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The Poet of Modernism | André Kertész Retrospective | The Hungarian National Museum | Budapest

Text by Alison Frank

Following on from the Royal Academy of Arts‘ show, Eyewitness: Hungarian Photogrpahy in the 20th Century earlier this year, The Hungarian National Museum celebrates the career of Hungarian-born photographer, André Kertész, originally named Andor Kohn, (1894-1985) who spent most of his career as an exile, first in Paris, then in New York. The Hungarian National Museum‘s retrospective of his career contains two sections. The main section gives a chronological overview of Kertész’s career; curated by Michel Frizot and Annie-Laure Wanaverbecq, this retrospective was previously exhibited in Paris, Berlin and Winterthur (Switzerland). The second, much smaller section, is a special Hungarian addendum curated by Eva Fisli and Emöke Tomsics as part of the museum’s international conference, Views of Kertész.

ASFF 2011 | In Pictures

From Australia, to the Netherlands, South Africa and France, crowds descended on York for the inaugural ASFF. See who came out to play for this year’s event!

ASFF 2012
We will be accepting submissions for ASFF 2012 in December 2011 so check back soon for more information!

Jim Poyner Photography – www.jimpoyner.co.uk, ASFF, Aesthetica, Short Film Festival, York ©jim poyner 2011 all rights reserved.

The Orchestrated Spontaneity of Ryan McGinley | Wandering Comma | Alison Jacques Gallery | London

For his first London exhibition since his celebrated Moonmilk series, Ryan McGinley has assembled seven new photographs, all in the largest format the American artist has yet worked in. Scale is one of the central variables in McGinley’s practice, as each photograph taken is initially printed in an array of sizes in order to fix the exact dimensions that allow the image to speak most effectively to the viewer. All prints in other sizes are then discarded. McGinley rarely produces his artworks at this 280 x 180 cm format, the maximum size, and only does so when the photograph truly calls for a vast canvas – an expanse that demands a heightened scrutiny from the viewer, as it does more attention on the part of the artist.

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Time and Memory | Cecilia Edefalk and Gunnel Wåhlstrand | Parasol Unit | London

Parasol Unit presents a major exhibition of works by two of Sweden’s leading contemporary artists, Cecilia Edefalk and Gunnel Wåhlstrand, on show until 12 February 2012.

Don’t Miss This | Rashid Rana: Everything Is Happening At Once | The Cornerhouse | Manchester

Text by Liz Buckley

Everything Is Happening At Once at The Cornerhouse, Manchester, is the first solo UK exhibition in a public institution by Asian artist Rashid Rana. Rana’s work explores how physical realities and social practices affect our culture and identity. He is also particularly interested in the contrasts that appear in everyday life. This interest manifests itself itself in the exploration of both two and three dimensional fields found in the artist’s work. Using a mixture of both micro and macro images in his work, which reference the idea of the whole vs. fragment that many of the pieces in this show embody, Rana uses the theme of abstraction, however his techniques are not abstract.

New Horizons | Robert Mapplethorpe Curated by Sofia Coppola | Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac | Paris

There are a few things you will already know about Sofia Coppola; she wrote Lost in Translation, was the first American woman to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with Somewhere and was the woman behind the Dior commercial for Miss Dior Chérie which she shot in Paris with Maryna Linchuk. Then there are the things you may not know about Sofia Coppola, which you probably should. She grew up on the sets of Francis Ford’s films and even appeared as a baby boy in the christening scene of The Godfather. After partnering with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon on her clothing line Milk Fed (sold exclusively in Japan), Coppola must have got a taste for collaboration as since then she has worked with Robert Wilson, Hedi Slimane and The White Stripes. Her latest project sees Coppola take the role of curator of a new Robert Mapplethorpe exhibiton at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris.

A Celebration of Swedish Art History | Moment-Ynglingagatan 1 | Moderna Museet | Stockholm

Text by Bethany Rex

Celebrating Swedish Art History in the 1990s, Moderna Museet, Stockholm unveils their new exhibition Moment-Ynglingagatan 1. The non-commercial gallery Ynglingagatan 1 was a vital forum for Swedish contemporary art in the 1990s, featuring international artists such as Pierre Huyghe, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Takashi Murakami and M/M (Paris), decades before their work were recognised by critics and major institutions all over the world.

Max Mara Art Prize for Women 2011 Winner Announced

Laure Prouvost has been announced as the winner of the Whitechapel gallery’s Max Mara Art Prize for Women. Iwona Blazwick, OBE, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery and Chair of the Jury announced the winner this evening at the Italian Embassy in London.

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A Ticking Timebomb | Shen Shaomin: The Day After Tomorrow | 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art | Sydney

Text by Ella Mudie

A futuristic world of unfeeling biological experimentation that’s just a small step away from the one we inhabit now. This is what conceptual artist Shen Shaomin invites his visitors to enter in The Day After Tomorrow, Shaomin’s first solo exhibition in Sydney for a decade. Having moved to Australia from China after the political unrest of 1989 until resettling permanently back in China in 2002, over the course of his globalised artistic career Shaomin has become known for his commanding quasi-biological and anthropological installations that carry a string in their tail, confronting the darker implications of human intervention into nature and unchecked scientific, political and technological ambition. The Day After Tomorrow sees Shaomin return with a startling new manifestation of his striking yet critical approach.

The Frozen Rollercoaster | The Tiger & Turtle: Magic Mountain

Designed by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth, The Tiger & Turle – Magic Mountain is the name of this imposing outdoor sculpture which opened last week in Duisburg Wanheim, Germany. This rollercoaster-cum-pedestrian walkway sits on a large hill overlooking a sleepy surburban town. The steel forms visually allude to the nearby decommissioned factory structures looming over the small town stretched before it. At 45 metres tall (147 feet), the sculpture is the largest in the country and is easily visible from every angle.

Bo Christian Larsson | Run To The Hills | Steinle Contemporary | Munich

Swedish artist, Bo Christian Larsson combines sculpture, video, and works on paper. Larsson’s previous exhibitions have featured a central work – often a large-scale installation or a performance remnant yet with Run To The Hills, Larsson instead presents a collection of smaller works that interrelate and build upon one another.

Last Chance To See | ING Discerning Eye | The Mall Galleries | London

ING Discerning Eye is an exhibition of small works independently selected by six prominent figures from the art world. This year’s selector are: Artists, Eileen Cooper RA and Lisa Wright, Collectors, John Pluthero (Chairman, Cable & Wireless Worldwide and founder of abstract critical) and John Deston (The Mall Galleries, London) and critics, Ossian Ward (Visual Arts Editor, Time Out, London), and Brian Sewell (Art Critic, Evening Standard. Each selector has curated one section of the exhibition, drawing their own selection from works submitted by artists and the work of artists they have personally invited to exhibit. The result is an unmissable collection of six smaller exhibitions within one, each with very distinct personalities.