Jitish Kallat
JITISH KALLAT, PUBLIC NOTICE 2

ART GALLERY NEW SOUTH WALES, SYDNEY

Large-scale work Public notice 2 (2007) by Indian artist Jitish Kallat is being installed at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, in an exhibition of works from Gene and Brian Sherman’s Asian art collection, until October 5.
The work renders Gandhi’s historic speech calling for non-violence and civil disobedience before the famous Salt March in 1930 – in its entirety, letter by letter. Each letter appears to be made from bone, as though Kallat has exhumed these words from their historical resting place. As Kallat says: ‘In today’s terror-infected world, where wars against terror are fought at prime television time, voices such as Gandhi’s stare back at us like discarded relics.’

Chiharu Shiota
CHIHARU SHIOTA, THE KEY IN THE HAND

VENICE BIENNALE 2015 - JAPAN PAVILION

The artist Chiharu Shiota represents Japan at the 56th Venice Biennale, which runs from 9 May until 22 November 2015. Her project The Key in the Hand is based on a site-specific installation made up of over 50,000 keys. It explores the notion of memory. In placing the spectator’s body at the heart of her sculptural work, Chiharu Shiota seeks to harness the expressive power of installations, which she describes as ‘the philosophy of the instant.’ Born in 1972 in Osaka, Chiharu Shiota has been living in Berlin since 1997. A former member of Marina Abramovic’s class, she is famous for her spectacular site-specific installations made of accumulated objects and woven thread. Her work combines performance, sculpture, video and installations and has already been exhibited throughout the world. Over recent years her work was featured in numerous museum exhibitions: Smithsonian (Arthur M.Sackler Gallery, Washington DC, on view), Rochester Art Center (Minnesota, 2014), Walsall New Art Gallery (UK, 2014), Pittsburgh Mattress Factory (2013), Manege (Moscow, 2013), Museum of Art of Kochi (Japan, 2013), Casia Asia (Barcelona, 2013), La Maison Rouge (Paris, 2012) or the Gervasuti Foundation in Venice (Italy, 2011).

DAVID LACHAPELLE, DOPO IL DILUVIO

PALAZZO DEI ESPOSIZIONI, ROME

Palazzo delle Esposizioni presents one of the most important and exhaustive retrospective of American artist DavidLaChapelle, gathering 100 works, some presented for first time in a museum including many large-scale works. Rome has been a milestone in the artistic life of David LaChapelle. Modeled after Michelangelo’s impressive fresco in the Sistine Chapel, his monumental series The Deluge led to meaningful turning point in the artistic path of David LaChapelle. The exhibition thus focuses on the works starting from 2006, with “The Deluge”, when the American photographer began to work with new aesthetical and conceptual concerns.

Pierre et Gilles
PIERRE ET GILLES ICON(S)

MAISON PARTICULIERE, BRUSSELS

From ‘icône’ in French to ‘icon’ in English, from holy image to visual sign, from the sacred image to the symbol, this fourteenth exhibition at Maison Particulière explores both the intellectual significance and the emblematic figures of icons. For Icon(s), the guest artistic duo Pierre et Gilles intentionally and spontaneously selected a mixture of genres “found in popular Indian culture”. Augmenting the works by Pierre and Gilles are the works of art selected by four art-collecting couples, each with different sensibilities: Myriam and Amaury de Solages, Charlotte and André Querton, Cookie and Cédric Liénart de Jeude, Béatrice and Philippe le Hodey and Jean-Claude Simoën.

Pierre et Gilles
PIERRE & GILLES IN JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER

GRAND PALAIS, GALERIES NATIONALES, PARIS

This first multimedia exhibition devoted to the French couturier Jean Paul Gaultier celebrates the daring and inventiveness of his avant-garde fashion and explores his eclectic, impertinent sources of inspiration. The show— which Gaultier sees as a creation in its own right — brings together not only haute couture and ready-to-wear outfits, but numerous objects and archival documents illustrating his most inventive artistic partnerships, with filmakers, dancers, singers and artists. Fashion photography is there too, with often unpublished prints by well-known contemporary artists and photographers (Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Peter Lindbergh, David LaChapelle, Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Steven Klein, Pierre & Gilles, Paolo Roversi, Robert Doisneau…).

Norbert Bisky
NORBERT BISKY, BALAGAN

BÖTZOW, BERLIN

Balagan – the Persian term for chaos and confusion, which can also be linked to partying and exuberance – brings together new works by Norbert Bisky. The majority of the pieces were completed in Tel Aviv where the German artist experimented an atelier swap with fellow artist Erez Israeli, from January to March. His burnt bus installation, his large scale colourful paintings and smaller works on paper give some insights into both sides of his ambiguous work : angst and ‘joie de vivre’.

Jan Fabre
FACING TIME, ROPS/FABRE

NAMUR, BELGIUM

The Belgian town of Namur, partner of Mons 2015, has invited Jan Fabre for a posthumous encounter with Félicien Rops: an unprecedented tour along museums and sites in the openair to discover the daring and inspiring worlds of these two Belgian artists. The imaginary dialogue between Rops and Fabre will unveil, question and challenge time. Exhibitions and events will take place in different locations : Musée Félicien Rops, Maison de la Culture, Théâtre de Namur, Eglise Saint-Loup, the Citadelle and the city streets.

Atul Dodiya
Jitish Kallat
Asim Waqif
ATUL DODIYA, JITISH KALLAT, ASIM WAQIF – AFTER MIDNIGHT : INDIAN MODERNISM TO CONTEMPORARY INDIA, 1947/1997

QUEENS MUSEUM, USA

Taking its title from the phrase “Midnight’s Children,” coined by Salman Rushdie in his seminal 1981 novel about India’s transition to independence, After Midnight: Indian Modernism to Contemporary India, 1947/1997 weaves themes of art and nation-building to reveal shifting zeitgeists in cultural production, and explores how these artistic practices regard and contest a geopolitical consciousness through modernization and globalization Featured artists include: CAMP, Nikhil Chopra, Desire Machine Collective, Atul Dodiya, Anita Dube, V.S. Gaitonde, Sheela Gowda, Shilpa Gupta, Subodh Gupta, M.F. Husain, Tushar Joag, Jitish Kallat, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, Prajakta Potnis, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Raqs Media Collective, S.H. Raza, Sharmila Samant, Mithu Sen, Dayanita Singh, F.N. Souza, Tallur L.N., Asim Waqif.

Kehinde Wiley
KEHINDE WILEY: A NEW REPUBLIC, 20/02 – 24/05/2015, BROOKLYN MUSEUM, NYC

BROOKLYN MUSEUM, NYC

The Brooklyn Museum presents Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, the first museum survey of the artist’s rich and prolific career, on view from February 20 through May 24, 2015. Comprised of approximately sixty objects, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic highlights the range of the artist’s work. The exhibition includes his early portrait paintings, inspired by the artist’s observation of street life in Harlem and set to the visual language of classical European portraiture, as well as his recent explorations in sculpture and stained glass. Kehinde Wiley has received critical acclaim for his investigation of race, power, and the politics of representation. Following its New York showing, the exhibition will travel to the Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth, Texas (October 16, 2015 – January 10, 2016), the Seattle Art Museum, Washington (February 12 – May 8, 2016) and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia (June 3 – September 5, 2016).

Kehinde Wiley
KEHINDE WILEY WAS AWARDED THE US STATE DEPARTMENT MEDAL OF ARTS

Kehinde Wiley was awarded the US State Department Medal of Arts.   Secretary of State John Kerry presented the medal to Kehinde Wiley on January 21, in honor of his substantive commitment to the US State Department’s cultural diplomacy outreach through the visual arts. Known for his large scale paintings of young African Americans, depicted in the style of European royal portraits, the American artist embodies the international spirit of the award, living in between Beijing, Dakar, and New York. Kehinde Wiley will be the subject of a major survey exhibition, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, at the Brooklyn Museum from February 20 to May 24, 2015. Following its New York showing, the exhibition will travel to the Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth, Texas (October 16, 2015 – January 10, 2016), the Seattle Art Museum, Washington (February 12 – May 8, 2016) and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia (June 3 – September 5, 2016).