September will also see traditional cultural events like Open House in London. There will be the London Design Festival, and – for photography enthusiasts – Photokina in Cologne, and the IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt am Main. More details about these and other events in the cultural life of the Old World – in the latest installment of the poster from Gazeta.Ru.
AUSTRIA
Exhibition of paintings and drawings by Van Gogh, until December 8, Vienna. The Albertina Museum in Vienna, together with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, has prepared an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Vincent van Gogh. It will feature works from all periods of the artist's career – 50 world-famous paintings and over 100 watercolors and drawings. The organizers emphasize that the main goal of the exhibition is to reveal the artistic unity of expressive graphics and innovative colorism in Van Gogh's painting. Paintings for this large exhibition have been provided by 60 museums and private collectors from Europe and the USA. //www.albertina.at
BELGIUM
Exhibition 'Constantin Meunier in Seville', September 19 – January 4, Brussels. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels will open an exhibition dedicated to the Seville period of the Belgian sculptor and realist painter Constantin Meunier (1831–1905). The worker, the laborer – these are the main characters and related themes of Meunier's work. Symbolically, from the late 1880s until the end of his life he worked on the grandiose 'Monument to Labor'. The exhibition at the Brussels museum is dedicated to the 'exotic' period in the artist's life. In 1882–1883, Constantin Meunier, on commission from the Belgian government, went to Spain to copy Van Camper's painting 'The Descent from the Cross' in the Seville Cathedral. It was during these years that the Seville genre scenes (life in the cathedral, work at the tobacco factory, flamenco, bullfights, fair, costumed carnival procession) were painted, which will be presented at the exhibition – more than 80 paintings and sketches for them. //www.fine-arts-museum.be
Exhibition 'Portrait Busts of the 17th–19th Centuries', until December 14, Antwerp. An exhibition of Dutch and Belgian portrait busts from the 17th–19th centuries opens in mid-September at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. Visitors to this exhibition will, first, have the opportunity to compare busts of officials representing state power with busts of scientists, writers, philosophers, actresses, and even mythological characters. Secondly, one can compare works of Baroque masters (Artus Quellinus the Elder, Lucas Faydherbe, François Duquesnoy) with portrait busts by realist sculptors. //www.kmska.be
GREAT BRITAIN
Exhibition of paintings by Francis Bacon, until January 4, London. A retrospective exhibition of one of the most brilliant and influential artists of the 20th century, Francis Bacon (1909–1992), will open in September at Tate Britain in London. 'There is nothing more terrible than life itself,' Bacon asserted, so existential despair and universal loneliness become the main themes of his painting. Often the creative impulse for Bacon came not only from newspaper photographs and film materials, but also from paintings by famous artists of past eras, 'eternal' subjects. Thus, the London exhibition will feature the most famous Baconian interpretations of classics – a series of works based on Diego Velázquez's painting 'Pope Innocent X'. Also, visitors will be able to compare Bacon's famous triptychs – 'Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion' (1944) from the museum's own collection and the triptych 'Three Studies for a Crucifixion' (1962) from the Guggenheim Museum in New York. //www.tate.org.uk
International Festival Made Up, September 20 – November 30, Liverpool. As part of the 5th Liverpool Biennial, the contemporary art festival Made Up will open in September, featuring new works by artists from many countries around the world. Visitors will be able to see photographs by Ai Weiwei, models and installations by David Altmejd, design projects by Atelier Bow Wow, videos by Guy Ben-Ner, performances by David Blandy, and many other projects. Creative imagination, fantasy, myths, utopias and dystopias are the main themes of this festival, which will take place across many city cultural venues, but the main events will be held at Tate and Open Eye Gallery. //www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/
Annual Open House event, September 20-21; Design Festival, September 13-23, London. On the weekend of September 20 and 21, 650 London houses – public and private – will be open for free access as part of the 'Open House' event. The public will have access to buildings that are usually heavily guarded, such as the Bank of England, City Hall/Potters Field, Somerset House, Horse Guards, and many others. A detailed list of 'open houses' and offered guided tours can be found on the event's official website.
More than 100 exhibitions featuring established and emerging designers and architects will take place as part of the 6th London Design Festival in mid-September. A wide range of fields – from interiors and plumbing to printing, where design developments play an increasingly important role – will allow visitors to choose an event of interest. One of the main themes of this festival will be eco-design. //www.londonopenhouse.org //www.londondesignfestival.com
GERMANY
International Motor Show IAA, September 25 – October 2, Frankfurt am Main. The IAA motor show at the Frankfurt Messegelände exhibition center has been running for ten years and is recognized as the largest in the world – about a thousand exhibitors from 40 countries present their products here. On September 27, as part of the exhibition, a vintage car show will take place, and on the 27-28th, a auto market of mini-models will be open. Ticket price: €9. //www.iaa.de
Photokina 2008 exhibition, September 23-28, Cologne. At the end of September, the largest European fair Photokina will open in Cologne, with more than 1,500 exhibitors from 40 countries. It will feature the latest video technology, multimedia, photographic equipment, video cameras, accessories – all products can be tried out. The fair will host 20 photo exhibitions from leading world agencies, as well as author photography exhibitions. Sections include 'Panoramic Photography', 'Scientific Photography', 'Travel', 'Architectural Photography', 'North Korea Photography' and others. Winners will be determined at the fair's closing. //www.photokina.de
DENMARK
Exhibition 'Danish Surrealism', until January 11, Copenhagen. The Arken Museum of Modern Art (20 km from Copenhagen) is preparing several new autumn exhibitions. The first of them – 'Triumph of Passion' – will be dedicated to surrealists and will open at the very beginning of September. Compositionally, the exhibition is built as a dialogue between Danish and European surrealist artists, so the uniqueness of this movement in Danish art can be appreciated in a pan-European context. Visitors will see works by Wilhelm Freddie, Eiler Bille, Richard Mortensen, as well as Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Max Ernst, and Man Ray. The exhibition will feature more than 130 paintings, collages, objects, sculptures, drawings, and magazines by Danish and European surrealists. //www.arken.dk
SPAIN
International Caravaning Salon, September 27 – October 3, Barcelona. This exhibition, to be held at the Gran Via center, is primarily intended for travel and outdoor enthusiasts. On huge exhibition floors, visitors will be able to thoroughly examine vans and trailers, bungalows and prefabricated houses, tents and awnings, bicycles and travel accessories, clothing and footwear for travel. This year, the exhibition will also feature a sports goods section. Professional consultants will help navigate the new products. //www.saloncaravaning.com
Exhibition 'Mechanical and Living', until October 13, Madrid. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid is hosting an exhibition of 21st-century artists who actively use the latest technologies in their work. Does such art have a 'living soul'? This is the main, quite problematic theme of the exhibition, reflected in its title. 17 contemporary artists working in various techniques will help viewers understand this issue. The exhibition features interactive sculptures by Danny Rozin, anthropomorphic robots by Birn, video installations by Harun Farocki, graphic objects by John Maeda, liquid sculptures by Sachiko Kodama, and other artistic objects. //www.museoreinasofia.es
ITALY
11th Venice Architecture Biennale, until November 23, Venice. The theme of this year's architectural exhibition, announced by its new curator Aaron Betsky, sounds quite exotic: 'Not There. Architecture Beyond Buildings.' According to Betsky, true architectural life should be 'not there,' because the final product – a building – can even be called a 'tomb of architecture' if it is not 'integrated' into the landscape, does not harmonize with the environment and visual sequence. The biennale will be dedicated to the search for this harmony. //www.labiennale.org
NETHERLANDS
TodaysArt Festival of Contemporary Art, September 26-27, The Hague. The venue for the main contemporary art festival TodaysArt will be the city center – its streets, museums, and art galleries. More than 100 artists from 25 countries will present design projects, paintings, sculptures, interactive installations, photographs, and videos at the festival. The schedule for the weekend for anyone wanting to get acquainted with contemporary art in The Hague is as follows: morning and afternoon – exhibitions and presentations; evening and night – music concerts. //www.todaysart.nl
FINLAND
Exhibition 'Journey to the Edo Period. Hokusai and Hiroshige', until December 7, Helsinki. The Ateneum Art Museum opened in early September an exhibition of two Japanese artists from the late Edo period, who created landscape prints in the ukiyo-e style. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) developed an individual and unique manner, mastering various landscape traditions of China and Japan. Their prints are considered the pinnacle of philosophical understanding of the 'man and nature' paradigm. Some works exhibited here are shown outside Japan for the first time. //www.ateneum.fi
FRANCE
24th Biennale of Antiques and Art, until September 21, Paris. The antiques biennale at the Grand Palais in Paris is organized by the Syndicat National des Antiquaires and has an impeccable reputation. This exhibition is interesting for 'casual' visitors because it allows them to see unique antique jewelry, furniture, books, maps, clocks, paintings, sculptures, photographs that may never be exhibited again, moving into private collections or little-known galleries. This year, more than 200 galleries will participate. //www.grandpalais.fr
Nyuta KUKUSHKINA.
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