Our top picks of exhibitions together with cultural spaces and places, both online and in the real world.

All, Art, Auctions, Exhibitions, Travel & Hospitality, Initiatives

Dream Gustav Klimt, The Virgin, 1913

Gustav Klimt, The Virgin, 1913

The femme fatale dominates the art of Gustav Klimt, the fin-de-siècle Viennese painter also known for his use of gold, brilliant colour and decorative patterns. This painting, however, depicts a young virgin sleeping peacefully under a blanket with pretty flowers and spirals. At first glance, it’s a picture of innocence. But a closer look will reveal Klimt’s frank eroticism: the girl is in fact dreaming about her sexual awakening, which involves six naked women. Executed in 1913, at the height of Klimt’s fame, it celebrates female sexuality, desire and pleasure in a bold embrace of la vie moderne.

Above Angela Santana

The Wick Culture - Angela Santana
Spearmint Success, 2017 Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana Spearmint Success, 2017 Oil on Canvas

The Wick Culture - Angela Santana
Delta of Venus, 2020

Above Angela Santana Delta of Venus, 2020

The Wick Culture - Angela Santana
Fruitful Thoughts, 2017 Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana Fruitful Thoughts, 2017 Oil on Canvas

The Wick Culture - Angela Santana
Love Is Now, 2016
Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana Love Is Now, 2016 Oil on Canvas

The Wick Culture - Angela Santana
Monument, 2018
Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana Monument, 2018 Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana

Above Angela Santana Spearmint Success, 2017 Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana Delta of Venus, 2020

Above Angela Santana Fruitful Thoughts, 2017 Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana Love Is Now, 2016 Oil on Canvas

Above Angela Santana Monument, 2018 Oil on Canvas

Angela Santana
Saatchi Yates, London

9 June — 31 August 2022
https://saatchiyates.com/exhibitions/angela-santana#

For Zurich-born Angela Santana, combining digital painting with oil painting allows her to transform the female body from object to subject: ‘At the core of this technique is my search to represent the human body in a new way, free from bias or objectification.’

Through 14 large-scale oil canvases, currently on display at Saatchi Yates in London, Santana explores the historical implications of the male gaze and fantasy, while asking us to reconsider the power of the female painter and her subjects. Inspired by the likes of Cecily Brown, Dana Schutz and Georgia O’Keeffe, Santana draws on the mass of illicit images online and reframes them to create empowering images of the female form.

Her process is complex: she uses found images to create layered digital compositions which are then reimagined on large-scale canvases in oil. The resulting works are destined to be powerful rather than pleasing. ‘The idea was to erase the memory of the past and create a new celebrated image from it,’ she has said. This is a provocative show that is well worth investigating further.

Viewing Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Accession

Above Vladimir tiara

Above Brooch

Above The Diamond Diadem

The Wick Culture - The Coronation earrings

Above The Coronation earrings

The Wick Culture - Delhi Durbar Necklace and Cullinan VII Pendant

Above Delhi Durbar Necklace and Cullinan VII Pendant

The Wick Culture - Rose of England brooch

Above Rose of England brooch

The Wick Culture - Queen Mary's Dorset bow brooch

Above Queen Mary’s Dorset bow brooch

Above Vladimir tiara

Above Brooch

Above The Diamond Diadem

Above The Coronation earrings

Above Delhi Durbar Necklace and Cullinan VII Pendant

Above Rose of England brooch

Above Queen Mary’s Dorset bow brooch

Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Accession
Buckingham Palace, London

22 July — 2 October 2022
https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/platinum-jubilee-the-queens-accession/buckingham-palace

Now’s your chance to see magnificent jewels from the Queen’s personal collection, some of which have never been on public display before, alongside iconic photographs of Her Majesty wearing them. These include a series of remarkable portraits taken by society photographer Dorothy Wilding that formed the basis of the Queen’s image on stamps and in British embassies across the world until 1971.

Notable treasures on display include the Dorset Bow Brooch, a pair of diamond bangles and The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, which were given to Princess Elizabeth by her grandmother Queen Mary as a wedding present on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Philip. Also worthy of note is the Nizam of Hyderabad necklace, also a wedding present, which is set with approximately 300 dazzling diamonds.

There is plenty to explore beyond the exhibition too. After wandering around the 19 magnificent State Rooms, which are only open to visitors for 10 weeks each summer, head to the Palace Gardens which are described as a ‘walled oasis in the middle of London’. Make sure you save time for a coffee or afternoon tea at the Garden Café to enjoy the views over London’s most famous lawn!