Rococo & Co: From Nicolas Pineau to Cindy Sherman
March 12-May 18
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
madparis.fr
Known for his exuberant designs, the French ornamental sculptor and architect Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754) was one of the key proponents of Rococo style. Pineau spent more than a decade in the early 18th century in St. Petersburg, working on the palace of Peter the Great, before returning to France to work for Louis XV and the Parisian nobility. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris holds almost 500 drawings by the artist and his studio, which it has recently restored. This exhibition, which coincides with the Salon du Dessin fair (March 26-31) presents these drawings alongside decorative objects from the museum’s collection to show Pineau’s full design process.
"The exhibitions of Bénédicte Gady, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ Chief Curator of Graphic Arts, are consistently curated with remarkable talent and exceptional quality. Nicolas Pineau, one of the leading artistic figures of his period, patronized by royalty and the French, German and Russian aristocracies, is now in the spotlight. As a sculptor, ornamentist and architect, Pineau channeled his genius into silverwork, furniture, wood paneling and architecture. This is a rare opportunity to revisit the golden age of French rocaille, a style that balances like a tightrope walker on the fine line of grace and movement." –Louis-Xavier Joseph
Anselm Kiefer: Sag mir wo die Blumen sind (Where have all the flowers gone?)
March 7-June 9
Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Netherlands
vangoghmuseum.nl
The German artist Anselm Kiefer was 17 when he first encountered Vincent van Gogh’s work in 1962, following in his footsteps on a travel scholarship from the Netherlands to Belgium, Paris and Arles, France. Now, two of Amsterdam’s art institutions join forces to show the artists together. Paintings and drawings from the Van Gogh Museum will complement past and recent works by Kiefer that are influenced by the pioneering post-impressionist—some never seen before. Van Gogh has informed the subjects and techniques of Kiefer’s deeply emotional and spiritual paintings and sculptures throughout his six-decade career.
"I am looking forward to this groundbreaking exhibition as a showcase of the profound influence of Vincent van Gogh on Anselm Kiefer’s artistic journey. The show presents their works side by side for the first time, revealing how both artists transform psychological landscapes into powerful visual metaphors. Van Gogh’s expressive brushwork and vibrant palette find echoes in Kiefer’s textured surfaces created with unconventional materials. Their shared exploration of complex emotional and existential themes creates a compelling dialogue. The offering includes previously unseen works by Kiefer, giving a rare glimpse into the deep connections between these two artistic legacies." –Alex Branczik
Tracey Emin: Sex and Solitude
March 16-July 20
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence
palazzostrozzi.org
The Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi hosts the first institutional exhibition in Italy of the work of the British artist Tracey Emin. A selection of historical and recent works across media conveys Emin’s controversial and lacerating art of disclosure, which places a strong focus on the body and human relationships.
TEFAF Maastricht
March 15-20
Maastricht Exhibition & Conference Centre, the Netherlands
tefaf.com
The European Fine Art Fair returns for its 38th edition in the Dutch city of Maastricht, with hundreds of galleries presenting treasures from ancient times to contemporary works. A favorite with curators from major international museums, as well as discerning private collectors, TEFAF features Old Master paintings and antiques in half of the fair, alongside modern and contemporary art, photography, jewelry, design and works on paper.
Picasso for Asia: A Conversation
March 15-July 13
M+, Hong Kong
mplus.org.hk
Pablo Picasso’s enduring influence is reinterpreted through a contemporary Asian lens in this cross-cultural exhibition. Hong Kong’s M+ museum—Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture—is placing more than 60 works by the Spanish master in dialogue with around 80 works in its collection by Asian and Asian-diaspora artists, including China’s Gu Dexin and Japan’s Keiichi Tanaami. Among the loans from the Musée National Picasso-Paris is the 1951 painting “Massacre in Korea,” which is seen as Picasso’s critique of American intervention in the Korean War. The exhibition promises to decenter the Western view of Picasso, examining his complex legacy on a global scale.
"While the past two years have seen a flurry of exhibitions reexamining Picasso’s legacy upon the 50th anniversary of his death, they largely left one theme underexplored—the interplay of his contributions with modern and contemporary Asian artists. Of the works being drawn from the M+ collections for this new show, I am especially looking forward to seeing new light shed on the paintings of Luis Chan, a Hong Kong-raised artist and true pioneer of modernism in Asia. With his oeuvre ranging from surreal Chinese ink landscapes to graphic collages, Chan was one of the few artists in the 20th century to come close to matching Picasso in his exceptional breadth of output." –Elaine Holt
Edvard Munch Portraits
March 13-June 15
National Portrait Gallery, London
npg.org.uk
The National Portrait Gallery presents the U.K.’s first exhibition to focus on Edvard Munch’s distinctive approach to portraiture, characterized by bold color and emotional sensitivity. The Norwegian artist (1863-1944) produced many portraits over more than six decades, both as commissions for patrons and as personal depictions of his family, friends, lovers and fellow artists. He was also a prolific creator of self-portraits —including selfie-style photographs— that give an insight into the mind of an artist who led a troubled life marked by tragedy. Munch masterfully captured the universality of human experience through his allegorical portraits, such as “Anxiety,” 1894, and “Jealousy,” 1895.
"Among many exciting exhibitions on the horizon, I am particularly looking forward to “Edvard Munch Portraits” at London’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG). Following the revelation of “Trembling Earth,” an exhibition exploring Munch’s landscapes, it’s the perfect moment to examine his groundbreaking portraiture. As the creator of “The Scream”—perhaps the most celebrated of all modern paintings—Munch is the ultimate painter of people. Every brush stroke is loaded with a pathos that captures the inner life of his sitters while speaking of timeless human themes. The Norwegian is also a painter’s painter. It will be fascinating to see the diverse technical means he deploys to capture character. So much flows from Munch. He brought soul into painting, and his influence is visible everywhere today. The NPG is on a roll, too, after its recent reinvention under Nicholas Cullinan. I’m thrilled to see where visionary new director Victoria Siddall will take things next." –Simon Shaw
The Gorgeous Nothings: Flowers at Chatsworth
March 15-October 6
Chatsworth House, Bakewell, England
chatsworth.org
The palatial stately home of the Duke of Devonshire is surrounded by 105 acres of gardens, so it is no surprise that flowers have long played an important part in its history. Over 500 years, many important landscape designers, gardeners, scientists and botanists have worked in the gardens, planting and foraging for everyday life and enjoyment but also contributing to research and conservation of an array of specimens. Chatsworth’s new exhibition about flowers takes the estate as its inspiration and dives into the house’s collection of art and objects, one of the most significant of its kind in Europe. The show displays rare volumes and illustrated manuscripts in the botanical library and also extends into Chatsworth’s grounds.
"As Laura Burlington puts it: “There has never been a more important time to look towards nature, marvel at it, celebrate it and consider how we should treasure it and all that it might offer us.” Burlington first conceived of this exhibition five years ago, continuing the Devonshire family’s long-standing tradition of championing the arts and culture. Under the guidance of curator Allegra Pesenti, the show will present remarkable objects from Chatsworth’s historic collection, archives and estate, energized alongside contemporary works and commissioned installations from artists including Eileen Agar, Frank Bowling and Elliot Hundley. I cannot imagine more fitting and fertile grounds to reflect upon this vital theme." –Harry Dalmeny
Jack Whitten: The Messenger
March 23-August 2
Museum of Modern Art, New York
moma.org
Jack Whitten came of age as an artist at the height of the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1960s. Despite facing pressure to create representational art as a form of activism, Whitten dared to invent new forms of abstraction. MoMA pays tribute to his visionary career with the first comprehensive retrospective of his groundbreaking art. The exhibition brings together more than 175 works from the 1960s to the 2010s, including paintings, sculptures, rarely shown works on paper and archival materials.
Art Basel Hong Kong
March 28-30
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
artbasel.com
One of the leading contemporary art fairs in Asia, Art Basel Hong Kong hosts hundreds of galleries with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region. The curated sections of the fair include Discoveries, displaying works created specifically for the fair by emerging artists; Kabinett, offering thematic solo presentations by modern and contemporary artists; Encounters, dedicated to large-scale installations; and Conversations, which brings together cultural figures for discussions and debates on topics shaping the art world.
Banner: Delft flower pyramids grouped in the fireplace in the State Bedchamber at Chatsworth, circa 1691-97. © The Devonshire Collections, Chatsworth. Reproduced by permission of Chatsworth Settlement Trustees.
