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Viewing Sixty-five years of Barbie’s life in plastic at the Design Museum

Last summer was all about the Barbie movie, and now the world’s famous doll is the protagonist of an exhibition: opening to the public tomorrow (just ahead of the school summer holidays) at the Design Museum, Barbie®: The Exhibition explores Barbie through the lens of design, from a rare edition of the very first doll released by Mattel in 1959 to today through 250 objects.

Marking the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand, this show charts the evolution of Barbie and the diversification of dolls over the decades to better reflect the women in the world: the first Black, Hispanic and Asian Barbies are presented here, as well as differently-abled Barbies and different body shapes the brand has introduced. These dolls show how the brand has tried to shift beauty standards through design in meaningful ways.

Alongside Barbie, there’s a veritable universe on show here too — various other key characters including Midge (Barbie’s first friend), Christie, Teresa, and Barbie’s younger sister Skipper, and of course, there’s a whole lot of Ken — an entire section displays six decades of Barbie’s boyfriend, who was first introduced in 1961. Fans will also love the homes, furniture and vehicles that have all helped create the Barbie universe, and spark imaginative play all over the world. But what was the best-selling Barbie of all time? The 1992 Totally Hair Barbie — with more than 10 million dolls sold.

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Dates
05 July 2024 — 23 February 2025
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Viewing Faces and Fables by Auguste Rodin at Bowman Sculpture

A chance to see a museum-quality exhibition for free: Bowman Sculpture Gallery present some thirty works by world-renowned Auguste Rodin, from earliest works to his final period, from large-scale to intimate, telling a story of a thrilling artistic evolution that saw the French artist rise to become one of the world’s most influential artists in the medium.

The sculptures centre around key themes of portraiture, mythological figures, and experimentation with the techniques of sculpture to reveal ever more complex and profound expressions in clay and bronze. Auguste Rodin’s portraiture captures the essence of his subjects with depth and emotion, whether it’s the small-scale studies or grand busts, often commissioned by the cultural elite.

The exhibition will feature two versions of Rodin’s iconic portraits derived from the Monument to Balzac, known to be one of the most controversial sculptures of the 19th century, including a cast of the final study of the work which was originally presented at the Salon of 1898. The majority of only thirteen casts that exist belong to public collections – here however is a rare chance for a closer encounter in the gallery without the museum crowds.

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Dates
20 June 2024 — 19 July 2024

Viewing Vanessa Raw, On Earth We Weren’t Meant To Stay at Carl Freedman Gallery

Supporters of her work already include the likes of Tracey Emin – and it’s easy to see why Vanessa Raw is the woman of the moment. Her solo exhibition at Carl Freedman opens this week and runs all summer long, with the intriguing title Vanessa Raw, On Earth We Weren’t Meant to Stay.

Visitors can expect to see a whole new body of Raw’s work, a continuation of her themes of women’s pleasure (sexual or not) that shift the gaze towards a female-centred point of view, not totally free of objectification but doing away with the usual power dynamics.

Nature – another of Raw’s recurrent interests – also plays an important role in these new oil paintings, bodies cavorting in blissful pastoral landscapes and among symbolic animals, sometimes representing the intrusion of a threatening malevolence creeping in from outside to disrupt the harmony. We can’t wait to see how the young British artist has developed since we last saw her works in a solo show at Frieze last year.

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Dates
30 June 2024 — 08 September 2024
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