Cai Guo-Qiang igniting his gunpowder drawing White Tone, 2016. Photo by Chiaying Yu for artnet.
This week we’re bringing you a tour of projects being developed and installed by ART21 artists around the world—see some of today’s most significant artworks without moving an inch. Keep scrolling for in-depth interviews and as always, events and exhibitions on view this week everywhere from Minneapolis to Reykjavik.
- Watch Ai Weiwei’s Tree, a sculpture made of dead trees fastened together, as it’s installed at Tate Modern’s newest facility, the Switch House. The 10-story building will offer 360-degree views of London when it opens in June.
- Take a trip through 17 of the 700 pages in Raymond Pettibon’s Homo Americanus, the first monograph chronicling the artist’s vast portfolio of satirical political illustrations.
- Watch Cai Guo-Qiang set fire to his latest work. A drawing laid out in gunpowder was brought to life with a bang, creating White Tone in a controlled explosion last week.
- And finally, Mary Mattingly is collaborating with artist and permaculturist Casey Tang to create an urban forest that floats on a barge, working around a century-old ordinance that forbids picking or foraging for food on public land. The “collaborative floating food project” titled Swale, is expected to set sail in June and drift along New York City’s waterways.
Interviews
- On her 55th birthday, Catherine Opie sat down with artnet to discuss the evolution of her work over the decades.
- Laurie Simmons was interviewed by Molly Ringwald in a special Artists Talking to Artists series on Public Radio International’s Studio 360. She spoke about her photographic practice and what it’s like being Lena Dunham’s mom.
Events & exhibitions
NYC
- On Tuesday, April 19th St. Mark’s Church’s Danspace Project is hosting a screening of the 2002 film Charles Atlas: Rainer Variations, followed by a conversation with Charles Atlas and collaborator Yvonne Rainer.
- Art-focused films are playing a major role in the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend:
- Barnaby Clay’s documentary about rock photographer Mick Rock, SHOT! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock is screening Friday and Sunday night.
- A tribute to New York artist Elizabeth Murray, Kristi Zea’s Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray is screening on Saturday and Sunday.
- And a film profiling elusive artist Maurizio Cattelan directed by Maura Axelrod will be shown at the Guggenheim on Sunday.
USA
- BOSTON — Megacities Asia, a new exhibition featuring work from 11 artists responding to the population boom in their home cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Seoul, is on view at the Museum of Fine Arts until July 17th. The exhibition includes Ai Weiwei’s bicycle assemblage Forever, and Choi Jeong Hwa’s Breathing Flower, installed on the museum’s front lawn. [Listen to a review on WBUR.]
- CHICAGO — Kerry James Marshall: Mastery is opening this Saturday, April 23rd at the Museum of Contemporary Art. A 35-year survey with a focus on the artist’s paintings, the exhibition names Marshall as “one of America’s greatest living artists.” [Read a review on The Creators Project, and get to know the artist in ART21 films and in a profile by Chicago magazine.]
- MINNEAPOLIS — Less than One, a new exhibition at the Walker Art Center featuring the work of Kara Walker and Joan Jonas is on view till the end of the year.
- LOS ANGELES — REFUGEE, a photography exhibition by the UN Refugee Agency, includes the photographs of Graciela Iturbide in an exploration of the lives of displaced people across the globe. The exhibition opens this Saturday at the Annenberg Space for Photography where it will remain on view till August 21st.
Around the world
- REYKJAVIK, ICELAND — A recreation of John Baldessari’s seminal 1971 “punishment piece” I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art is included in Nýló’s new exhibition Being Boring, on view until May 1st. [Read a review in the Reykjavik Grapevine.]
- TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — Haze and Fog, Cao Fei‘s 46-minute zombie film set in modern China, is screening at the Center for Contemporary Art until May 14th.
- GLASGOW, UK — Mika Rottenberg‘s films NoNoseKnows (2015) and Squeeze (2010) are both screening at Tramway as part of the Glasgow International biennial, running April 8th – April 25th.
Last chance! Exhibitions closing this week
- NEW YORK CITY —
- Counterclockwise, Tim Hawkinson’s exhibition at Pace, is closing this Saturday, April 23rd. [Read a review in The Brooklyn Rail.]
- William Wegman’s Postcard Paintings is also closing this Saturday at Sperone Westwater. [Read an interview with the artist about the exhibition in the Guardian.]
- SAN FRANCISCO — An exhibition of Robert Adams’ photographs, Around the House & Other New Work, is closing on Saturday at Fraenkel Gallery.
- MELBOURNE — The exhibition that’s breaking attendance records, Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, is closing a week from today on Monday, April 25th at the National Gallery of Victoria.
It’s impossible to include all the fantastic exhibitions and art events happening this week in a single post. If there’s something you feel should have been included in today’s roundup, leave a comment below!