YAYOI KUSAMA.

Tate Modern exhibits a retrospective of Kusama's works that include paintings, sculptures and installations. Her signature dots overtake the space and refer to Kusama's ongoing interest in the infinite and sublime. The repetition of a motif, a pattern that appears on every artwork signifies the artist's understanding and interpretation of the inner and outer world, the micro and macro universe that is the presence, the existence. The artworks are playful reflection on the serious and complex phenomena. The show engage viewers in an exhilarating surrealistic journey into the mind of an artist that can be experienced and enjoyed even on purely aesthetic level.

LUCIAN FREUD. PORTRAITS

The National Portrait Gallery presents the exhibition of Lucian Feud's works, bringing together a selection of his most famous portraits. Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was a realist painter who gained recognition for the exquisite style of emotive, instinctual and almost physical, sensual painting. The exhibition allows a viewer to follow the progression of the artist's style, from flat,''clean brush'' paintings to the ones of generous paint application, of structural feel. The artworks are not only representations of faces and figures but they also allow a viewer for an insight into the artist's way of working, his relationship with a model, with space and with a medium. Exhibited in the cramped rooms of the venue the paintings seem to overwhelm the space. The almost tangible presence of the portrayed figures seems to add to the crowds of viewers. 

TACITA DEAN. THE UNILEVER SERIES. FILM

The new installation by Tacita Dean is presented in Turbine Hall in Tate Modern. The 13 metre slab which structure resembles a film still becomes a screen for the projection of both black and white and colour images of the interior and exterior. The photographs of beautiful and sublime moments that happen in nature seen through different perspectives, at different light exposures and in different circumstances make Film a poetic narrative of nostalgic character. The installation is a tribute to the analogue film making where cuts, hand-painted motifs, mistakes and flaws in the material itself are treated as a part of an artwork. Film is a silent spectacle which alludes to the early cinema. The lyrical play with colours and images recalls modern exploration of the abstraction.

ANSELM KIEFER. II MISTERO DELLE CATTEDRALI

Perfect pictures in perfect space. The largest exhibition of the artist's work ever presented in London takes place in White Cube Bermondsey. Large in scale paintings and sculptures reflect the Keifer's ongoing interest in the metaphysical. The mystical and material aspect of codes, mathematics and alchemy is the subject of this exhibition which title refers to the esoteric work of Fulcanelli on the codes of alchemy represented in the mathematical structures of Gothic cathedrals.

Keifer is known for working with large scale canvases and a variety of media. This time, apart from combining metal and wooden structures with the paintings, the artists uses some elements (for example, sulphur) to add to the physicality of his works and to the theme of alchemy. The exhibition of Keifer's artworks is a rare chance to see beautiful, impressive and well-thought through artworks which have their own narrative and reflect the artist's genuine interest and deep insight into the subject matter.

GERHARD RICHTER. PANORAMA

The exhibition of Gerard Richter's works takes place in Tate Modern and presents viewers with the artist's diversity of style and approach to art. Both the artist's artworks and the way they have been shown did not appeal to me. Mirror and glass installations, abstract and realistic paintings are displayed in a chaotic way, in cramped rooms, competing for space and attention. Highly acclaimed grey paintings are just grey and flat. The abstract works are also unimpressive despite the large scale of canvases. There is nothing unique and intriguing in these works. They just seem to be the painting exercise, capturing a moment of careless, playful spreading of multicoloured paint in a random manner. The only artwork that captured my attention was a large mirror that reflected the movement in the gallery room, the object- artwork that is always true, genuine, never pretending to be something else.

PIPILOTTI RIST. EYEBALL MASSAGE

Poetic and atmospheric. The exhibition of the moving image artist Pipilotti Rist in Hayward Gallery offers a chance to experience the video works in the intriguing and capturing way. The central theme of the artworks is human body presented as a landscape that can be viewed from different perspectives. The artists makes video installations that resemble film or theatre sets and engage viewers in active participation. The varied way of projecting videos creates a sensuous landscape of objects and images and challenges the way viewers look at and experience not only the medium itself but also the subject matter of human body and its associated taboos.

PAUL NOBLE. WELCOME TO NOBSON

The exhibition of Paul Noble's detailed pencil drawings and sculptures of the structure and characters of his imaginary metropolis, Nobson Newtown, takes place in Gagosian Gallery. The artists creates an intricate imaginary landscape, with a designed infrastructure incorporating typography, the font of his own design which is called 'Nobfont’. The metropolis, its architecture and the impression of being abandoned by people alludes to the archaeological sites of the ruins of some ancient civilizations and might be read as a pessimistic vision of the future. 

 

POSTMODERNISM. STYLE AND SUBVERSION

The exhibition of the Postmodernism in V&A is an informative, interesting and engaging collection of artworks that represent major aesthetic and ideological trends present in Postmodernism. There are photographs, paintings, architectural models, designs of furniture and clothing, music recordings and videos, examples of graphic design applied to magazines, books and record covers. The variety of the artworks and their presentation refer to the exhilarating eclectic style of Postmodernism.