EXHIBITION: LONDON

Chuck Close Prints: Process and collaboration

This weekend the work of influential New York-based print artist Chuck Close will be on display at the White Cube gallery in Bermondsey, South London. Curated by director of the Parrish Art Museum, Terrie Sultan and Close himself, it showcases over 150 works from copper-plate engravings and tapestries to etchings. The free-spirited collection represents the ethos of trial and error which has defined Close’s career. Must-sees include the iconic large-scale photorealistic portraits of composer Philip Glass, sculptor Keith Hollingworth and artist Lucas Samaras.

White Cube, 144-152 Bermondsey Street. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10.00-18.00, Sundays 12.00-18.00. Until 21 April.
whitecube.com

FILM: CHICAGO

Chicago Underground Film Festival

This week marked the opening of the 20th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, held at the city’s historic Logan Theatre and several dozen films will be shown throughout the weekend. We recommend Vigilante Vigilante, Max Good’s documentary about anti-graffiti activists and Roddy Bogawa’s Taken by Storm: The Art of Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis. The latter is a feature about the artist who created cover designs for bands such as Pink Floyd and (as the film puts it) “about 80 per cent of your record collection”.

The Logan Theatre, 2646 N Milwaukee Avenue. Until 10 March.
cuff.org

EXHIBITION: TOKYO

Francis Bacon at Taka Ishii

Not only is Francis Bacon’s first posthumous exhibition in Asia currently at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo but a selection of his works is also at Roppongi’s Taka Ishii Gallery from this weekend. Bacon strongly favoured painting from images over live models and this exhibition offers a glimpse into the painter’s creative process with the inclusion of 11 contact sheets saved by Bacon’s associate (and sometime electrician), Mac Robertson.

Taka Ishii Gallery, 6-6-9 2F Roppongi, Minato-ku. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 12.00-19.00. Until 6 April.
takaishiigallery.com

BOOKS: DUBAI

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

Saturday is the fifth and final day of the The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the UAE’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word. With 120 authors from 30 countries and over 200 events on topics ranging from cookery and creative writing to art and science fiction, there’s something to whet any reader’s appetite. Saturday’s big draws include poet and broadcaster Roger McGough, novelist and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz and a debate on the ethics of journalism with Francis Matthew, Dherar Belhoul, Caroline Faraj and Baina Al Mulhim.

The InterContinental, Dubai Festival City, Al Rebat Street. Open Saturday 9.30-19.15.
eaifl.com

MUSIC: GLOBAL

The Mary Onettes: Hit the Waves

Hailing from the small city of Jönköping in central Sweden, the Mary Onettes combine the anthemic 1980s guitar melodrama of bands such as Echo and the Bunnymen and the polished-pop sheen of fellow Nordic wonders – A-ha. The four-piece’s latest album Hit The Waves is nine chunks of bold, assured, well-crafted pop. And with recent single “Evil Coast” laying pulsing synths over some characteristically huge choruses, it could be time for this Swedish secret to join the likes of fellow performers Lykke Li and Robyn on the world stage. If they can get out of Jönköping first.

“Evil Coast” is available now, “Hit The Waves” is released on Monday.
themaryonettes.net