Must-See Exhibitions 2020

Naum Gabo, Model for 'Constructed Torso', cardboard.

2020 promises to be a year of interesting exhibitions and herewith, our guide to the ones not to be missed around the globe this year.

NORTH AMERICA

Raphael in D.C., Gerhard Richter in NYC, Van Gogh in Detroit, and much more…

MILLET and MODERN ART: FROM VAN GOGH to DALÍ

16 February – 17 May, St. Louis Art Museum

This exhibition (first seen at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam) reveals how innovative the work of French artist Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) was for his time, as well as its enormous influence on many well-known artists after him, including Vincent van Gogh, Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat and Salvador Dalí. It includes paintings, drawings and pastels, as well as works by those who saw Millet and his radical painting technique as an inspiration.

Jean-François Millet, The Gleaners, 1857. Musée d’Orsay, Paris (donation subject to usufruct of Mrs. Pommery).

RAPHAEL and HIS CIRCLE

16 February – 14 June, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Raphael (1483-1520) was a master painter, draughtsman, architect, archaeologist and poet of the Italian High Renaissance. In celebration of the 500th anniversary of his death, the National Gallery of Art presents an intimate exhibition of 25 prints and drawings.  There will be four drawings on display, as well as a selection of drawings and engravings by Raphael’s closest collaborators and followers, including Giulio Romano, Polidoro da Caravaggio and Perino del Vaga. Together they will illustrate to what extent Raphael shaped the trajectory of Western art during his brief career, which spanned just two decades.

DIANE ARBUS: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1956-1971

22 February – 17 May, Art Gallery of Ontario

In 2016 the Art Gallery of Ontario acquired 522 works by the legendary New York photographer Diane Arbus, allowing it to claim the world’s second-largest collection of her work. To celebrate, it has organized the first solo exhibition of her pictures in Canada for nearly 30 years.  The exhibition chronicles 15 years of her career, from early experiments with self-portraiture in the 1940s, to her switch from 35 mm film to the 2¼ inch Rolleiflex camera that created her iconic square images, as well as later shoots for Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar. The AGO’s curator of photography Sophie Hackett argues that during this decade and a half Arbus ‘produced perhaps the most compelling and demanding body of portraits the 20th century had seen.’

Diane Arbus, Untitled (49), 1970-1971. Gelatin silver print; printed later. © Estate of Diane Arbus 2016/827.

GERHARD RICHTER: PAINTING AFTER ALL

4 March – 5 July, Met Breuer, New York City

Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) is ‘the most complicated of painters’, the art critic Adrian Searle told Christie’s in 2019. For over half a century, he has been confounding audiences with his transitions between styles and techniques.  This major loan exhibition examines his long preoccupation with the painterly modes of naturalism and chromatic abstraction. Central to the display of more than 100 works are two important series, Birkenau (2014) and Cage (2006), both of which will be exhibited in the United States for the first time.

Gerhard Richter, September, 2005. Oil on canvas, 52 x 72 cm. © Gerhard Richter 2019 (0286).

NORMAN ROCKWELL: IMAGINING FREEDOM

3 May – 23 August, Denver Art Museum

Born in New York in 1894, Norman Rockwell is best remembered for his images of an idealised America. This exhibition, however, focuses on the 1940s and the artist’s depictions of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s concept of the Four Freedoms — Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear — which encouraged Americans to support the war effort and defend public freedom.  Rockwell was among a large group of creatives who took on the challenge of illustrating Roosevelt’s message. The results were depictions of everyday community and domestic life that reinforced the positive message of Americans coming together for the common good.

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom from Want, 1943; U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain.

KUSAMA: COSMIC NATURE

9 May – 1 November, New York Botanical Garden

Presented across New York’s throughout Botanical Gardens, this multi-sensory exhibition explores Yayoi Kusama’s lifelong preoccupation with the natural world.  On display will be the artist’s signature mirrored environments, organic forms, colossal polka-dotted sculptures of flora, nature-based paintings and works on paper, as well as a body of new work to include Kusama’s first immersive greenhouse installation.

Yayoi Kusama, Kusama with Pumpkin, 2010. © Yayoi Kusama. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo / Singapore / Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; David Zwirner, NY.

VAN GOGH in AMERICA

21 June – 27 September, Detroit Institute of Arts

The first exhibition dedicated to the introduction and early reception of Van Gogh’s work in America brings together 65 paintings and works on paper from collections around the world.  The show will examine the influence of early promoters of modernism in the United States, including dealers, collectors, the artist’s family and public institutions, to reveal their role in Van Gogh’s popularity and success in America.

Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890). The Bedroom, 1889. Oil on canvas. 29 x 36⅝ in (73.6 x 35.7 cm). Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection, 1926.417.

JOAN MITCHELL

September 2020, Baltimore Museum of Art

Born 1925 in Chicago, Joan Mitchell is widely regarded as a key figure of the American Abstract Expressionism. This major retrospective, organized in collaboration with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, presents paintings, drawings and prints from across Mitchell’s career, exploring the full arc of her creative process. Alongside her masterworks based on landscape imagery and flowers, including Mon Paysage (1967) and No Rain (1976), will be rarely seen small paintings, pastels and works on paper. For the occasion, The Joan Mitchell Foundation Archives will loan a selection of her sketchbooks and archival photographs.

Joan Mitchell, No Rain, 1976. Collection of Museum of Modern Art (MoMA; NYC). © Estate of Joan Mitchell.

EUROPE

Van Eyck in Ghent, Christo in Paris, Warhol in London and much more…

NAUM GABO

25 January–3 May, Tate St. Ives, Cornwall

Tate St. Ives is presenting an extensive show of the works of celebrated Russian constructivist sculptor and painter, Naum Gabo (1890–1977). The exhibition will mark the centenary of the Realistic Manifesto 1920, a set of artistic principles set out by the artist and his brother to usher in a new style declaring that modern art ought to engage with and reflect the modern age. This is the first large-scale exhibition of his work in the UK in over 30 years. The gallery will bring together a diverse mix of sculptures, paintings, drawings and architecture in a presentation sure to introduce visitors to this complex and avant-garde artist.

Naum Gabo, Head No. 2, 1916 enlarged version 1964, Steel.

EDWARD HOPPER

26 January–17 May, Foundation Beyeler, Basel

Edward Hopper’s realist works are usually on display on American soil, but this time his canvases can be viewed at the Foundation Beyeler, Basel. More than 60 paintings, in both oil and watercolor, including well-known pieces and rarer selections, will feature in a show of Edward Hoppers’s landscapes for the first time. In this genre, Hopper explored the relationship between humans and the natural world. The show promises to convey how in these snapshots of America’s East Coastline and urban landscape, he could demonstrate the environment’s effect on people’s inner lives.   Look out for his signature use of motifs of modern life such as streets, gas stations and sailing boats!

Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Morning, 1950. © Heirs of Josephine Hopper 2019, Prolitter is, Zurich photo: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gene Youn.

VAN EYCK: An OPTICAL REVOLUTION

1 February – 30 April 2020, Museum of Fine Arts (MSK), Ghent

The city of Ghent has declared 2020 the year of the 15th-century Flemish master Jan van Eyck, father of the Northern Renaissance and pioneer of a hyper-realistic style of oil painting that greatly shaped the trajectory of Western art. At the heart of the celebrations is Van Eyck: An Optical Illusion, the largest Van Eyck exhibition ever staged.  Described by the curators as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience’, the exhibition features at least half of the 20+ surviving works by the painter — including the eight recently restored exterior panels of The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Van Eyck’s magnificent altarpiece created for St Bavo’s Cathedral — and works by his most talented peers. Due to the growing fragility of Van Eyck’s works, it is unlikely that such a large grouping will ever be shown together again.

Jan & Hubert van Eyck, Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, 1432 (exterior panels) St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent.

CARAVAGGIO-BERNINI: BAROQUE in ROME

14 February – 7 June, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This exhibition (first seen at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna) centers on the beginnings of the European Baroque in Rome, focusing on works by the painter Caravaggio and the sculptor Bernini.  Around 1600, Caravaggio developed the chiaroscuro style of dramatic contrasts between light and dark that introduced intense emotion and drama into painting. It also includes magnificent works by his contemporaries, including Guido Reni and Artemisia Gentileschi.

Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, Medusa, c. 1638-1648. On loan from Musei Capitolini. Photo: Andrea Jemolo.

KIMONO: KYOTO to CATWALK

29 February –  21 June, Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Europe’s first major exhibition on the kimono traces its sartorial and social significance from the 1660s to the present day, both in Japan and the rest of the world.  Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk brings together >300 works to reveal how the ultimate symbol of Japan is a dynamic and constantly evolving icon of fashion. It includes rare 17th- and 18th-century kimonos never seen before in the UK, theatre costumes, and contemporary examples created by Yves Saint Laurent, and Alexander McQueen, among others.

Fashionable brocade patterns of the Imperial Palace, woodblock print, made by Utagawa Kunisada, 1847-1852, Japan. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

LEE MINGWEI

27 March –  7 June, Gropius Bau, Berlin

For over 30 years Taiwanese artist Lee Mingwei has explored the ways in which generosity can create interaction and connection—trust, intimacy and self-awareness—between strangers.  This solo exhibition brings together installations and participatory performances from across the artist’s career that reflect on the culture and rituals of gift-giving and receiving. Central to the show is an exploration of immaterial gifts, such as song, conversation and contemplation, as well as the role of the host.

Lee Mingwei, Fabric of Memory, 2006-present. Mixed media interactive installation. Wooden platform, wooden boxes, fabric items. Installation view: Lee Mingwei and His Relations. © Photo: Fuminari Yoshitsugu, courtesy: Mori Art Museum.

ANDY WARHOL

12 March – 6 September, Tate Modern, London

Tate hasn’t staged a Warhol (1928-1987) exhibition for almost 20 years and this major retrospective charts the extraordinary life and work of the Pop art superstar.  The show will explore Warhol through the lenses of sexuality, death, migration and religion to reveal how he marked a period of cultural/social transformation. On display: 100+ works from across his career, including his iconic ‘Pop’ images of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s soup cans as well as lesser-known works exploring themes of desire, identity and belief that emerged from Warhol’s biography. Among the star exhibits is the largest grouping of his 1975 Ladies and Gentlemen  series ever shown in the UK.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Debbie Harry, 1980. Private Collection of Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport 1961. © 2019 The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Inc / Artists Right Society (ARS), NY and DACS, London

CHRISTO and JEANNE-CLAUDE: PARIS!

18 March – 15 June 2020, Centre Pompidou, Paris

Bulgarian-born artist Christo is celebrated for the audacious sculptures, installations and public projects he completed with his late collaborator and wife Jeanne-Claude, including covering the Reichstag in Berlin in fabric, including the one in which he wrappied the Arc de Triomphe. The couple came up with the idea in 1962, but it is only now — nearly 60 years later — being realized in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou. For two weeks, the monument on the Champs-Élysées will be enveloped in 25,000 square meters of silvery blue fabric made from recyclable polypropylene and 7,000 meter of red rope. L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped  forms of a major exhibition at the Pompidou, focusing on the couple’s work from their Paris period (1958-1964). It will also feature preparatory studies for their monumental public project, The Pont Neuf, Wrapped, 1975-1985.

Christo, The Arc de Triumph (Project for Paris, Place de l’Etoile – Charles de Gaulle) Wrapped. Collage 2018 in two parts. Pencil, charcoal, wax crayon, fabric, twine, enamel paint, photograph by Wolfgang Volz, hand-drawn map and tape. Photo: André Grossmann. © 2018 Christo.

ARTEMISIA

6 April – 26 July 2020, National Gallery, London

In 2018 the National Gallery in London acquired Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the first painting by the great 17th-century artist to enter its collection. Two years on, it presents the first major exhibition of her work in the UK.  Central to the show of approximately  35 works are a grouping of her best-known paintings and self-portraits — to include Self-Portrait as a Lute Player — and more recently discovered works. It’s gratifying that the daughter of the more famous Orazio Gentileschi will finally receive the long-overdue recognition she deserves.

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player, @ 1615-18. Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. Charles H. Schwartz Endowment Fund (2014.4.1). © Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

REST OF THE WORLD

Doig in Tokyo, Konaté in Ghana, Chaplin in Abu Dhabi, and much more…..

HAVE YOU SEEN a HORIZON LATELY?

25 February – 19 July, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech

Since opening in 2018 MACAAL has helped make Marrakech a center of the African contemporary art scene. Its spring 2020 show takes its title from a Yoko Ono song and promises to address ‘important socio-political issues happening in the world today’.  With paintings, installations, sculptures and video from artists including Rahima Gambo, Akira Ikezoe (below), Kapwani Kiwanga, Amina Benbouchta as well as Ono, the show is curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi. She previously curated other African art projects including African Odysseys  at the Brass Cultural Centre, Brussels (2015) and A Silent Lines, Lives Here  at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2018).

Akira Ikezoe, Coconut Heads around the Ceramic Studio, 2019. Oil on canvas, 157 x 127 cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Proyectos Ultravioleta gallery

PETER DOIG

26 February – 14 June, National Museum of Modern Art (MONAT), Tokyo

Fusing the landscapes of his two homelands, Canada and Trinidad, with the painterly styles of Gauguin, Matisse and Munch, Peter Doig has become something of a hero among 21st-century painters.  His long-awaited first solo show in Japan ranges from his early-career images of snow-filled vistas to his latest, more figurative portraits, and will be a rare opportunity to see works by the notoriously publicity-shy artist, many of which are in private hands.

Peter Doig, Swamped, 1990. 197 x 241 cm. Oil on canvas. © Peter Doig. All rights reserved, DACS & JASPAR 2019 C3006

ABDOULAYE KONATÉ

13 March – 30 April, Gallery 1957, Ghana

Hailing from Mali, artist Abdoulaye Konaté’s labour-intensive, gigantic fringed tapestries refer to the West-African tradition of using textiles as a means of commemoration and communication, and have been a hit with collectors and institutions over the last few years

Abdoulaye Konaté with Composition vert émeraude et rouge, 2016. Photo: Peter Millet.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN: WHEN ART MET CINEMA

15 April – 11 July, Louvre Abu Dhabi

Split into four sections — each introduced with a clip from one of Charlie Chaplin’s movies — the exhibition explores how themes such as man versus machine, modernist poetry and the circus infiltrated the 1920s and 30s work of Chaplin’s own cinematography, as well as the Dada, Surrealist and Constructivist artists such as Léger, Kupka and Chagall.  With more than 100 paintings, drawings, sculptures and photos loaned from Europe, the United States and Russia, the show comes from a successful stint at the Musée d’arts de Nantes in France.

Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times, 1936. Charlie Chaplin™ © Bubbles Inc. S.A. © Roy Export. S.A.S © Roy Export Company Ltd.

POTENTIAL WORLDS 1: PLANETARY MEMORIES

10 July – 27 September, YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku, Azerbaijan

Launching from the current epoch, the Anthropocene, Potential Worlds 1: Planetary Memories  takes a look at potential future scenarios as struggles for power and resources develop worldwide. The project is a collaboration with the Zurich Migros Museum of Contemporary Art (where it is also on show from 7 March to 31 May) and includes works by Monira Al Qadiri, Ozan Atalan, Alberto Baraya, Carolina Caycedo and many more.

Kiluanji Kia Henda, Havemos de Voltar (We Shall Return), 2017. Single-channel video (colour, sound), 17:30 min. Commissioned by Jahmek Contemporary Art, Luanda, Angola.

— Christina Spearman