Klimt & The Kiss
Opens 30 October
The Kiss, Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece, is, along with the likes of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Monet’s Waterlilies and a small host of others, a superstar of a painting, recognised instantly all across the world. Since Klimt painted it in Vienna in 1908, it has been endlessly reproduced and every one of us thinks we know it – but do we really? Now arts brand Exhibition on Screen – the people behind the UK’s biggest grossing fine art film Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition – has produced a new film which probes the true meaning of the painting, delving deep into the mystery and sensuality of the unknown embracing pair. Hitting cinemas nationwide on 30 October, the film, directed by Ali Ray (Frida Kahlo, 2020), pans out to consider Klimt’s life as a colossus of the Art Nouveau movement and looks at his ‘Golden Period’, which was received to outrage and delight. Its makers promise that ‘the film delves into the details of the real gold, decorative designs, symbolism and simmering erotica, and exams the rich tapestry of extraordinary influences behind one of the world’s favourite paintings which is on display at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria.’ Find more information here.
Charleston In Lewes Opens
Open Now
There are many reasons to visit the beautiful East Sussex market town of Lewes, two of them very well-known: first, if you are coming by train, it is the stop for black-tie clad folk heading to Glyndebourne. And second, it is also the place to alight for Charleston Farmhouse just down the road in Firle, where the Bloomsbury Set left their painterly mark, now carefully preserved for the nation to enjoy, exclaim over and attempt to reproduce at home. Now the good folk who run Charleston have opened Charleston Lewes in the county town’s former District Council office. It is the first step on the journey to a long-term goal of a permanent outpost in Lewes, bringing a new cultural bastion to a town that has sorely lacked it. For now, residents and visitors can enjoy the first season which demonstrates the kind of shape it would take, kicking off with Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion, the first exhibition to explore the influence and legacy of the Bloomsbury group on fashion, with pieces by Dior, Fendi Burberry alongside never-before-seen Bloomsbury portraits. There is also a café on site with delicious Italian food from Lewes’ beloved Caccia & Tails. Check out the full programme here.
Marina Abramovic
The Royal Academy of Art
Until 10 December
Marina Abramovic has pushed the boundaries of performance art her whole career. For Rhythm O, she invited the public to interact with her as they wished, resulting in her having a loaded gun pointed at her head. Clearly, then, she has never shied from the possibility of pain or even death in the pursuit of her work. Now, the RA presents a hotly anticipated retrospective of Abramovic’s career through installation, performance, video and sculpture, with some work (The Artist Is Present) set to be restaged by artists trained in her methods. Book it here.
Image: Marina Abramovic, The Current, 2017. Video; 1 hour 35 mins. Courtesy of the Marina Abramovic Archives. © Marina Abramovic
David Hockney Drawing From Life
The National Portrait Gallery
2 November 2023 – 21 January 2024
At the end of February 2020, The National Portrait Gallery opened its much-anticipated new mega show, David Hockney Drawing From Life. Twenty days later it had closed its doors once more, all thanks to a pesky little virus – and we all know now how that panned out. Now it’s back and at last we may revel in getting to know one of our all-time favourite artists all the better through the medium of portraits of five sitters over six decades: his mother, Celia Birtwell, Gregory Evans, Maurice Payne and the artist himself. Plus, new for the 2023 reboot, the exhibition will show a selection of over thirty new portraits painted from life in his Normandy studio between 2021 and 2022. Book it here.
Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto
The V&A
Until 25 February 2024
A heads up: this one is, alas, already sold out. However, as the very first exhibition in the UK dedicated to the towering genius of Gabrielle Chanel, the woman who transformed the sartorial lives (and thus lives in general) of women everywhere, we say it might be time to become a V&A member, which would allow you access despite the dearth of tickets. Just think what you could do with the member discount in the always-beguiling shop too. Book it here.
Sarah Lucas
Tate Britain
Until 14 January 2024
Having made her name with the YBAs, Sarah Lucas’ bold and brash imagery is often humorous but always challenging of our way of understanding the constructs and constraints we impose upon ourselves, particularly those of sex, class and gender. This exhibition looks at the artist in the round, delving far deeper than the Young British Art world of the 1990s and examining the full gamut of media she uses – sculpture, installation and photography – to make sense of our shared humanity. Book it here.
By Nancy Alsop
September 2023
