We welcome July with a vibrant European arts scene. Each of the events invites us to immerse ourselves in unique cultural experiences.
In July we travel from the magical gardens of Berlin to the bustling art streets of Galway. Le Cube Garges explores tomorrow through technology, and Maison Guerlain joins the anteroom to celebrate the Paris Olympics. Plus, we pass through the universes of Dalí, Rosario de Velasco and Al Held, as Galway city celebrates art at its international festival.
Dalí’s surrealist universe
If Salvador Dalí were to ask us how much we know about him, we might not have time to answer because he would remark his own answer: “You know nothing about me”. To bring us closer to the Catalan genius, the Reial Cercle Artístic de Barcelona is bringing us the exhibition Dalí Challenge. The exhibition allows us to immerse ourselves in his mind through technologies such as virtual reality and micro mapping to explore 65 of the artist’s works. The experience is guided by the senses, we stop thinking to pay attention to the audio-relay of what we see.
The interior of the immersive exhibition . Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, 2024.
The exhibition embarks on four thematic spaces, a time machine that begins when Dalí was a small boy born in Figueres. From there, we discover how he grew up to become a multifaceted artist, working in everything from advertising to jewellery. In addition, we can become part of his works thanks to the recreation of scenarios, virtual journeys that allow us to see his own universe from the inside.
When will it take place? From 13 June 2024.
Where? Carrer dels Arcs, 5, Barcelona.
Opening times: Monday to Sunday from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Botanical Night in Berlin
As every summer, the Berlin Botanical Garden prepares to welcome nature lovers for the magical Botanical Night. The gardens will be transformed into eight natural fantasy worlds, each offering a unique sensory immersion. Light, sound and spectacle come together to bring out the green world we need. You will discover the forests and their songs as the wind blows through them, the creatures that live in them or the haven of peace to be found among the mountains.
Light show in the Botanical Garden.In addition to the light installations, there will also be shows with performances by The Wildfires, Marie Chain and the silent disco in the Spiegelpalast. The experience immerses children and adults alike in the magic that inhabits the planet, which we may not fully appreciate.
When will it take place? From 19 to 20 July 2024.
Where: Königin-Luise Straße 6, Berlin, Germany.
Innovating tomorrow through artificial nature
What would happen if bees disappeared in the future, if robots were to pollinate plants? These questions resonate in the immersive exhibition Néo-matérialitiés at Le Cube Garges. Art, biotechnology and artificial intelligence come together to experience natural facts of the past and the possible future. The exhibition invites you to navigate between the real and the imaginary by observing landscapes, smells and sounds.
Donatin Aubert and the missing flowers made in 3D.
Throughout the tour, artificial nature is revealed, that which no longer exists because it has disappeared, and the use of new technologies in design and fashion. Artists such as Florian Sumi, Donatien Aubert or Thomas Pausz exhibit technological projects that promote the biodegradable or the restoration of plants and flowers that have disappeared. In this way, science is presented as a prosthesis for future changes that can transform the way we live, taking into account the impact of climate change on ecosystems.
When is it due? Until 27 July 2024.
Where: 40 Av. du Général de Gaulle, Garges-lès-Gonesse, France.
Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 2pm to 7pm. Wednesday and Saturday from 10.00h to 19.00h.
Galway vibrates with International Arts Festival
On 15 July, the International Festival of the Arts arrives in Galway, Ireland, with a diverse programme that includes music, theatre, street art, humour and talks. Highlights of the festival include theatre productions such as Reunion, a play by Mark 0’Rowe, and the Australian circus Circa, which premieres Duck Pond in Europe, reinventing the classic Swan Lake. In addition, the artist Tania El Khoury invites you to discover her immersive installation revealing the history of migration.
Sustainable talks are presented as an elementary topic.
As for the musical programme, there will be singers such as the British star Passenger, Gavin James, The Saw Doctors, among many others. In addition to the show, there will also be moments where important issues such as sustainability and the need to embrace it will be debated. On the other hand, the introduction of AI, not only in companies, but also as a home resource and the benefits and risks of using it.
When will it take place? 15-28 July 2024.
Where: Galway, Ireland.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Reinterpreting the nature of landscapes
Nature transmutes with the passage of time, and with it its multiple visions. With this premise, CaixaForum Barcelona brings the exhibition Horitzó i límits. Visions del paisatge (Horitzó and Limits. Landscape Visions), following its exhibitions in Madrid and Valencia. In total, 39 national and international artists reflect on how we perceive places and territories through the magic of framing. Among them are Miquel Barceló, Patricia Dauder, Tacita Dean and Joan Fontcuberta.
Projection (tomorrow/afternoon), 1990-2019 by Rémy Zaugg.
The artists play between what is real and what is doubtful, such as Anne Imhof’s work The Cloud IV, which can make us reflect on whether what we see are simply clouds flying over the sky, or whether it is a great dusting of dirt that blocks out the sun. Throughout the tour, different themes are discussed, such as the connection between natural sounds, as in the work L’Écho by Su-Mei Tse, the impact of technology or the mark left by humans on nature.
When will it take place? From 1 May to 1 September 2024.
Where? Av. de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 6-8, Barcelona.
Opening times: Monday to Sunday from 10.00h to 20.00h.
Al Held’s Dimensional Revolution
The White Cube commemorates the artistic career of the American artist Al Held with the exhibition Al Held: About Space. The show includes large-scale works that have never been exhibited before, and is an opportunity to discover an artist who combined geometric figures to create new spaces and colours. In his early days, the artist loaded his works with a lot of pigmentation, until he created Taxi Cabs, where acrylic became the main medium and allowed him to create in a freer way.
Al Held’s Taxi Cab IV, 1959.
His artistic vision led him to explore different methods and approaches, moving from oil and colour to black and white, or in his last decades, he experimented with the new technologies of the time. Works such as Luminous Constructions (1985-2005) are paintings that played with art and technology in the 1980s. Held knew how to anticipate the changes that the new century would bring, the digital sphere to which we are already adapted.
When will it be on? 27 June to 1 September 2024.
Where: 144-152 Bermondsey Street, London, Great Britain.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00h to 18.00h.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Guerlain wins the gold of Paris
As part of the Olympiade Culturelle project, Maison Guerlain has presented the Or Norme exhibition, an exhibition where gold is the centre of attention. Less than a month before the opening of the Olympic Games in France, art and sport come together, and gold is the common thread between the two. The exhibition has brought together 18 artists to explore the excellence and symbolism of the material, highlighting photography and Guerlain’s legacy alongside the metal.
Women’s beach group, Carolle Bénitah.
Throughout the exhibition one can enjoy gems such as Yves Klein’s iconic Table d’or, or the reflection on sustainability conveyed by Sophie Zénon and Harald Gottschalk. On the other hand, Cédric Matet reflects the identity of Montpellier, and Georges Rousse uses gold leaf as a medium in his work. In addition, Spanish photographer Isabel Muñoz has created a 24-carat print reflecting a woman’s body under water.
When will it be on? From 6 June to 12 September 2024.
Where: 68 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris, France.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 11.00 am to 8.00 pm. Sunday from 11.30am to 7.30pm.
The hidden light of Rosario de Velasco
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza is bringing to a close the new works of the Madrid artist Rosario de Velasco, a woman of renown during the first half of the last century who gradually passed into oblivion. Her great-niece, Toya Viudes, has been in charge of searching private collections for Rosario’s art, and in total, 450 works have been brought back to life, including the iconic Adam and Eve (1932). The exhibition not only shows paintings, but also her ability as an illustrator in books such as Cuentos para soñar (1928) and Cuentos a mis nietos (1932).
From left to right: The Blue Bird, 1927. Dear Crab, Leave the Crane, 1933. The white leaves of a water lily ajar, 1927. Photos: Jonás Bel.
In the 1930s she achieved recognition by taking part in exhibitions and competitions such as the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. But the outbreak of the Civil War forced her to leave the capital and settle in Barcelona, where she raised her family. As time went by, her name fell into oblivion, until Toya Viudes decided to revive it. Thanks to social networks and the media, works such as Maternidad (1933) and Gitanos (1934) have also been found.
When will it be on? From 18 June to 15 September 2024.
Where? Paseo del Prado, 8, Madrid.
Opening times: July and August: Mondays from 12.00 noon to 4.00 pm. Tuesday to Friday from 10.00h to 21.00h. Saturday from 10.00h to 23.00h. Sunday from 10.00h to 19.00h.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
The multi-universes of time through Sarah Moon
The Foto Colectania Foundation opens the exhibition Time Stops, a retrospective of the French photographer Sarah Moon. The exhibition shows more than 80 photographs that reflect the revolutionary and mysterious universe that a woman made in the 1970s. In the 1960s, Sarah Moon turned to modelling before realising that her art was not on the catwalk, but on the other side of the camera. In doing so, she has collaborated with iconic houses such as Chanel, Vogue and Cacharel, and later ventured into the world of cinema.
The interior of Sarah Moon’s exhibition. © Violeta Cañigueral
If we look for the common thread of the exhibition, the photographer confesses that the images chosen have no rational motive, only an intuitive one. Connections between photography and photography so that each viewer experiences her works in a personal way. Among them we can see the relevance of black and white, and her latest film Hors saison.
When will it be shown? From 20 June to 22 December 2024.
Where? Carrer Passeig de Picasso, 14, Barcelona.
Opening times: Wednesday to Saturday from 11.00h to 14.30h and 16.00h to 20.00h. Sunday from 11.00h to 15.00h. August: Tuesday to Saturday from 11.00h to 14:30h and 16.00h to 20.00h.
