Yoko Ono stands out as a key figure in contemporary art, celebrated for her innovative and thought-provoking works that defy traditional artistic norms. Born in Japan and later relocating to the United States, Ono’s journey as a Japanese-American woman has profoundly influenced her art. Moreover her work transcends conventional boundaries, tackling social issues and inspiring contemporary artists to delve into the realms of transnationalism, social consciousness, and artistic originality. Yoko Ono’s enduring impact on the art world extends beyond her role as an artist. Encompassing her influence as a multicultural icon, activist, and advocate for artistic experimentation. Until now, people all over the world still regard Yoko Ono as one of the pioneering figures in the rise of the avant-garde art scene. Yoko Ono’s artwork continues to inspire and provoke thought, making her a significant presence in contemporary art. [...] The Yoko Ono exhibition has been open to all for viewing at the Tate Modern since February 15 and will run until September 1, 2024.
The PinchukArtCentre and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation present the exhibition entitled From Ukraine: Dare to Dream, as a Collateral Event of the 60th International Art Exhibition—the Venice Biennale. From Ukraine: Dare to Dream, when the world’s in constant fear, will be held at the Palazzo Contarini Polignac in Venice from April 20 until August 1, 2024, presenting the works of 22 artists and collectives, including Shilpa Gupta's works. Can we imagine tomorrow? Do we have the courage to dream? [...] Departing from Ukrainian lands and its history of forced migration, the exhibition sounds subdued voices that become songs of resistance and resilience. It addresses Earth’s ecological disasters while imagining a new utopia, where mythology merges into an alternative garden of Eden. Exhausted landscapes bear witness to human violence—from extractive economies to the harsh realities of war—while carrying seeds of a new beginning.
On Wednesday, April 10, photographers, artists, business leaders, philanthropists, fans andfriends of the International Center of Photography (ICP) gathered at The Shed for a sold out event to celebrate five pioneering women for their creativity, leadership and contributions to photography as an art and a discipline. ICP’s 40th Annual Infinity Awards, sponsored by HEARST and Kering, honored Lynsey Addario, Renell Medrano, Shirin Neshat, Wendy Red Star, and Caryl S. Englander–the first time ICP’s Infinity Awards has awarded five women for their achievements. [...] During the event, each awardee was accompanied by a short film, telling the powerful and often personal story of their journey in photography.
For this exhibition at Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation in Venice, William Kentridge, renowned for his animated drawings for projection, as well as his sculpture, theatre and opera productions over the last forty years, collaborates with Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, friend and author of the foundational monograph on his work published in 1998, to premiere his intriguing new nine-episode video series, SELF-PORTRAIT AS A COFFEE-POT. This exhibition of thirty-minute episodes by Kentridge, originally intended as a series for online viewing, is an experiment in embodiment and phenomenological experience in the digital age, and a reflection on what might happen in the brain and in the studio of an artist, today.
A shadowy silhouette of a hunched figure shows a woman on the move. Set against a map of “Germanie” and its surrounding countries, Pylon Lady has two large transmission towers for legs. Considering how Germany propels its energy efficiency, or Energiewende, as a vehicle of foreign policy and cultural influence, it is clear that William Kentridge’s piece embodies, in more ways than one, the title of Potsdam museum DAS MINSK’s new exhibition: Soft Power. (16th March – 11th August 2024)
Shirin Neshat's exhibition "The Fury" is on show at Dirimart (Istanbul) from March 14 to April 7, 2024. Shirin Neshat's photographs and video installations explore the cultural issues of her native country Iran with a particular emphasis on the experience of women. Growing up in a westernized, upper middle-class family in Iran, Neshat left Iran to study art in Los Angeles in 1974, just before the Iran Islamic Revolution; she did not return until 1990. She began making art about the collision of western and eastern ideologies, which had profoundly impacted her and her family's lives. Neshat's work examines the physical, emotional, and cultural implications of veiled women in Iran with written words taken from religious texts.
As “Yoko Ono : Music of the Mind” (Tate Modern, until 21 September) makes clear, said history is long overdue for revision where Yoko is concerned. Her story is “more subtle, more interesting, and more nuanced than has ever really been allowed,” Sean—himself a musician—emphasizes in his Transatlantic tones now, “and this exhibition feels, in a lot of ways, like a correction of the accepted narrative about her life, her work.” If MoMA’s “Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960-1971” gave New Yorkers a chance to change their minds about Ono and her oeuvre in 2015, the London-based retrospective does the same for a country that spawned both the Fab Four and some of the most shockingly vitriolic coverage of “The Smart One” and “his wife.” Curated by Juliet Bingham and spanning seven decades of work, it’s a testament to the fact that Ono’s is a talent so towering, a character so cool, that to contemplate either in the shadow of Beatlemania is to do both her and yourself a disservice.
"The exhibition "I Feel You" (March 8–July 14, 2024, PinchukArtCentre) invites the viewer to listen to experiences, memories, and testimonies from different places around the world, including Ukraine. Landscapes emerge, carrying scars of human tragedy while bearing the seeds of hope. Unsilenceable voices sound free and loud, despite the repression of authoritarian regimes. Human anxieties and utopian dreams are eclipsed by the political manipulations that affect reality today. The exhibition presents works by many artists, including Shilpa Gupta."
