AUSTRIA
Exhibition “Summer of Love,” May 12 - September 17, Vienna. The main summer exhibition at Vienna’s Kunsthalle museum has been announced as the psychedelic art exhibition “Summer of Love.” The title refers visitors to the events of the actual “summer of love” of 1967 in San Francisco; this same “summer” defines the style and chronology of the exhibits - works from the late 1960s to early 1970s. The exhibition explores the broad context of the emergence of new psychedelic art: political, sociocultural, philosophical. “Summer of Love” includes painting, photography, sculpture, and video installations. The exhibition has been prepared in cooperation with Tate Liverpool and the Frankfurt Kunsthalle. //www.kunsthallewien.at/
Exhibition by Jenny Holzer “XX,” May 17 - September 17, Vienna. An exhibition of installations by the famous American artist Jenny Holzer will open at the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). Text installations, or, as the artist herself puts it, “disseminating messages in public space,” have become the main feature of her work. The exhibition “XX” consists of three parts reflecting new trends in Jenny Holzer’s art. The main hall of MAK will house a giant light projection; the second part is a text installation, a dialogue about poetry and art; and the third part introduces works by the artist from past years. Guided tours of this exhibition are held on Saturdays and Sundays at 16:00. //www.mak.at
BELGIUM
Exhibition “The Heart at Work,” until November 5, Brussels. The Museum of Natural Sciences at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences periodically holds educational popular-science events. Currently on display there is an exhibition devoted to how the heart works. The exhibition presents numerous exhibits that very clearly demonstrate the functioning of the heart, the structure of the circulatory system, and the composition of blood. A separate part of the exhibition is devoted to the history of scientific studies of the heart’s work, from antiquity to the present day. The final part of the exhibition is entertaining; it is devoted to the symbolic depiction of the heart in works of art, of varying quality, to put it mildly. //www.naturalsciences.be
GREAT BRITAIN
International exhibition Photo-London, May 18-21, London. The Photo-London exhibition was first held in 2004 and was a huge success, so it was decided to hold it annually. About 50 galleries from different countries will present their best collectible works at this photo exhibition, from 19th-century daguerreotypes to contemporary digital photographs, films, and videos. The exhibition was organized by the Royal Academy of Arts. //www.themysticarts.com/programme.asp
Exhibition “The Smoking Room,” until July 2, Edinburgh. This thematic exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is more cultural than artistic. It is devoted to the “history of the question” of smoking, traditions, and changing trends in public opinion about smoking and smokers, using materials from the 17th century to the present day. The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, and photographs from the collections of the Royal Scottish Academy. //www.nationalgalleries.org
GERMANY
Media Art Festival EMAF, until June 18, Osnabrück. EMAF is one of the largest multimedia events in Europe. Familiarity with innovations in media art begins with a five-day forum, presentations, and open discussions between artists and audiences. The festival will present more than 200 experimental works of media art, video and film installations, in which “moving images” are projected, contextualized, and evaluated differently than in the more familiar static system of cinema or television. The main theme of this year’s EMAF festival and exhibition is defined as “Smart Art.” //www.emaf.de
GREECE
Exhibition “Caravaggio and the 17th Century,” until June 30, Athens. This exhibition has been organized for the 20th anniversary of the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens and is a joint Greek-Italian project. The main goal of the exhibition is to investigate Caravaggio’s influence on 17th-century European painting. The revolutionary nature of Caravaggio’s painting lies above all in his experiments with light: light, not man, defines the physical and spiritual framework of a painting’s space in Caravaggio. The exhibition will present paintings by Caravaggio (“The Raising of Lazarus,” “Saint John the Baptist,” “The Penitent Magdalene”) and by 17th-century artists from many Greek and Italian art museums and private collections. //www.cycladicm.gr
DENMARK
Exhibition of Georg Baselitz, until June 5, Copenhagen. Near Copenhagen, in the town of Humlebæk, at the famous Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, the exhibition of Georg Baselitz (born in 1938) is drawing to a close. It is a large retrospective of the artist who profoundly influenced the formation of modern German painting. The exhibition has been organized in close cooperation with the artist himself. It presents 70 paintings and 50 drawings. //www.louisiana.dk
SPAIN
International Exhibition of Noble Wines, May 28-31, Jerez de la Frontera. The international exhibition Vinoble is held every two years in the Spanish city with a symbolic name. In addition to the high quality of the products on display, it is also famous for its exhibition pavilions and stands located on the grounds of the ancient Arab fortress of Alcázar. The exhibition will feature only exclusive brands of fortified, sweet, and dessert natural wines from a hundred best producers from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, France, Portugal, and other countries. //www.vinoble.com
Exhibition of Roger de La Fresnaye, until June 3, Barcelona. "When we began to paint in a Cubist way, it was not our intention to invent Cubism. We merely wanted to express what was within ourselves," Pablo Picasso once said. Cubism at the beginning of the 20th century responded to the general need of young artists to renew the artistic language and to resist the crisis of consciousness. A large survey exhibition of the French artist Roger de La Fresnaye (1885-1925) reflects the most fruitful "Cubist period" in the artist's work, which began with his acquaintance with Picasso and Braque and his participation in the Salon des Indépendants in 1912. The exhibition examines the influence of Cézanne and the Cubists on La Fresnaye's work and his creation of an amazing synthetic artistic language based on the constructive expressiveness of color. The exhibition takes place at the Picasso Museum and brings together paintings from French museums and private collections. \/\/www.museupicasso.bcn.es<\/p>
ITALY<\/p>
Annual event "May of Monuments", until June 4, Naples. The annual "May of Monuments" event enjoys huge success among Italians - a broad program designed to provide a comprehensive acquaintance with national culture. All museums and cultural monuments of Naples are open for free visits, and special excursions are organized every weekend, for example, through ancient districts of the city or through its underground passages. In addition to excursions, a very "dense" program of musical concerts, theatrical performances, and sports celebrations has been created. \/\/www.napolioggi.it<\/p>
Exhibition of Amedeo Modigliani, until June 20, Rome. A large retrospective exhibition of paintings, sculptures, watercolors, and drawings by Amedeo Modigliani (1884--1920) is held at the Complesso del Vittoriano in Rome. The early period of the artist's work (until 1913) is characterized by a search for pure plasticity, represented mainly by sculptures and sculptural sketches. The exhibition also presents a large series of nudes created in 1916-1917, as well as works from the last years, which summarize experiments with the Mannerist elongated line. \/\/www.activitaly.com \/\/www.romart.it<\/p>
NETHERLANDS<\/p>
Festival of Sand Sculpture, until June 5, The Hague. The start of the beach season in Scheveningen on the outskirts of The Hague coincides with the sand sculpture festival held there. At the beginning of May, eight teams of sculptors, using very clean "young" sand, water, with the help of shovels, trowels, and cocktail straws (to "blow away the excess"), created ephemeral masterpieces. This year they were inspired by music, for the theme is complex but interesting for interpretation - "Mozart". On May 5, a special jury, having assessed the perfection of the composition and the technical complexity of execution, chose the winners. Well, spectators will be able to admire the sand sculptures until the very summer. \/\/www.sandsculptures.nl \/\/www.scheveningen.nl<\/p>
World Press Photo Exhibition, until June 18, Amsterdam. The most prestigious international competition for professional photography, World Press Photo, and the solemn award ceremony for the winners traditionally take place in Amsterdam. Then the best works of the photographers go on a world tour, so until the end of 2006, World Press Photo exhibitions will be held around the world. In May, such exhibitions will take place in Rome, Hamburg, Athens, and London. Visitors will be able to see the best works of the competition winners in 18 categories ("Classic Black-and-White Photography", "Sports Photography", "Arts and Entertainment", "General News", "Portraits", etc.). \/\/www.museodiroma.comune.roma.it \/\/www.worldpressphoto.nl<\/p>
FRANCE<\/p>
Exhibition of Georges Mathieu, until July 2, Paris. The contemporary French artist Georges Mathieu (born in 1921) has been honored - his solo exhibition opened in May in Versailles. The artist became famous in the 1960s for his loud performances, realizing in front of an amazed audience a direct and deep understanding of what "action painting", or tachism, is. In 1963, summarizing his experimental experience, Mathieu even wrote the book "Beyond Tachism". The artist's paintings are large canvases covered with graphic, contrasting strokes resembling monumental hieroglyphic painting. A. Malraux once called him "the first Western calligrapher". The exhibition presents 14 large canvases of the artist. \/\/www.chateauversailles.fr<\/p>