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Viewing Lobsteropolis City at the Lobsterland Museum in Decentraland

The Wick Culture - Lobsteropolis City, Philip Colbert

Above Lobsteropolis City, Philip Colbert

Museum open from 30 June 2021

Hot on the heels of Lobsteropolis, Philip Colbert’s hugely popular Saatchi Gallery virtual exhibition in 2020, comes Lobsteropolis City: the artist’s first fully digital exhibition at the Lobsterland Museum.

Curated by leading art auctioneer and dealer Simon de Pury, Lobsteropolis City is set across 57 land parcels in Vegas City, one of the largest districts within the ‘metaverse’ of Decentraland, an open-source virtual reality world built on the Ethereum Blockchain which can be explored and experienced through a unique avatar.

In Colbert’s newest iteration of his imaginative lobster universe — which was three years in the making — you’ll come face to face with Colbert’s lobster alter-ego, recognisable symbols charged with universal meaning and references to classical antiquity and the Renaissance. (Think heart emojis, classical vases and T-bone steaks.)

The exhibition also includes a series of NFT works available exclusively with NFT platform Super Rare, among them Colbert’s Cryptofixtion and Lobster Fountain. New unseen NFT works are also available.

‘With the rise of the NFT, the digital art movement is now a tidal wave, and so many new ideas are possible,’ said Colbert. ‘Never before has a generation been able to so radically shift artistic possibilities, it’s the perfect storm.’

Viewing Ai Weiwei, Gilded Cage at Blenheim Palace

Above

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

Now on long-term display in the gardens (check the website for opening hours)

Now’s your chance to see Ai Weiwei’s controversial Gilded Cage at Blenheim Palace.

Originally conceived for Central Park in New York in 2017, the seven-metre-high installation made from steel fences is now on long-term display in the palace’s plush gardens.

The golden structure, which calls to mind a colossal bird cage, a symbol of freedom curtailed, reflects on the international migrant crisis and the physical and ideological constraints of life as a refugee. To explore the inside of the cage, visitors have to pass through a series of turnstiles.

‘The work itself is a commentary on fences and borders,’ said the Chinese artist and human rights campaigner. ‘As we can see, the world today encounters new possibilities, while being challenged by unthinkable crisis at the same time. To rethink our humanity is crucial for human development.’

In 2014 Ai became the first contemporary artist to exhibit at Blenheim Palace. According to Lord Spencer-Churchill, Founder of Blenheim Art Foundation, the installation is ‘an exciting milestone in our long-term vision of establishing a permanent presence of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace.’

Viewing The Serpentine Pavilion 2021 designed by Counterspace

Above

Kensington Gardens

 11 June — 17 October 

After a year’s delay, the 20th Serpentine Pavilion is now open in London’s Kensington Gardens. Designed by Johannesburg-based practice Counterspace, led by 30-year-old architect Sumayya Vally, this year’s project is based on ‘past and present places of meeting, organising and belonging across London.’

The striking structure is built of reclaimed steel, cork and timber and features a range of textures and pinky-brown hues that are inspired by the architecture and light of the city.

The youngest architect to be commissioned for the annual showcase, Vally has drawn design inspiration from gathering spaces across the city, including markets, restaurants, places of worship such as Fazl Mosque and bookshops. ‘My practice, and this Pavilion, is centred around amplifying and collaborating with multiple and diverse voices from many different histories,’ she said.

For the first time, the commission extends beyond the leafy surrounds of Hyde Park, as four fragments have been installed in partner organizations across London. (New Beacon Books in Finsbury Park; the Tabernacle in Notting Hill; the Albany arts centre in Deptford; and Valence Library in Barking and Dagenham.)

The Pavilion also plays host to Serpentine’s popular Live Progamme, including Listening to the City, a specially commissioned sound programme featuring work by artists including Ain Bailey and Jay Bernard.