OPENINGS
Palmeiras Bravas/The Current Situation 11 February – 24 May Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon
Portuguese artist Pedro Barateiro (b.1979) has exhibited internationally and recently contributed works to biennials in Sydney, Berlin and São Paolo, but the works shown here were conceived specifically for this exhibition. Exploring the nature of the artist–spectator relationship and the spectator as consumer, Barateiro intertwines images of nature and culture through photography, film and installation, creating an environment within the gallery that presents a disturbing view of the current state of the world. A performance, in collaboration with American poet and critic Quinn Latimer and based on one of the works on show, takes place in April.
Made in China: a Doug Fishbone Project 10 February – 26 July Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
Can you tell the difference between an Old Master painting and a contemporary replica? So reads the tagline to this tantalising offering from the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Made in China lures viewers to take a closer look at the gallery’s permanent collection, by replacing one work with a replica painted in China. The intervention was conceived by Doug Fishbone, the American artist renowned for his playful approach to critical examinations of consumer culture, mass media and value. All else aside, this is an opportunity to enjoy the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s remarkable collection, including works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Poussin, Watteau, Canaletto, Rubens, Veronese and Murillo. The identity of the replica work will be revealed on 28 April.
Body Talk: Feminism, Sexuality and the Body in the Work of Six African Women Artists 14 February – 3 May WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels
Addressing issues of feminism, sexuality and the body through the work of a group of women artists from Africa, Body Talk continues curator Koyo Kouoh’s work to redefine the contemporary African persona. The exhibition presents black feminist art by a generation of artists active since the late 1990s, and includes a combination of newly commissioned and existing works by Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Marcia Kure, Miriam Syowia Kyambi, Valérie Oka, Tracey Rose and Billie Zangewa. A substantial programme of talks and a publication of new essays accompanies the exhibition.
Artists and Poets, curated by Ugo Rondinone 12 February – 12 April Secession, Vienna
In recent years, Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone has extended his successful practice to include curatorial activities, organising major exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo in Paris and Gladstone Gallery in New York. In this third rendition, he continues to pursue his wide-ranging exploration of the relationship between visual art and poetry. However, there are no literal or forced parallels to be found here. Instead, Rondinone brings together diverse works by 15 artists, from British minimalist Bob Law to the cosmological sculpture of largely forgotten Austrian artist Fritz Hartlauer. Alongside these is a recreation of American performance artist and poet John Giorno’s Dial-A-Poem installation, with 30 poems by writers at the Vienna Poetry School being recorded for this special ‘telephone service’. Once open, the poems can be heard by calling +43 (0)1 585 04 33.
LAST CHANCE TO SEE
Wang Jianwei: Time Temple Until 16 February, performance 12 and 13 February Guggenheim Museum, New York
A radical and innovative artist working in new media, performance and installation art, Beijing-based Wang Jianwei’s Time Temple is the first of three commissions intended to support the work of Chinese contemporary artists and nurture cultural dialogue. The exhibition will close on 16 February, but before that, the artist presents an extraordinary performance event called Spiral Ramp Library on 12 and 13 February. Addressing the nature of human knowledge and spaces of learning — including the museum, the library and the theatre — the spectacle will incorporate contemporary dance, video, sound and installation, and improvised lines based on the recordings of Wang Jianwei’s sound performance that was made during the exhibition’s opening reception, during which 20 orators spoke on ten topics, including Argentina, Jorge Luis Borges, climate, disappearance, Gnosticism, the Guggenheim Museum, library, map, universe and Frank Lloyd Wright.