Exhibitions

Lorna Simpson: Unanswerable is still on view at Hauser & Wirth in London, United Kingdom until April 28, 2018

Lorna Simpson’s inaugural exhibition at Hauser & Wirth features new and recent work across three different media: painting, photographic collage and sculpture. The artist came to prominence in the eighties through her pioneering approach to conceptual photography, which featured striking juxtapositions of text and images, raising questions about the nature of identity, gender, race and history. Simpson continues to develop the language of the found image as a source for her work, incorporating photographs from her collection of vintage magazines such as Ebony and Jet, which covered subjects of lifestyle, culture, and politics from an African-American perspective. Her recent works reconfigure imagery of the female form and reflect her ongoing exploration of, and response to, contemporary culture and American life today. In the last few years, Simpson has taken up painting for the first time in two decades, creating works using hazy washes of ink and acrylic over gesso.

David Goldblatt is still on view at Centre Pompidou in Paris, France until May 7, 2018

For the very first time, the Centre Pompidou is devoting a retrospective to the work of David Goldblatt, a key figure in the South African photography scene, and a major artist in the politically committed documentary. Through his photos, Goldblatt tells the story of his native country, its geography and its inhabitants, maintaining a singular tension between subject, territory, politics and representation. The exhibition looks back over his career through a selection of major series, and reveals lesser-known groups of pictures, like his first photos taken in the townships of Johannesburg. The series On the Mines, now considered an iconic work in the history of documentary photography, is presented with working prints. The exhibition also includes part of the Particulars series from the Centre Pompidou collection and the artist’s most recent work, through the Intersections series. All these series cast a sharp eye on the complexity of social relations under apartheid.

Neïl Beloufa: L’Ennemi de mon ennemi is still on view at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France until May 13, 2018

L’Ennemi de mon ennemi is a project by Neïl Beloufa, commissioned by Palais de Tokyo. It consists of a scenographic dispositive that represents a chaotic and fragmented vision of the ways in which history is written, and in which power is legitimized in the contemporary era. Drawing inspiration from official communication, memorials, museums of war, and political propaganda as well as contemporary events, advertising, and video games, the exhibition explores the interchangeability of strategies and discourses. In doing so, it plays upon the permanent ambiguity between good and evil, heroes and villains, postures and impostures. The scenographic dispositive, specially created by the artist for this exhibition, integrates works of art, documents, images, artefacts, reproductions and objects that are constantly moved around by robotic elements according to an algorithmic programme. The dispositive thus allows for a constant reappraisal of possible associations, perspectives and meanings.

Biennials

1st NGV Triennial Melbourne is still open at the NGV International in Melbourne, Australia until April 15, 2018

Featuring the work of over 100 artists and designers from 32 countries, the NGV Triennial surveys the world of art and design, across cultures, scales, geographies and perspectives. A free exhibition, the NGV Triennial is a celebration of contemporary art and design practice that traverses all four levels of NGV International, as well as offering a rich array of programs. The NGV Triennial explores innovative technologies, architecture, animation, performance, film, painting, drawing, fashion design, tapestry and sculpture. Visitors have an opportunity to look at the world and its past, present and future through the eyes of some of the most creative minds working today. Several artists from Africa are participating including Candice Breitz (South Africa), Edson Chagas (Angola), Ephrem Solomon (Ethiopia), Hassan Hajjaj (Morocco), Kay Hassan (South Africa), Pascale Marthine Tayou (Cameroon), Zanele Muholi (South Africa) and many more.

Art Fairs

The 20th edition of Art Paris Art Fair will open at the Grand Palais in Paris, France from April 5-8, 2018

Art Paris Art Fair will bring together 140 galleries from some twenty different countries at the Grand Palais. Diversity and discovery are the key words of this leading springtime event for modern and contemporary art in Paris that combines a region-by-region exploration of European art from the post-war years to the present day and a cosmopolitan perspective on emerging creativity from around the world. True to its original vocation to support the French art scene, the fair will be juxtaposing the subjective, historical and critical perspective of an exhibition curator, with a selection of specific projects. These projects will focus on artists in France who, both in the past and today, have managed to preserve their independence from dominant trends, or were situated on the margin of mainstream art history. Submitted by participating galleries, the projects may include a monographic presentation, a duo of artists, or a themed exhibition.