From seminal architecture to experimental photography, exhibitions open this autumn explore the breadth of human experience. Looking to notions of connection, innovation and perception, this selection pushes boundaries and reestablishes norms.
Renzo Piano: The Art of Making Buildings, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Renzo Piano (b. 1937) is recognised as one of the foremost architects in the world, designing international projects such as The Shard, London, and the Pompidou Centre, Paris. Focusing on 16 key projects, RA’s exhibition reveals how he uses form, materials and engineering to create cultural icons. Until 20 January.
Noémie Goudal: Stations, Fotografiska, Stockholm
Noémie Goudal’s (b. 1984) series of work comprises constructed images that reinvent built and natural environments. Questioning boundaries between truth and fiction, the artist’s unique layering technique results in large-scale, illusory compositions, each one offering surreal and arresting visuals. Until 18 November.
A celebration of creative culture, DESIGNART TOKYO returns for a second edition, showcasing design, art, fashion, technology and more. Featured practitioners include architect Sou Fujimoto, design studio Yoy and furniture manufacturer Conde House. From 19-28 October.
Modern Couples: Art, Intimacy and the Avant-garde, Barbican Centre, London
Highlighting creative relationships across painting, sculpture, photography, design and literature, this show bridges boundaries between the personal and the artistic. Positioning such pairings as playgrounds for inspiration and experimentation, it looks to new ways of living and making work. From 10 October.
Elemental, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek
Part of the museum’s The Architect’s Studio series, this show focuses on Chilean company ELEMENTAL, headed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena. The studio takes an innovative approach to social housing in Santiago – designing museum buildings, private homes and more. From 11 October.
Senga Nengudi, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
A trailblazer in the the African American avant-garde scenes of Los Angeles and New York in the 1960s and 1970s, Nengudi’s (b. 1943) sculptures and installations are known for a radical experimentation with material and form, informed by a long-standing interest in spiritual rituals and the use of objects. Until 17 February.
Absurd Routines, KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin
Raising questions about life in a performance-orientated society, surreal, unexpected compositions by the likes of Juno Calypso, Brooke DiDonato and Ben Zank encouragr reflection on the contemporary state of play. Surprising angles and uncanny postures look to notions of fatigue and overwork, inviting audiences into playful yet introspective landscapes. Until 3 February.
Heidi Bucher, Parasol unit, London
Bucher’s (1926-1993) latex casts of room interiors, objects, clothing and the human body, capture uncanny imprints of architectural surfaces and objects. Exploring physical and metaphorical ideas of space, the pieces evoke a transience and fragility whilst looking to the relationship between the body and its wider context. Until 9 December.
This exhibition of works by multidisciplinary artist Laurent Grasso (b. 1972) at Perrotin, Paris, explores sacred spaces, mythologies and scientific theories through video, sculpture, painting and installation. The eponymous film is locus of the show, representing the immaterial through hypnotic forms. Until 6 October.
Space Shifters, Hayward Gallery, London.
In an increasingly digital world, notions of physical space are changing to accommodate new, virtual landscapes. Questioning notions of perception, it brings together works by 20 leading international artists that alter the audience’s sense of place. Featured practitioners include Yayoi Kusama and Anish Kapoor. Until 6 January.
Credits:
1. Brooke DiDonato, Long Way Down, 2016. © Brooke DiDonato
2. Renzo Piano’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. Photography by Yiorgis Yerolymbos.
3. Image © Noémie Goudal
4. PIXEL by Hiroto Yoshizoe and Shunsuke Watanabe for B&B Italia Tokyo.
5. Attributed to Mikhail Kaufman, Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova in their studio 1922.
Photograph © Rodchenko Stepanova Archive, Moscow
6. Architectural Workshops: ELEMENTAL, Villa Verde, Constitución, Chile, 2010. Photo: Elemental.
7. Senga Nengudi, Performance Piece 1978.
8. Brooke DiDonato, Closure, 2016. © Brooke DiDonato
9. Heidi Bucher, Bodyshells, Venice Beach (1972)
10. OttO, 2018 . HD film, durée 00:21:26, 1/5 + 2 AP © Laurent Grasso / ADAGP Paris, 2018. Courtesy of the artist, Edouard Malingue Gallery, Sean Kelly Gallery & Perrotin.
11. Larry Bell, Standing Walls II, 1969/2016. Installation view at Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles. © Larry Bell/DACS 2018. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: JR Dot
