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Viewing Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Boundless

Explore the ephemeral creations of art power couple, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, at the Saatchi Gallery this week. From early collaborations to monumental masterpieces, Boundless includes projects such as Wrapped Coast in Australia, Surrounded Islands in Miami and The Pont Neuf Wrapped in Paris.

This exhibition unfolds in ten thematic chapters, showcasing the pair’s profound connection and love. Their work is displayed alongside artistic contemporaries like Jean Dubuffet, Yves Klein, and Lucio Fontana.

Boundless unravels a passionate narrative of determination, defying traditional norms and shaping a unique artistic journey. The exhibition was personally signed off by Christo before his passing. It’s a thrilling way to wrap things up.

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Dates
15 November 2023 — 22 January 2024

Viewing Philip Guston at Tate Modern

In 1970, Philip Guston shocked the art world with a show at the Marlborough Gallery featuring hooded Ku Klux Klansmen as part of his efforts to call out racism in America. His cartoonish forms were slammed as “clumsy” and “embarrassing” by critics and they led to his expulsion. Fifty years later, the controversy has continued, with his American retrospective delayed due to sensitivities around racial tensions and fears they could be misinterpreted – prompting cries of cowardice from art world figures. It eventually opened in Boston in 2022.

Now at Tate Modern in London until February 25, the exhibition spans Guston’s diverse five-decade career. Only one room at Tate is dedicated to his “Hood” works, which have been contextualised for today’s audiences and are shown as part of the artist’s transition from Abstract Expressionism to literal figuration. Growing up as a Jewish boy in 1920s Los Angeles, Guston witnessed Klan violence, influencing his art. The 1960s brought a disillusionment with abstraction as he grappled with societal upheaval, creating vivid, surreal works that delve into the complexities of good and evil.

Amid the controversy, Tate Modern’s exhibition provides insight into Guston’s rich body of work, from the dreamlike Legend to the magisterial Sleeping and The Line. Objects like cigarettes and paintbrushes take on symbolic significance, offering viewers a journey through the artist’s evolving perspectives. The show encourages us to reflect on Guston’s response to different periods, from post-WWII sensory silence to his condemnation of everyday evil in later years. It’s a rousing and thought-provoking experience, made all the punchier by Guston’s cartoon-like delivery.

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Dates
05 October 2023 — 25 February 2024
It’s not all cavorting nudes and heaving bosoms. Sure, the unclothed female form is present in Rubens & Women at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, but the exhibition highlights the emotional depth the Flemish artist captured in his subjects – and how the women in his life nourished his art.

One of the most startling portraits you will encounter is of Isabella Brant, his first wife, smiling wistfully. The work is thought to have been painted after her death in 1626, and it’s as if he is trying to use his paintbrush to tenderly bring her back to life. Over the course of the show, you will meet the artist’s formidable patrons, goddesses and other much loved family members, all depicted with extraordinary skill and humanity. These encounters uplift the soul, as well as dazzling the eye.

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Dates
27 September 2023 — 28 January 2024
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