PHOTOGRAPHY: BRUSSELS
Martin Parr in Beijing
Catch the opening weekend of British photographer Martin Parr’s two-month long exhibit in Brussels’ Galerie Paris-Beijing. Through his six major series – Common Sense, Last Resort, Small World, Luxury, Bored Couples, and Life’s a Beach – Parr explores themes of globalisation and its effects on contemporary society. His works are renowned for their focus on grotesque detail, close-ups and vivid colours, making a critical statement on the effects of mass tourism, commercialisation and fast-food culture on our daily lives. A stigmatisation of western opulence.
Rue de l'Hôtel des Monnaies 66. Open Saturday 11.00-19.00. Until 27 July.
galerieparisbeijing.com
EXHIBITION: ISTANBUL
Erol Akyavas – Retrospective
Istanbul Modern presents 290 works of 20th-century Turkish painter Erol Akyavas chosen from different collections by the museum’s curator Levent Calikoglu. The exhibition will portray the painter’s four-decade long career covering eras from 1950 to 1990. The architect-turned-painter became widely recognised for including eastern calligraphy and imagery in his abstract expressionist canvases. His “Glory of the Kings” painting from 1959 is part of the permanent collection in New York’s MoMA.
Istanbul Modern, 4, Liman Isletmenleri Sahasi, Meclisi Mebusan Caddesi, Karakoy. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10.00-18.00; Thursday 10.00-20.00. Until 25 August
istanbulmodern.org
ART: VENICE
Whitney McVeigh / Hunting Song
This solo project by London-based US artist Whitney McVeigh at Venice’s Gervasuti Foundation is a fictional old curiosity shop containing a diverse collection of personal objects that McVeigh collected during her travels. An old typewriter, artefacts from Syria and Africa, ancient reference books, neglected photographs – all are mixed with objects “found” onsite at Gervasuti Foundation. McVeigh alludes to the layering of time and how the histories of objects (and those of their previous owners) transfer to the person encountering them.
Gervasuti Foundation, Fondamenta S Ana (Via Garibaldi) Castello 995. Open Saturday and Sunday 11.00-19.00. Until 7 July.
gervasutifoundation.com
EXHIBITION: BEIJING
Enigma by Pierre Coulibeuf
Don’t miss the last opportunity to see video artist Pierre Coulibeuf’s exhibition Enigma in its final weekend at the YUAN Space gallery in Beijing. Influenced by drawing, dance, literature and the work of other artists, the films displayed are beautifully designed and gracefully choreographed meditations exploring the ties between fiction and reality, all shot in Coulibeuf’s melancholic style. Notable work includes the supernatural “A Magnetic Space” that portrays a world where corporeal means of communication have replaced the spoken word.
YUAN Space. 20/F, Tower B, Jiaming Center, No.27 Eastern 3rd Ring Road North, Chaoyang District. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11.00-17.00. Until 9 June.
yuanspace.cn
MUSIC: GLOBAL
Iron & Wine European tour
Country-tinged troubadour Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam) plays dates in Paris, Utrecht and Berlin from this weekend, showcasing recent album Ghost on Ghost. That Dylan-ish title’s no coincidence, there’s a couple of Bob’s band among the players on tour, bringing a larger, lusher record from Beam. We’ve now got luxe fittings: sax, strings, backing singers who sashay and finger-click as they harmonise. The fusion of Beam’s forensic lyricism and the jazzier vibe makes for moments of high flight, beautiful melody, irresistible rhythm. This is road-trip folk with a stunning Muscle Shoals makeover.
Saturday: Paris – La Cigale, Sunday: Utrecht – Vredenburg, continuing to Brussels and Berlin throughout next week.
ironandwine.com
