Meşher in Istanbul Presents John Craxton, Painter Who Loved the Light and Color of Aegean Coast.. and More
Turkey_Istanbul
Meşher in Istanbul Presents John Craxton, Painter Who Loved the Light and Color of Aegean Coast
Until July 23, Istanbul’s Meşher Museum of Art presents “John Craxton: Drawn to Light.” John Craxton (1922-2009) was a British artist whose colorful paintings were inspired by the light and culture of Greece and Turkey on the Aegean coast. This exhibition is the largest presentation of Craxton to date, including 44 works by the artist from the Messer Museum’s Ömer Koç Foundation. Ian Collins, a lifelong friend of Craxton’s and the author of his biography, organized the show.
Craxton had no formal painting training and taught himself to paint from a young age, influenced by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Joan Miró (1893-1983), and especially El Greco (1541-1614). At the beginning of his career, he created monochromatic paintings that reflected the dark mood of wartime Britain. However, he soon moved to the bright sunshine of the Aegean coast, painting nature and neighborhood scenes in transparent colors. The ancient mythology and archaeology of the Aegean, Byzantine mosaics, and Turkish carpet weaving were major influences on Craxton. With nearly 200 works, this exhibition presents the full scope of Craxton’s oeuvre.
Japan_Tokyo
The National Art Center, Tokyo Holds Long Waited “Light: Works from the Tate Collection”
The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT) presents “LIGHT: Works from the Tate Collection” from July 12 through October 2. Featuring 120 works selected on the theme of ‘light’ from the British Tate Museum’s 77,000 collections, the exhibition finally arrives in Japan after its international tour through China, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
It features paintings, photography, sculpture, kinetic art, and video works from the late 18th century to the present that explore light. Leading painters of Romanticism and Impressionism, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), William Blake (1757-1827), John Constable (1776-1837), and Claude Monet (1840-1926) are featured, as well as László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) and the Bauhaus artists who used photographic techniques to manipulate light. Also included are Bridget Riley (b. 1931), James Turrell (b. 1943), and Olafur Eliasson (b. 1967), prominent contemporary artists who work with light as both material and subject.
The exhibition is divided into seven chapters – ‘Spiritual and Sublime Light,’ ‘Natural Light,’ ‘Interior Light,’ ‘Light Effects,’ ‘Colour and Light,’ ‘Reconfiguring Light’ and ‘Expansive Light.’ 100 of the 120 works from the exhibit are presented for the first time in Japan.
China_Beijing
Exhibition on Photographic Slides: “Slide / Show: Light Images in Chinese Contemporary Art” in UCCA Beijing
“Slide / Show: Light Images in Chinese Contemporary Art” is on view at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art Beijing through August 13. Through archival materials and new media works, the exhibition explores the influence of photographic slides in the formative years of Chinese contemporary art.
Photographic slides played a leading role in the introduction of foreign ideas, photography, and art theory into China after the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. With imported Photo Slides, artists from China projected foreign art images engraved on the film. Reproducible and transportable, photographic slides not only made it possible to experience foreign art before the proliferation of the Internet but also facilitated artistic exchange within China. The exhibition consists of sections based on the three characteristics of the slide medium: transparency, refraction, and versatility for transmission.
The participating artists are Geng Jianyi (1962-2017), Li Yongbin (b. 1963), Liang Juhui (1959-2006), Lin Jiahua (b. 1953), Lin Tianmiao (b. 1961), Song Dong (b. 1966), Wang Gongxin (b. 1960), Wang Wei (b. 1972), Wang Youshen (b. 1964), Zhang Peili (b. 1957), and Zhu Jia (b. 1963).
