EXHIBITION: ROTTERDAM
Pushwagner: Soft City
This weekend the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam plays host to the work of celebrated Norwegian artist Hariton Pushwagner. Known to his countrymen as the “contemporary Munch”, Pushwagner’s illustrations, paintings and drawings depict dystopian cityscapes with influences as diverse as pop art, beat poetry and science fiction (as well as his compatriot Edvard’s somewhat bleak world-view). Pushwagner's first solo exhibition outside of Norway profiles the past four decades of his work, centering around three essential pictures – “Soft City”, “A Day in the Life of Family Man” and “Apocalypse Frieze”.
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Museumpark 18-20. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11.00-17.00. Until 26 May.
boijmans.nl
ART: TOKYO
G-tokyo 2013 Contemporary Art Fair
This weekend Tokyo welcomes G-tokyo, a two-day contemporary art fair taking place in Roppongi. Coinciding with Roppongi Art Night, a Nuit Blanche event on Saturday, the fair features an eclectic mix of works submitted by Japan’s top galleries. Highlights include Yayoi Kusama’s sculpture “Flowers That Bloom Tomorrow”, a gold-plated cardboard piece by Vietnam-born, Berlin-based artist Danh Vo, and the latest work from UK artist Matthew Darbyshire, who rose to fame with his designs for Frieze Projects.
Tokyo Midtown Hall, B1F Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku. Open Saturday 11.00-24.00, Sunday 11.00-19.00.
gtokyo-art.com
FILM: NEW YORK
New Directors/New Films
The 42nd edition of New Directors/New Films started earlier this week in New York. Co-produced by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the festival is renowned for presenting the future faces of the filmmaking scene – past years have included early work by Pedro Almodóvar, Steven Spielberg and Wim Wenders. This year’s lineup promises to showcase innovative storytelling from around the world. Films to look our for include a found-footage portrait of the Nixon administration by Penny Lane, and The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer’s haunting documentary about two men responsible for murdering suspected communists after the 1965 overthrow of the Indonesian government.
Screenings at MoMA, Film Society of Lincoln Center, and MoMA PS1. See website for more details. Until 31 March.
newdirectors.org
EXIBITION: MILAN
Brand New Gallery
Two exhibitions opened earlier this week at Milan’s Brand New Gallery, a space dedicated to promoting the work of contemporary foreign artists in Italy. Gallery 1 hosts Splays by London’s Gabriel Hartley: a presentation of prints and sculptures of polyurethane foam, it is an abstract study on the expansion and distortion of body parts. Then head over to Gallery 2 to see Gemini, Roman Liska's debut exhibition in Italy. Born in Hamburg and residing in London, his works include painted white and black blocks and cast metal sculptures that look at dualities in his life and surroundings.
Brand New Gallery, via Carlo Farini 32, 20159. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11.00-13.00 and 14.30-19.00. Until 11 May.
brandnew-gallery.com
MUSIC: NEW YORK/LONDON
Efterklang
Copenhagen’s Efterklang play dates in New York this weekend and London next week (the latter with incendiary, not-to-be-missed live favourites Foals). Efterklang started out making crackly, woozy, almost drone-like songs back in 2004 and have shed a member or two along their musical journey. But instead of losing focus, the now-trio has streamlined their sound to become masters of taut pop with orchestral flourishes that still retains the mystery of the band’s roots. Along with six extra live members, the band will be recreating the atmospherics of recent album and creative highpoint Piramada.
Saturday 23 March, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St, New York. Thursday 28 March, The Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London.
efterklang.net
