a major retrospective, which opens September 23. Visitors to the London institution will be able to discover iconic works by the Serbian visual artist, such as Rhythm 0 (1974) and The Artist Is Present (2010). Abramovic, herself, will contribute to the exhibition by participating in a series of lectures and related events. Marina Abramovic runs Sept 23 through Dec 10 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (Britain).
Mark Rothko: Paintings On Paper at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. If Mark Rothko is known for his large flat swaths of color, he is much less known for his works on paper. Yet he produced more than 1,000 of them during his lifetime. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC looks at this little-known aspect of the artistic practice of the master of abstraction in Mark Rothko: Paintings On Paper. This retrospective brings together some 100 works on paper by the American artist, including certain pieces that have never been exhibited before. A fresh look at Rothko's career. Mark Rothko: Paintings On Paper runs from Nov 19, 2023, through March 31, 2024, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (United States). - AFP
