ART: LONDON
Robert Orchardson: Aperture
Noted for his tendency towards using science-fiction motifs, Scottish installation artist Robert Orchardson draws upon scientific paraphernalia for inspiration in his latest exhibition, Aperture, at London’s Now Gallery. Orchardson’s sculptures hang among curving concrete walls, each attesting to an apparatus that was once at the forefront of astronomy such as artefacts from the nearby Royal Observatory Greenwich. The artist has been particularly moved to create new work by the observatory’s collection of 19th-century equipment developed by father-and-son duo John and William Herschel. Whether those two would be able to spot a continuation of their work’s lineage in Orchardson’s take on the science is another question.
Now Gallery, The Gateway Pavilions, Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula. Open Monday to Sunday, 10.00-18.00. Until 24 April.
nowgallery.co.uk
ART: LA
Art Los Angeles Contemporary
The Art Los Angeles Contemporary fair is back at the 3,700 sq m Barker Hangar in Santa Monica this weekend showcasing the best in modern works. The event features panel talks by the great and good of the art world including Saturday’s I’m an art collector, now what?, in which industry experts will explain how to start treating your collection, no matter how small, as a valuable asset. Elsewhere, brooding shots from late US fashion photographer Deborah Turbeville are on show and also keep an eye out for the epic landscape paintings of Venice’s Thomas Braida.
The Barker Hangar, 3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica. Open Saturday, 11.00-19.00; Sunday, 11.00-18.00. Until 1 February.
artlosangelesfair.com
FILM: GÖTEBORG
Göteborg International Film Festival
Despite having broad appeal, the 38th Göteborg International Film Festival is flying the flag for its regional cinema scene with the gloomy and haunting atmosphere of Scandinavian productions set to woo drama-hungry audiences. Among the 500 films from 89 different countries on show around city over 11 days, eight titles will be competing for the Dragon Award for the best Nordic production. Among those frontrunners are Key House Mirror by Danish director Michael Noer: a gripping study of love and sexual tension during autumn years, while Finnish teenage road movie They Have Escaped offers more light-hearted fare.
At venues across Göteborg, see website for details. Until 2 February.giff.se
PHOTOGRAPHY: DÜSSELDORF
Düsseldorf Photo Weekend
This weekend Düsseldorf will be hosting the fourth edition of its Photo Weekend event, which will see over 40 museums, galleries and institutions across the regional capital celebrate local and international photography. The fair features an eclectic mix from both established and up-and-coming photographers including portraits from German shooter Maren Heyne at the Museum Kunstpalast and Joachim Brohm’s Not a House collection at Gallery Beck and Eggeling. The latter’s early commitment to colour photography in the 1970s made him something of a pioneer and his images still hold the same visceral quality today. And they will no doubt be delivering that same impact until 21 February when that particular exhibition closes, so if not in Düsseldorf this weekend be sure to add it to a future itinerary.
At venues across the city, see website for details.duesseldorfphotoweekend.de
MUSIC: GLOBAL
Björk: Vulnicura
Frequently perplexing Icelandic musical icon Björk needs little introduction but her accessible new album Vulnicura is the perfect place to begin for those who might have found past work a little too off-kilter to digest. That’s not to say it’s an easy listen; there’s a profoundly morose and downbeat sensibility to these nine songs that seem to largely tackle loss and confrontation. But each is so inventively packaged in sounds that range from the heartbreaking strings of “Stonemilker” to the skewed beats of “Notget”, that if you can’t find a way into Björk’s beguiling and evolving vision by now then perhaps there really is no hope.
‘Vulnicura’ is available now.
bjork.com
