Photo: Visitation: Pontormo (Jacopo Carrucci; Pontormo, Empoli 1494–Florence 1557) Carmignano, Pieve di San Michele Arcangelo

 

Photo: Boy in a Red Waistcoat, 1888 – 90 Paul Cézanne. National Gallery of Art, Washington

CÉZANNE PORTRAITS

National Portrait Gallery – London, United Kingdom | On now – 11 February 2018

Paul Cézanne was a post-impressionist French painter whose work was a key stepping stone in the transition from 19th century artistic values, to the radical world of 20th century art. The first exhibition of his work since 1907, fifty of Cézanne’s portraits will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Although most famous for his paintings of Mont Saint-Victoire, a mountain ridge near his home in Provence, France, his portrait paintings are renowned for their influential avant-garde style. Despite being uncelebrated up until recent times, his portraits perhaps display the most personal aspects of Cézanne’s 45-year art career.

 

Photo: Visitation: Pontormo (Jacopo Carrucci; Pontormo, Empoli 1494–Florence 1557) Carmignano, Pieve di San Michele Arcangelo

THE CINQUECENTO IN FLORENCE. FROM MICHELANGELO AND PONTORMO TO GIAMBOLOGNA

Palazzo Strozzi – Florence, Italy | On now – 21 January 2018

Devoted to showcasing remarkable art of the 16th Century, over seventy works from renowned artists such as Michelangelo, Bronzino, Rosso Fiorentino, Santi di Tito, and Bartolomeo Ammannati, is on display at Palazzo Strozzi. Put together by Carlo Falciani and Antonio Natali, this is the final installment in a trilogy of exhibitions that started in 2010. The 16th century is recognised as one of the most outstanding eras for cultural and intellectual talent and this exhibition displays a collection of work never before seen together.

 

Photo: Marc Chagall: The Holy Chabman, 1911

CHAGALL: THE BREAKTHROUGH YEARS 1911-1919

Kunstmuseum Basel – Basel, Switzerland | On now – 21 January 2018

This exhibition is dedicated to the early works of early modernist Russian-French artist Marc Chagall. Through the combination of his time in Provincial Russia and Paris, he brings together the fragments of his life to create a truly compelling collection. His later work was the result of a lot of self-reflection and features many self-portraits and depictions of Jewish life. The exhibition will also feature documentary and ethnographic photographs by Russian artist Solomon Judowin that aide in explaining what shaped the direction of Chagall’s work.

 

Photo: Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed. (Edvard Munch / ARS / Munch Museum)

EDVARD MUNCH: BETWEEN THE CLOCK AND THE BED

Met Breur – New York, United States | On now – 4 February 2018

Edvard Munch, a Norwegian painter and printmaker best known for ‘The Scream’, was a prolific and troubled artist whose work focused on matters surrounding human mortality. He achieved fame early on in his career for his haunting depictions of human anxiety. Forty-three of the artist’s landmark compositions including 16 self-portraits, spanning across six decades are going on display at the Met Breuer. Over half the pieces were part of his personal collection and have never before been seen in the United States.

 

Photo: Detail of Celebration, c. 1997, Resist Dye on fabric, 268x289cm. Collection of the artist.

“ALWAYS MOVING”: THE BATIK ART OF SARKASI SAID

NUS Museum – Shanghai, China | On now – 30 June 2018

This exhibition follows the personal development and batik works of self-taught artist, Sarkasi Said. At the start of his career Said travelled extensively to broaden his outlook and learn the art of batik (a technique of hand-dyeing fabric using wax as a repellent) from other practitioners. In this collection he revisits his Japanese heritage within the context of a multicultural and modernised Singapore. Featuring works from the 1990’s to today, it’s his personal response to the evolving cosmopolitan landscape. His work experiments with abstract style to represent the tension between traditional symbols and the loss of their transmission.