Welcome to This Week in Culture, a weekly agenda of show openings and events in major cities across the globe. From galleries to institutions and one-of-a-kind happenings, our ongoing survey highlights the best of contemporary culture, for those willing to make the journey.
“Leonard Baby Loves You” by Leonard Baby
Fortnight Institute New York
Who could forget the image of Holly Golightly, sprawled across the bed and sobbing in her tiara, in the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Certainly not Leonard Baby, who fixates in on her face, immortalizing her agony in his acrylic works. The artist utilizes film stills to render moments of human connection: a couple on a speeding train car, two hands reaching for a fallen book on the sidewalk. Taken as a whole, an intimacy emerges—amplified by the fact that the artist paints with his canvases nestled in his lap. “Leonard Baby Loves You” will be on view from February 16 through March 18, 2023 at Fortnight Institute in New York.
“María Berrío: The Children’s Crusade”
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
María Berrío’s large-scale works come to life through a collage of Japanese paper and watercolors. In her latest series, the artist reimagines the lore of The Children’s Crusade, when children allegedly trekked through Europe, hoping to convert the Muslims they encountered to Christianity. Here, Berrío likens the story to modern day migrant struggles. The children in her works appear alternately peaceful, confused, and resigned. “The Children’s Crusade” will be on view from February 16 through August 6, 2023 at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
“draw on the wind” by Joan Jonas
Galleria Raffaella Cortese Milan
Joan Jonas, a pioneer of video and performance works, touches down in Milan with "draw on the wind." The kite installation, composed of a series of colorful, hanging designs, first premiered at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh during the 57th Carnegie International in 2018. Now, it will be installed at Galleria Raffaella Cortese in the artist’s third solo exhibition at the space. “draw on the wind” will be on view from February 17 through May 18, 2023 at Galleria Raffaella Cortese’s via A. Stradella 1 location in Milan.
“People Are Strange” by George Condo
Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles
Taken from The Doors's 1967 hit of the same name, George Condo’s upcoming exhibition is titled “People Are Strange,” a fitting summary of the artist’s abstract and twisted portraits. The show is set to inaugurate Hauser & Wirth’s newest location in West Hollywood. To capture the essence Los Angeles, the gallery enlisted Condo, whose work—like any sprawling city—blurs the line between beauty and grotesquerie. “People Are Strange” will be on view from February 15 through April 22, 2023 at Hauser & Wirth’s 8980 Santa Monica Boulevard location in Los Angeles.
“Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle”
Barbican London
Alice Neel’s communist paintings used to be a hot topic for the FBI. Today, it’s a new generation of art enthusiasts who are most captivated by Neel’s radical worldview. Once crowned the “court painter of the underground,” according to the Barbican, the artist was known for depicting those often overlooked by the art world: queer party-goers, union leaders, civil rights activists, and downtown stragglers. This latest show is the largest of Neel’s ever to come to the U.K. “Hot Off The Griddle” will be on view from February 16 through May 21, 2023.
“Salvador Dalí: The Image Disappears”
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago’s Art Institute is bringing together Salvador Dalí works from around the world for its first-ever exhibition dedicated to the Spanish surrealist. The show focuses on two distinct and contradictory impulses present in the artist’s work: the “immense desire for visibility and the urge to disappear.” These are represented through a collection of paintings, drawings, and objects, including a number of critical works from the Museum’s permanent collection. “The Image Disappears” will be on view from February 18 through June 12, 2023 at the Art Institute of Chicago.
“Star Machine” by Farah Al Qasimi
The Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth
Isolation and intimacy swirl around each other in the latest presentation by CULTURED Young Artist 2022 alum Farah Al Qasimi. The exhibition takes its name from a constellation projector that Al Qasimi used as a means of escape during a solitary period of Covid lockdowns. In a photograph of the same name, the artist lies still on her couch, projected stars and galaxies flickering across her ceiling. “Star Machine” is on view through July 30, 2023 at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth.
“When Desire Becomes Home”
Her Clique Mexico City
With over 70 artworks by 16 Eastern-European and non-binary artists, Her Clique’s inaugural group showing opens just in time for those attending this year’s Zona Maco fair. The exhibition reflects Mexico City’s own period of transition, as the artists chart their peronsal roads to self-discovery—or, as the organizers put it, re-discovery. Personal identity, entwined as it is with regional identity, is a resonant subject for an independent gallery show in the city's burgeoning art scene. “When Desire Becomes Home” is on view through February 16, 2023 at a private villa in Roma Norte, Mexico City, with additional details available through Her Clique.
