For the first time Syrian painter Safwan Dahoul exhibits his work in the United Kingdom at Ayyam Gallery, London. Runing 9 May until 15 June, Repetitive Dreams includes the first series of paintings Dahoul has created since leaving Damascus for Dubai last year. The exhibition in London coincides with an exhibition of large-scale works by the artists as Edge of Arabia, London, from 8 May until 15 June.
Essential Film Festivals this May
To celebrate the final month of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) call for entries, Aesthetica presents the essential film festivals to follow or attend this May. The deadline to submit a short film is the 31 May, and the final selection will be screened in York, 7 – 10 November. Covering the genres of drama, documentary, animation, comedy, music video, thriller, experimental and artists’ film, the festival showcases the films across 15 distinct and historic locations in the city of York. Here are our top film festivals this month.
Palace Art and Craft Fair, London
For the third year, the Palace Art and Craft Fair returns to London, 17 – 19 May. Organised by the team behind the highly successful and well established Brighton Art Fair, MADE LONDON and MADE BRIGHTON, this year the fair becomes an art, craft and design fair; a small scale more intimate event showcasing highest quality and original contemporary art and design across all media. Located in the beautiful grounds and main building of Fulham Palace, the historic Tudor/Georgian Palace, formerly the country home of the Bishops of London right by the river at Putney Bridge, is the perfect spot for perusing and purchasing art.
Interview with Previous ASFF Best of Fest Winner, Rich Williamson
The deadline for submissions for the Aesthetica Short Film Festival is fast approaching. There is just under a month left to submit short films to the festival that runs across the city of York in November, and the final deadline for submissions is 31 May. Aesthetica speaks to the director of The Sugar Bowl, Rich Williamson, (co-directed with Shasha Nakhai), about his enjoyment of ASFF and his advice for future applicants.
Review of Saloua Raouda Choucair at Tate Modern
The world’s first major museum exhibition of the Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda Choucair is long over-due and can finally be seen at the Tate Modern. Choucair, now 96 years old, has dedicated her entire life to enriching art through her interest in a vast array of subjects such as architecture, painting, science, mathematics, Islamic art and poetry. When considering Choucair’s work one must look at it from a point of view that delivers the difficulties of the times she has experienced and endured as a female artist living in Beirut, the capital and largest city of Lebanon. It would be correct to assert that Beirut was and is the Paris of the Middle East. In this respect it is not shocking to see fascinating art emerging from the city and its environs. However, it would also be correct to say that, where there is political and social upheaval, art thrives; as seen in Choucair’s life-long work.
Aesthetica Offer at Hans Josephsohn, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The first UK major indoor and outdoor Hans Josephsohn exhibition launches this week at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, showcasing work from a career which spanned almost 60 years. To mark this celebration of the late Zurich-based artist, visitors can pick up a free copy of Aesthetica when they spend £10 or more in the YSP shop from Friday 10 May. The largest sculpture park of its kind in Europe, YSP is situated on the 500 acre, 18th century Bretton Hall estate in West Yorkshire and is open daily from 10.00 – 16.00.
Mariele Neudecker, HOUSE Festival of Visual Arts, Brighton
Running in parallel with Brighton’s festival season is HOUSE, a celebration of visual art and domestic space. The lead artist for the sixth edition is Mariele Neudecker, who presents, Heterotopias and Other Domestic Landscapes at the Regency Town House, Brunswick Square, Brighton. Running 4 until 26 May, the exhibition is the artist’s most ambitious installation to date and utilises the building, treating it as a container for an increasingly immersive body of connecting works. The showcase includes sculpture, video, photography and imagery of the Arctic, the Azores, Australia, American and the world’s deepest oceans.
Los Carpinteros: Irreversible at Sean Kelly, New York
Los Carpinteros’ new exhibition Irreversible will open on 11 May at Sean Kelly in New York. The show will be installed in all three of the gallery’s exhibition spaces and will include new sculptures as well as a video installation—a first for the artists. As an exhibition, Irreversible addresses themes of community, the passage of time, and the effects of historic events as endured by the anonymous individuals who comprise a society. Los Carpinteros’ work conflates conflicting periods, styles and subject matter to articulate the push and pull that major social and political events exert on the citizens who experience them.
Review of Ellen Gallagher’s AxME at Tate Modern
The new Ellen Gallagher show opened on Wednesday at the Tate Modern. After the gigantic shows last year of both Damien Hirst and Edvard Munch it’s refreshing to see a not so publicly known artist on show throughout their sprawling rooms. Rather than packing the renowned artist punch, her work was allowed to ramble more freely, showing experimental mixes of collage and video work much looser than the display of a universally recognised artist.
Interview with Previous ASFF Entrants, the Blaine Brothers
To celebrate the final month of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival Call for Entries, we caught up with previous entrant Ben Blaine of the British filmmaking duo the Blaine Brothers. Their comedy, The Maestro, screened at ASFF 2011, and stars Robert Bathurst, Tim Samuels and Sirine Saba. Originally produced for BBC Comedy Online before being shown at ASFF, The Maestro has also featured in a number of other festivals across the UK and internationally. They are now producing a new feature film, Nina Forever, and Ben chats to us about his new film, his experience at the film festival, and gives advice to filmmakers considering entering this year.
Athens Video Art Festival 2013
The Athens Video Art Festival returns for the 9th edition of the International Festival of Digital Arts & New Media. Running 7 until 9 June, exhibitions, screenings, workshops and performances will be hosted at the Historical Centre of Athens, opening a dialogue between public and private space.
Tate Liverpool is 25
Since 1988, Tate Liverpool has been the home of some of the world’s most important art works and attracted 15 million visitors. Opening its doors on 24 May, 1988, the gallery has become the most visited venue for modern and contemporary art outside of London. The gallery has already received several birthday wishes in the form of postcards, letters, emails and artworks, from Wayne Hemingway, Anthony McCall, Yoko Ono, Ed Ruscha, Bob and Roberta Smith, Zarina Bhimji and Colin Self. From 17 May until 2 June, Tate Liverpool will be celebrating in style with a specially curated exhibition entitled Tate Liverpool is 25.