April Art Guide - Warsaw

Recommendations of what to see in the Warsaw art scene this month by our local guide, Zuzanna Zasacka. Discover more on a private art tour!

I.

Exhibition: Friend of a Friend
Artists: Various Artists
Venue:  BWA Warszawa, Foksal Gallery Foundation, LETO, Piktogram, Dawid Radziszewski, Raster, Stereo, Wschód
Dates: April 7th until the 28th, 2018

“Friend of a Friend” project sees eight important and thriving Warsaw contemporary art galleries sharing their exhibition spaces with international guests. A dialogue with galleries from the Czech Republic, France, Germany, United States, Switzerland and Great Britain lies at the foundation of group shows featuring Polish and international artists. 
The idea of “FOAF” refers to London’s “Condo” initiative held since 2016. Based on the principle of friendly collaboration (and not competition, often associated with the art market), the event not only succeeds in establishing an innovative platform to present contemporary art, but also an exchange model that provides an alternative to art fairs.

II.

Exhibition: Wild at Heart
Artists: Various Artists
Venue: Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
Dates: until May 6th, 2018

The backbone of the exhibition Wild at Heart is the collection of the ING Polish Art Foundation which gathers the works by Polish living artists created post 1990. The precision of the spatial and temporal framework of this collection determines its content which focuses on the Polish scene during the social and economic transformation (following the fall of communism in 1989). 

Róża Litwa, untitled 2008, ING Polish Art Foundation

III.

Exhibition: "Otwock” Season 7: Lawrence Weiner
Artist: Lawrence Weiner
Venue:  Miroslaw Balka Studio
Dates: Opens April 7th, 2018

The seventh season of "Otwock" is dedicated to Lawrence Weiner. A pioneer of conceptual art, over the past five decades his installations consisting solely of words in a distinctive lettering painted on walls, have appeared in galleries, museums and public spaces all over the world. This spring, Weiner created a work for the wall of Miroslaw Balka’s studio in Otwock (the suburbs of Warsaw). He also prepared an intervention in the local newspaper.

Take an art tour in Warsaw to discover more! 
 

April Art Guide - Vienna

Recommendations of what to see in the Vienna art scene this month by our local guide, Itai Margula. Discover more on a private art tour!

I.

Exhibition: Rachel Whiteread
Artist: Rachel Whiteread
Venue:  Belvedere 21
Dates: Until July 29th, 2018

Rachel Whiteread was commissioned by the city of Vienna to design the Holocaust Memorial at Judenplatz, and although it was supposed to be finished in 1996, the unveiling of the monument took place in October 2000. With this monument, the British artist left a lasting mark on the city and transformed the discourse surrounding remembrance. It then took another eighteen years to have the first solo exhibition of the artist in a museum. This exhibition was made possible by Belvedere 21 together with Tate Britain, London, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in cooperation with the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Untitled (stairs) ©Alexandra Matzner for ARTinWORDS

II.

Exhibition: Cécile B. Evans AMOS' WORLD: Episode One
Artist: Cécile B. Evans
Venue: Mumok
Dates: Until July 1st, 2018 

For her show at mumok, Cecile B. Evans creates an architectural video installation. Conceived as a television show set in a socially progressive housing estate, the latest work of the artist: AMO’S WORLD: episode one, is a post-internet dystopia, dealing amongst other things, with the ever greater role technology takes on our feelings and perception. The exhibition is curated by Marianne Dobner.

AMO’S WORLD, 2017 video still, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Emanuel Layr Vienna/Rome

III.

Exhibition: Teddy Kollek. The Viennese mayor of Jerusalem
Artists: curated by Marcus Patka and Elke-Vera Kotowski
Venue: Jewish Museum Vienna
Dates: April 11th, 2018 until November 25th, 2018

 
Teddy Kollek was the mayor of Jerusalem for almost thirty years (1965 to 1993). Growing up in Vienna, Kollek left Austria at 24, heading towards Palestine in 1935. His life journey marks the constantly worsening conditions in Vienna before the Anschluss. However, Kollek had always stayed in contact with his former home country and helped build bridges between Austria and Israel. Even the long history of the Jewish Museum is connected to Kollek, but you can find out more by visiting the exhibition curated by Marcus Patka and Elke-Vera Kotowski. 

© David Rubinger, YEDIOTH AHARONOT

Take an art tour in Vienna to discover more!

April Art Guide - New York

Recommendations of what to see in the New York art scene this month by our local guide, Maya Yadid. Discover more on a private art tour!

I.

Exhibition: Like Life: Sculpture, Color and the Body (1300 - Now)
Artists: Various Artists
Venue: The Met Breuer
Dates: Until July 22nd, 2018

'Like Life' displays a variety of human sculptures from varying periods, from modern times and dating all the way back to the 1300s. The exhibition's driving point is to show how people have depicted the human body in sculpture, specifically the level of realism and attention to detail. Rather than this being a single artist’s project, this is a group effort organized and hosted by The Met, including pieces on loan from the classic period of European-origin.

II.

Exhibition: Objects as Friends
Artists: Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys
Venue: Gavin Brown Enterprise
Dates: Until April 22nd, 2018

This art exhibition takes on a more traditional approach in its display media, hitting close to home with its subject matter. With over 300 color photographs, the artists follow the trail of discarded and broken objects, capturing every imperfection from their useless state. Gruyter and Thys have adapted the idea from the late Johannes, an old German painter from the later 1940s. 

III.

Exhibition: Spring Performance Festival
Artists: Various Artists
Venue: The MoMA PS1, Long Island
Dates: April 15th, 2018, 12 pm - 6 pm

With MoMA PS1 acting as an entertainment venue, the Spring Performance Festival hosts various artists work and performances such as plays, music, video productions and solo pieces. It’s backed by Secret Project Robot, an alternative artist community based in Brooklyn. Aside from the featured performances, there will be “pop-up” artists and performances as well. The entire venue hopes to encourage people to interact with their current world through a display of art. 

Take a private art tour in NYC to discover more!
 

April Art Guide - London

Recommendations of what to see in the London art scene this month by our local guide, Marine Tanguy. Discover more on a private art tour!

I.

Exhibition: The EY Exhibition Picasso 1932 - Love, Fame, Tragedy
Artist: London
Venue: The Tate Modern
Dates: Until September 9th, 2018

Incredible exhibition and well worth the wait! It’s an insight into the making of a 20th century name brand with its change of styles, bold statements and intensive production. 

II.

Exhibition: All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life
Artist: Various Artists
Venue: Tate Britain
Dates: Until August 27th, 2018

This exhibition aims to show the importance of life painting - I argue that there are too many saucy nudes.

III.

Exhibition: The Classical Now
Artist: Various Artists
Venue: King’s College Cultural Institute
Dates: Until April 28th, 2018

How can contemporary art help us understand our present? Superb show with artists Damien Hirst, Picasso, Quinn, Nauman and Leo Caillard. 

Take a private art tour in London to discover more!

Ron Arad’s Inaugural Gallery Show in Israel

As one enters the stark white cube of Gordon Gallery at 6 Hapelech street in south Tel Aviv they are immersed in the imaginarium of Ron Arad. His oeuvre is notoriously challenging to define; he is simultaneously considered a designer, artist, sculptor, and architect. There is not just one label that suits him. The ambiguity of Arad’s work is highlighted in his premier Israeli gallery show All And Nothing where he is seen again pushing the boundaries between art and design.  

Pressed Flower Yellow, 2013. Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York.

All And Nothing is Arad’s inaugural show in an Israeli gallery despite having been born in Tel Aviv in the fifties and studying at the Jerusalem Academy of Art. The large scale installation of Arad’s work at Gordon Gallery, made up of two major elements, can be interpreted as a reaction to his homecoming in Tel Aviv’s art scene. This response is evident in his uber contemporary large scale collage installation which is a continuation of his famous Pressed Flowers series depicting crushed cars. Within the fragmented composition scraps of a promotional poster from an event held just days before at the newly opened Tel Aviv hotspot, Herzl 16 are recognizable elements of the large scale collage. 

A very recently created collage, building on Arad's Pressed Flowers series

A detail of scraps of a promotional poster visible in the collage from an event at Herzl 16

Jutting fragmentations appear again in the adjacent installation composed of amoebic shaped mirrored tables that decorate the floor and walls. Reflecting the violent collage on the opposite wall they mimic the chaos and energy of contemporary Tel Aviv.

It is within the reflected images and the fleeting intangible glimpses one catches as they maneuver the many mirrored tables, that Arad’s installation really shines. The many mirrors appear to have been thrown against the wall, shattering and scattering into their current locations. Undulating from the walls and on to the floors, the viewer ponders how to define the pieces. Are they tables? Sculptures? Or mirrors? Herein lies the complexity of Arad’s work. 

One table mounted to the wall stands out for what first appears to be an abstract bubble pattern. Upon further inspection it reveals itself to be the Hebrew word ‘Klum’ meaning ‘nothing’. A bit tongue-in-cheek, Arad has spelled out ‘nothing’ with exactly that. It is the absence of material or nothingness that creates all that the show presents.

Hebrew word ‘Klum’ (כְּלוּם) meaning ‘nothing’ spelled out with bubble cut outs.

All And Nothing exhibition view 

Endlessly entertaining and thought provoking, All And Nothing is a visual treat that escapes the confines of a classic gallery show much like Arad has dodged labels that seek to confine him throughout his career. All And Nothing is on show at Gordon Gallery from March 22nd until June 2nd, 2018.

If you are interested in taking a private tour of the show please contact Oh So Arty here. 

Oh So Arty Tour

This private Oh So Arty tour got a special sneak preview three days before the show opens to the public. They also had a chance to meet with Ron Arad as he put the finishing touches on the show.

Ron Arad

Ron Arad discusses his inspirations and career within the exhibition space at Gordon Gallery.

Editorial Coordintor

Oh So Arty's Editorial Coordinator and journalist, Sophie Weinstein, at a press preview of the exhibiton.

Exhibition View

A bird's eye view of the impressive installation at Gordon Gallery.

Gordon Gallery

Gordon Gallery was established in Tel Aviv in 1966. It currently holds an impressive three exhibitions spaces within the city. In 2016 Gordon Gallery opened its third space at Hapelech Street 6, which is where the Ron Arad show is on view.