European May is rich with high art exhibitions
BELGIUM
Interiors of Bruges, April 29 – May 3; Ivory Works, April 29 – November 7, Bruges. The new tourist season in Bruges opens with two unusual exhibitions. The originality of the first ('Interiors of Bruges') lies in the fact that it is an exhibition-journey through the city streets and canals. The goal of the project is to reveal local attractions that are off the usual tourist routes or closed to the public. A ticket and a map with marked routes can be purchased for €8.50 at Stadsschouwburg on Vlamingstraat. Artists, florists, and designers will offer their products at fair-exhibitions at various points along the route. On the evening of May 1, travelers can also enjoy live jazz concerts.
The second exhibition runs at Hospitaalmuseum (Former St. John's Hospital and Memling Museum) until November 7. It will feature a collection of ivory works from churches, monasteries, and museums of Bruges. Religious artifacts and household items (the most valuable exhibits were created in the 12th-13th centuries) have been brought together for the first time specifically for this exhibition. //www.brugge.be
ITALY
Exhibition-fair Chibimart, May 21-24, Milan. This exhibition of jewelry and fashion accessories is held twice a year at the Fieramilanocity complex. More than 150 companies from around the world will present their new collections of jewelry, costume jewelry, precious and semi-precious stones, silver items, ethnic souvenirs, as well as accessories – hats, bags, scarves, gloves, belts, and hair clips. Among the participating countries are Austria, Germany, Spain, India, Israel, Pakistan, Poland, Lithuania, Nepal, Turkey, France. //chibi.fieramilano.it
Retrospective exhibition of Franz West, May 15 – August 23, Naples. The MADRE Museum of Contemporary Art in Naples has prepared its main summer exhibition – a retrospective of works by contemporary Austrian sculptor Franz West (b. 1947 in Vienna). The title 'Auto-Theater' emphasizes the performative nature of West's work and the interactive style of the exhibition: visitors are invited to use objects and thus become 'part of the art'. The exhibition includes early works from the 1970s (famous Passstucke, reflecting the author's penchant for double meanings, carnival culture, and associative games), 'sculptures for sitting' and furniture created in the 1980s, and recent installations, including 'Auto Sex' (1999, private collection). //www.museomadre.it
FRANCE
Paul Klee, until July 19, Paris. The Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris recently opened an exhibition of works by Paul Klee (1879-1940) from the collection of the famous Swiss gallerist and collector Ernst Beyeler. Captivated by the poetry and musicality of Klee's works, Beyeler began buying his drawings and paintings as early as the 1950s. Since then, Paul Klee has been most fully represented in Beyeler's collection. The works selected for the exhibition at the Orangerie represent the main stages of the artist's career, but also reflect Beyeler's own artistic preferences, so the focus is on Klee's late works created in 1938-1940. Beyeler spoke of Klee's late work as a 'transition to tragic proportionality, to a deep vision that includes other worlds.' //www.musee-orangerie.fr
International Fair Foire de Bordeaux, May 8-17, Bordeaux. The International Fair in Bordeaux has been held since 1916 and annually attracts a huge number of visitors from around the world. This year's key events include the exhibition 'Conquest of the Skies,' featuring 30 aircraft, transport helicopters from various eras, as well as models and simulators; the exhibition 'Journey to Russia'; 'Ecological Salon'; 'Agricultural Salon of Aquitaine'; and 'Salon of Artistic Crafts.' It is at this fair that the beginning of the new famous 'Cow Parade' will be seen. //www.foiredebordeaux.com
CZECH REPUBLIC
Neoclassicism and Biedermeier, May 6 – October 17, Prague. Temporary exhibitions are regularly held at the Waldstein Riding School (Valdštejnská jízdárna) in Prague. In early May, the exhibition 'Neoclassicism and Biedermeier from the Collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein' will open there. The exhibition is dedicated to the so-called 'Biedermeier era,' which prevailed in the first half of the 19th century in Austria and Germany.
In the collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein, Biedermeier art, which depicted bourgeois urban life and the domestic world of the 'little man,' initially occupied an important place, as it fully corresponded to the life views of this family. The Prague exhibition features paintings, engravings, architectural plans, furniture, sculptures, porcelain from the Austrian collection, as well as specially selected Biedermeier exhibits from Czech museums. //www.ngprague.cz
Also read related material: MAY DRAWINGS AND LANDSCAPES
Nyuta KUKUSHKINA.
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