The famous Grune Woche has been held in Berlin since 1924
AUSTRIA
Roy Lichtenstein, January 28 – May 15, Vienna. At the end of January, the Albertina gallery in Vienna will open an exhibition of American artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997). It will feature black-and-white drawings and paintings from 1961-1968 that brought Lichtenstein worldwide fame. It was during this period that the artist turned to pop art, using themes from media, comics, and advertising. The exhibits for the exhibition are provided mainly by museums of modern art and private collectors from the USA. //www.albertina.at
BELGIUM
BRAFA Antiques Fair, January 21-30, Brussels. 130 art galleries from Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Russia, and the USA will participate in the 55th Brussels antiques fair, which will traditionally be held at the Tour & Taxis exhibition center. Like any fair of this kind, it is good because a unique collection of antiques will be gathered in one place for a short time. For the convenience of visitors, the exhibition has genre-chronological sections: ancient art, marble and ceramics, Egyptian art, jewelry, silver, antique books and maps, clocks and barometers, medieval sculpture, Eastern art, modern art, ceramics, painting, textiles and decorative art of the 20th century, art photography. Ticket price for the fair is 20 euros. //www.antiques-fair.be
GREAT BRITAIN
Jewelry and Costumes of Oman, January 21 – September 11, London. A new exhibition opening at the end of January at the British Museum will be dedicated to the culture of the state of Oman, located on the southeastern Arabian Peninsula. In recent years, the British Museum has acquired many exhibits from the 1950s-2000s characterizing the modern life of the inhabitants of the Sultanate of Oman. They will form the basis of the exposition, which will feature traditional class costumes for women and men, hand-decorated children's clothing, as well as bracelets, earrings, beads, coins, amulets, and sacred books adorned with precious stones. //www.britishmuseum.org
British Sculpture of the 20th Century, January 22 – April 7, London. A new exhibition dedicated to the history of modern British sculpture will open at the end of January at the Royal Academy. The last time such an exhibition was held thirty years ago, so the current one is organized based on the latest scientific research and in close cooperation with the London museums Victoria and Albert and Tate Modern. Visitors can expect "provocative juxtapositions" of British sculptors from the early 20th century and early 21st century, which implies a revision of traditional art historical concepts of the development of modern sculpture. Among the exhibits are works by Alfred Gilbert, Jacob Epstein, Barbara Hepworth, Leon Underwood, Henry Moore, Anthony Caro, Julian Opie, and Damien Hirst. /www.royalacademy.org.uk
GERMANY
Else Lasker-Schüler, January 21 – May 1, Berlin. The Museum of Contemporary Art Berlin (Museum der Gegenwart, former Hamburger Bahnhof) has prepared a new exhibition of artworks by German poet Else Lasker-Schüler (1869-1945). The peak of her creativity coincided with the development of Expressionism in the 1910s-1920s in Germany, and in 1933 she was forced to emigrate from the country. Else Lasker-Schüler is buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The Berlin exhibition will feature the complete collection of the poetess's drawings and photographs reflecting the life of the Berlin bohemia of the early 20th century. //www.elselaskerschueler.org
76th International Exhibition "Green Week", January 21-30, Berlin. The famous Berlin Grune Woche has been held since 1924 and is dedicated to new trends in the development of the food industry, agriculture, horticulture, and landscape design. Every year, about 1,600 exhibitors from 52 countries participate. The sections on landscaping and landscape design, the "Bio-Shop" where you can buy organic food, the natural cosmetics section, as well as fresh meat products, beer and wine, tea and spices, are very popular. A ticket to the exhibition costs 12 euros. //www.messe-berlin.de
ITALY
International Fair of Contemporary Art, January 28-30, Bologna. January is the main month for contemporary art presentations; European gallerists sum up their activities and willingly participate in exhibitions and fairs. The Bologna fair is considered the main Italian contemporary art fair. Carefully selected and pre-evaluated paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, glass, ceramics, and silver items will be presented to the judgment of viewers and buyers at the Bologna Exhibition Center. This year, parallel to the art fair, on the night of January 29, the event "Long Night of Museums" will take place. A ticket to the fair costs 20 euros. //www.artefiera.bolognafiere.it
Marc Chagall, December 22 – March 27, Rome. A new large exhibition of Marc Chagall (1887-1985) recently opened at the Museum of the Ara Pacis (Museo dell'Ara pacis) in Rome. A comprehensive study of the "super-reality" of Chagall's painting, his world "turned upside down" is the main theme of the exhibition. Visitors will see 138 paintings and drawings by Marc Chagall created between 1917 and 1982 from major museum and private collections around the world. A ticket to the exhibition costs 10 euros. //www.romart.it
NETHERLANDS
Painting en plein air: myths and reality, January 22, 2011 – January 23, 2012, Amsterdam. En plein air painting (from French for "in the open air") developed as a result of artists working outdoors (rather than in the studio) based on "direct study of nature in conditions of natural light, with the aim of reproducing its real appearance as fully as possible." As early as the beginning of the 19th century, the English artist John Constable painted landscape studies from nature; in the mid-19th century, artists of the "Barbizon school" worked outdoors, followed by many French Impressionists. En plein air painting significantly influenced the work of Vincent van Gogh as well. A new exhibition opening at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam at the end of January is based on new scientific research. The almost detective-like "narrative" begins with an examination of Charles Daubigny's painting "The Cliffs at Villerville" (1872): it turned out that the "plein air" creation of this painting is a myth. The Amsterdam exhibition is dedicated to the myths and reality of outdoor painting. //www.vangoghmuseum.nl
FRANCE
Sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, January 28 – April 25, Paris. An exhibition dedicated to the work of Austrian sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783) will soon open at the Louvre in Paris. At the beginning of his career, Messerschmidt created Baroque sculptures for the Viennese imperial court. A turning point in the artist's work came in the 1770s after his trip to Rome – it was then that he began creating "character heads" (Charakterkopfe), after which he was dismissed from teaching at the Vienna Academy. But it is precisely these busts with expressive, bizarre, convulsive, distorted expressions that made Messerschmidt's name famous. The Paris exhibition will feature thirty works by the artist from various European museums, including those recently acquired by the Louvre. //www.louvre.fr
13th International Dive Show, January 14-17, Paris. Extreme sports enthusiasts will gather for the 13th time in mid-January at the Porte de Versailles exhibition park, where the popular Paris Dive Show will take place. The latest equipment for diving and spearfishing will be presented, and professional instructors will conduct master classes for anyone interested in proper and safe diving and underwater exploration. Demonstrations are the main part of the Paris Dive Show program. The thematic exhibition dedicated to sharks will be no less interesting. Ticket price: 10 euros. //www.salondelaplongee.com
SWITZERLAND
Giovanni Segantini, January 16 – April 25, Basel. An exhibition of Italian artist Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899) will open in mid-January at the Fondation Beyeler art gallery. The curators of this retrospective exhibition set several tasks: to trace the evolution of Segantini's work from Naturalism to Symbolism, to study the specifics of his Pointillist painting technique, and to determine the artist's innovation in European landscape painting. //www.fondationbeyeler.ch
Nyuta KUKUSHKINA.
