Highlight #5: Temptation of intense human body images
Portrait exhibitions being held in Basel, Beirut, and Humlebaek
SWITZERLAND, ZURICH <EGON SCHIELE & JENNY SAVILLE>
10 October 2014 ~ 25 January 2015_Kunsthaus Zurich
The Kunsthaus Zurich has organized the first exhibition that displays the work of Egon Schiele next to those of a contemporary artist, British painter Jenny Saville. The exhibition is an encounter between the two, separated by a century and a region, in which both engage intensively with the physical. It’s a unique opportunity to see these artists juxtaposed, as Schiele was born in 1890 and Saville nearly 100 years later in 1970.
The exhibition strays from previous shows, placing the Austrian artist not within a historical context, but in a sphere that aims to explore the similarities and distinctions between his work and that of a contemporary female artist.
Depictions of the human body in the works of both are structured and characterized by extreme perspectives, and in most cases, a deliberately low angle. And while most of Schiele’s selection here consists of small-format painting and paper work, they’re placed harmoniously among the large-scale pieces by Saville. How each of the two artists depict physicality and gender is direct. The exhibition will feature more than 100 works, featuring some by Schiele that have seldom been introduced outside Austria.
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Jenn<y Saville <Rosetta II>
2005/06 Oil on watercolor paper mounted on board 252×187.5cm Private collection
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Egon Schiele <Self-Portrait with Chinese Lantern Plant>
1912 Oil and gouache on wood 32.2×398.cm Leopold Museum, Vienna
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Egon Schiele <House with Drying Laundry>
1917 Oil on canvas 110×140.4cm Pricatsammlung, Courtesy Hauser&Wirth
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Jenny Saville <Fulcrum>
1998-99 Oil on canvas 261.6×487.7cm Collection of Larry Gagosian ⓒ ProLitteris, Zurich
LEBANON, BEIRUT <KAIS SALMAN: CIVILISED SOCIETY>
29 January ~ 20 March 2015_Ayyam Gallery Beirut
A solo exhibition by Kais Salman is on view at Ayyam Gallery Beirut. Salman is a Syrian painter born in 1976. He serves as a bridge, representing the departure of contemporary Syrian artists from previous generations once inspired and influenced by Soviet art and futurism. His technique is often described as a mélange of the two generations and his work demonstrates abstract expressionism.
Salman depicts social issues in the contemporary Arab and global world, addressing a variety of topics such as consumerism, plastic surgery, religious fanaticism, terrorism, imperialism and the voyeurism of the digital age.
Each of his series of works thus far has sought to reflect the psychological violence that occurs when excess becomes socially rationalized and systemized.
Recently, the artist has demonstrated a shift in his style, as he has begun to employ a combination of expressionism and realism. The exhibition features new work that explores the realm of politics in the Arab region.
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<Joker 4>
2014 Acrylic on canvas 150×120cm
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<Brands>
2014 Acrylic on canvas 150×220cm
DENMARK, HUMLEBAEK <PAULA MODERSOHN-BECKER>
5 December 2014 ~ 6 April 2015_Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
German artist Paula Modersohn-Becker was born in 1876 and died at the young age of 31. She insisted on the use of her particular techniques and integrity as an artist in the male-dominated art world of the turn of the century. Modersohn-Becker developed her work parallel to the 1900s rise of German Expressionism. Drawing served as the starting point of her artwork and was central in all her pieces.
In Modersohn-Becker’s early career, she depicted naturalistic portrait drawings and life studies from the region of Worpswede, Germany. She was then inspired by French artists from her visits to Paris, such as Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh.
This retrospective presents the artist’s work thematically and chronologically, spanning her entire career from landscape paintings to representative portraiture. In particular, the exhibition focuses on Modersohn-Becker’s early drawings from Worpswede, providing an insight into the development of her work. ■ with ARTINPOST
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<Self-Portrait Turned to the left with Her Hand at Her Chin >
1906 Paper on cardboard
29×19.5cm Niedersachsisches Landesmuseum Hannover-Leihgabe aus Privatbesitz
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<Old Woman from the Poorhouse in the Garden with Glass Globe and Poppies>
1907 Canvas
96.3×80.2 cm Museen Bottcherstrasse, Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, Bremen
