Five art shows to see this week: National Gallery, Serpentine and more
Five art shows to see this week: National Gallery, Serpentine and more
9 – 15 December
By Sofia Gallarate
Published 9 December 2016
From a far-flung group of Impressionists to two exhibitions dedicated to the work of the great Zaha Hadid RA, here are some of the best shows to visit this week.
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Fabio Lattanzi Antinori: Dear Shareholder
The RYDER, London, until 28 January 2017
Mixing screen printing with sensory technology, Italian artist Fabio Lattanzi Antinori translates stock market data into interactive installations. He artistically interprets complex financial algorithms using numerous and varied sources and media: from archival financial information to an opera singer. Lattanzi’s work explores the volatility of the market and the 2008 economic crisis.
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Exploring Identity
Autograph ABP, London, until 10 December
A teenager holds a sign that reads “Am I next?” during a Black Lives Matter protest. This unconventional portrait is one of the photographs displayed in the group show, Exploring Identity. Inspired by the intimacy of family albums, the exhibition is the result of research into the complex notion of identity. The photographers taking part are all students involved with Album, a project supported by Autograph ABP in collaboration with University of the Arts London, offering young people the opportunity to explore the narrative power of photography. Addressing race, gender, sexuality and diversity, the portraits in this series reflect the contemporary sociopolitical environment in which the young photographers have grown up, while also revealing personal stories.
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Zaha Hadid: Early Paintings and Drawings, and Mathematics: The Winton Gallery
Serpentine Sackler Gallery, London, until 12 February 2017
Science Museum (permanent)The late Zaha Hadid RA once said, “When I was growing up in Iraq, math was an everyday part of life. We would play with math problems just as we would play with pens and paper to draw – math was like sketching.” Interestingly, mathematics and drawing are the themes of two different exhibitions opening this week related to the architect’s practice. At the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, Hadid’s notebooks, filled with graceful, dynamic watercolour and pen sketches, are displayed alongside futuristic paintings she produced throughout her career. This exhibition reveals how the architect tested out her ideas in drawing and painting before creating some of the most cutting-edge buildings of our time. Meanwhile, over in Kensington, the Science Museum has just opened Mathematics: The Winton Gallery – a stunning new gallery and exhibition space designed by Hadid, with a permanent collection of objects that have informed four centuries of mathematical progress and technology.
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The New Line: Works from the Jobbing Printing Collection
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, until 12 March 2017
The Jobbing Printing Collection is a rich archive of commercial prints from the 1930s, which includes a vast range of advertisement posters and magazines. Technological progress and the political climate in the decade preceding World War II had a big influence on design aesthetics, as is shown in this exhibition. From prints designed by members of the Bauhaus school to lifestyle magazines (the exhibition takes its title from Die Neue Linie, an extremely popular German magazine about avant-garde design), this show reveals how American and European designers influenced each other and how new printing techniques allowed innovative graphic styles to develop.
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Australian Impressionists
National Gallery, London, until 26 March 2017
Impressionism is usually associated with the floral French landscapes of Monet and his peers, but the National Gallery’s latest exhibition challenges this conception. Presenting the works of four Australian artists, namely Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Charles Conder and John Russell, the show opens the door to a completely different interpretation of the movement. Across the world from its place of origin, Impressionism flourished in Australia, with artists capturing the country’s rich natural landscapes and the fast pace of life in its cities. Despite the inevitable influences of the French movement, Australian Impressionism has its own characteristics, which reveal a strong sense of national identity.