November takes off with creativity and artistic experimentation, and invites us to explore what’s new in art.
November’s exhibitions bring us everything from monumental sculptures that give body to dreams, to festivals that celebrate video art as a vibrant form of storytelling. This month we will enjoy cultural and artistic diversity as we discover new perspectives and first-person experiences.
The audiovisual art revolution
Loop Festival 2024 is coming back to Barcelona with more than thirty art spaces, galleries and collectives. This year, the festival expands its offer with the debut of the Loop Symposium programme, where artists, collectors and experts will debate the future of artists’ cinema. Highlights include Thomias Radin‘s RIVÂL (2023) and a powerful opening performance, The Myth of Trinity II. This delves into the artist’s Guadeloupean roots and celebrates his research in painting, dance and sculpture.
Richard Mosse, Untitled, Rondônia, 2024. Editorial credit: Roman März / carlier | gebauer, Berlin/Madrid.
Another of the most eagerly awaited moments will be the presentation of the LOOP Barcelona Videocreation Award with the presentation of Morir d’amor, the recent video creation by Núria Güell at Fabra i Coats. With this piece, Güell questions the cultural narrative of love and its influence on human behaviour. In addition, the Loop Symposium, curated by Filipa Ramos, addresses the connection between contemporary art and ecology, imagining new ways to create and preserve the images that inspire us and move us into the future.
When? Loop Fair from 19 to 21 November. Loop Symposium 20-21 November. Loop Festival 13-23 November.
Where: Barcelona.
Time: You can follow the programme on the website.
The threads of light woven by Olga de Amaral
The Fondation Cartier celebrates the legacy of the artist Olga de Amaral, pioneer of Fiber Art, through a retrospective that brings together eighty works, from 1960 to the present day. The exhibition, which includes pieces never before seen outside Colombia, reflects her use of gold leaf, and her early textile experimentations and works. Amaral has worked with materials such as horsehair and plaster, transforming the canvas into a medium where light and form become one.
Monumental installation of Olga de Amaral’s exhibition. Editorial credit: Lisson Gallery.
In 1955, the artist returned to Colombia with new techniques after having been at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Throughout the tour, we can see how she innovated and experimented in works such as Estelas, which teaches Japanese kintsugi. On the other hand, the work Mists offers a sensory experience of colours flowing light as clouds. Through her works, the artist allows us to explore the connections with nature, playing with the lights and shadows that are woven into each thread.
When will the exhibition take place? 12 October 2024 – 16 March 2025
Where: 261 Bd Raspail, Paris, France
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 8pm. Tuesday from 11am to 10pm.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
An immersive journey through Latin American nature
The essence of Latin America is present in the November exhibitions with the exhibition Silhouettes in the undergrowth, which immerses us in a sensorial journey through the link between bodies and South American landscapes. The Fundación Jumex has brought together works by six Latin American artists who capture the essence of diverse territories, such as the Amazon, Panajachel, and Catatumbo, through installations, performance, video and painting. Each piece reflects the historical and contemporary impact on nature, while creating an immersive atmosphere to make us travel to these lands.
Interior of the exhibition at Museo Jumex. Editorial credit: Ramiro Chaves.
The show is inspired by Ana Mendieta’s Silueta series, and explores how the human body and the environment are inseparable. Works such as Nohemí Pérez’s work, which shows extractivist violence in Colombia, and Vivian Caccuri’s sound installation, which uses ant parts in loudspeakers made of Amazonian sugar, intensify the relationship between humans, nature and colonialism. As we walk through Silhouettes in the undergrowth, we have the opportunity to remember the mark we leave on nature and how we destroy something that is part of ourselves. It is a call to reflect and act before it is too late to protect what we still have.
When is it? From 17 October 2024 to 5 January 2025.
Where: Blvd. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, 303, Granada, Mexico City.
Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 10.00h to 17.00h. Saturday from 10.00h to 19.00h.
Tickets: Admission is free
The participatory world of Lygia Clark
The exhibition The I and the You at Whitechapel Gallery invites us to delve into the 1950s and 1970s through the work of Brazilian artist Lygia Clark. In a context marked by political tensions and a search for new forms of expression, Clark stood out in the neo-concrete movement, with which she challenged abstract art and encouraged the connection between work and spectator. In this way, the public was an active part of the art he created.
The interior of The I and the You installation, 2024. Editorial credit: Whitechapel Gallery, Lygia Clark.
From the first paintings to the interactive sculptures Bichos, the exhibition reveals his artistic world where traditional norms are set aside to create a more personal connection with art. Throughout the exhibition, everyday materials such as plastic bags or fruit nets are transformed and allow visitors to interact and become part of the work. In the final part of the exhibition, his group work created in Paris in 1968, he exposes his commitment to society, blurring the boundaries between art and life, and reaffirming his conviction that creativity can always change the course of the world.
When will it take place? 2 October 2024 to 12 January 2025.
Where: 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London, UK.
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm. Thursday 11.00am – 9.00pm
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
A journey between the quotidian and the extraordinary through Arte Povera
The Bourse de Commerce-Pinault Collection is transformed into a space for reflection and discovery with a monumental exhibition dedicated to Arte Povera. The exhibition brings together more than 250 works by thirteen exponents of the movement, including Giovanni Anselmo and Michelangelo Pistoletto, among others. In addition, the exhibition incorporates new works by contemporary artists who dialogue with the legacy of their predecessors, creating a bridge between the past and the present.
View of the Arte Povera exhibition. Editorial credit: Florent Michel.
Arte Povera, which originated in Italy in the 1960s, breaks with the traditional norms of art by using humble materials and simple techniques. The installation reflects the essence of the everyday, such as Pier Paolo Calzolari‘s piece, where shades of hot and cold play with the senses, and invites reflection on the relationship between art and the environment. By celebrating the essence of the natural and the urban, the Bourse de Commerce becomes a beacon of creativity and reflection in the heart of the French capital.
When will it take place? From 9 October 2024 to 20 January 2025.
Where: 2 Rue de Viarmes, Paris, France.
Opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 7pm. Friday from 11.00h to 21.00h.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Invisible Steps Connecting Body and Soul
The Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Shanghai presents Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy, the artist’s first exhibition in China. The exhibition connects Abramović’s history and present day, drawing inspiration from her iconic walk along the Great Wall in 1988 with German artist Ulay. The exhibition showcases over 1,000 images alongside previously unseen works that explore the potential of transformative energy and audience participation.
The exhibition highlights ‘transitory’ objects, pieces that Abramović has designed to stimulate a dialogue between human energy and crystals, sourced from different parts of the world. With an interactive approach, the tour takes us through her biography, her early works focusing on bodily energy and the spirituality of crystals. In addition, new and participatory pieces are revealed that take up the theme of her durational art. Marina Abramović invites us to connect energetically, and allows us to experience sensations outside physical boundaries.
When will it take place? 10 October 2024 – 28 February 2025
Where? 4777 Binjiang Avenue, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00h to 18.00h
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Tom Wesselman and the Pop Art Revolution
The Fondation Louis Vuitton is wrapping itself in the essence of Pop Art with Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &…, an exhibition that explores the evolution and influence of the movement. With Tom Wesselmann as the main figure, 150 of his works are exhibited alongside 70 pieces by35 contemporary artists who interpret and re-imagine Pop Art to current expressions. Throughout the four zones, we explore the colours, forms and concepts of such renowned artists as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Yayoi Kusama, KAWS, among others.
One of the exhibited works by Mickalene Thomas, Tan n’ Terrific, 2024. Editorial credit: Mickalene Thomas Studio.
Pop Forever highlights the iconic depictions of classic American consumerism and the human body, characteristic of Wesselmann’s style. It also shows how Derrick Adams and Mickalene Thomas reinterpreted these themes in a globalised context. With Warhol’s famous Shot Sage Blue Marilyn and Wesselmann’s large-scale installations, the tour connects themes of consumption, identity and culture in a tribute to one of the most transgressive currents in 20th century art.
When will it take place? From 17 October 2024 to 24 February 2025.
Where? 8 Av. du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris, France
Hours: Sunday to Thursday from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. Friday from 10.00h to 21.00h.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
A call for the preservation of Amazonia
This November,Barcelona’s CCCB delves into the Amazon with the exhibition Amazonias: The Ancestral Future. The exhibition offers a deep immersion into the cultural and ecological diversity of the Amazon, and explores the rivers and forests of this region, exploring the sounds, smells and rituals of the indigenous communities. The exhibition not only captures the artistic richness and thought of these peoples, but also exposes the threats they face, such as deforestation and climate change, highlighting the urgency of preserving this heritage.
Mahku Collective (Kássia Borges and Ibã Huni Kuin), Rashuaka, 2022. Editorial credit: Carmo Johnson Projects.
Divided into four sections, the exhibition presents works by indigenous artists and collectives, including installations by Nereyda López and Santiago Yahuarcani. With a combination of photographs, audiovisuals and narratives, it reveals how the exploitation of natural resources is devastating the area, while advocacy groups fight for conservation. This journey invites us to reflect on the need to adopt sustainable habits, and the importance of not forgetting the physical and spiritual connection of the Amazonian peoples with their ancestors and the future that depends solely on our actions.
When will it take place? 13 November 2024 – 4 May 2025
Where? Carrer de Montalegre, 5, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00h to 20.00h
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Ai Weiwei, a contemporary Don Quixote
The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León presents the exhibition Ai Weiwei-Don Quixote, a survey of two decades of art and activism by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The great character created by Miguel de Cervantes captivated Weiwei as a child, and inspired by Don Quixote explores the artist’s resistance and resilience. Among the highlights will be paintings made with LEGO, where the building blocks reflect the timelessness of ancient techniques such as mosaics.
The installation La Commedia Umana, 2017-2021. Editorial credit: Ai Weiwei Studio.
The exhibition will feature installations, sculptures, and works that reflect on the refugee crisis and the impact of artificial intelligence. Along the route we will find works such as La Commedia Umana, a large black Murano glass chandelier measuring more than eight metres, which explores the cycle of life and death. The exhibition also includes ten films and works on wallpaper that transform each room into an immersive space, where visitors can travel through Weiwei’s central themes: politics, human rights, and his cultural identity.
When does it run? 9 November 2024 to 18 May 2025.
Where? Av. de los Reyes Leoneses, 24, León
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00h to 14.00h and from 17.00h to 20.00h
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Louise Bourgeois trapped between the duality of spiders
We travel to Tokyo to reach the Mori Art Museum, where the exhibition dedicated to the artist Louise Bourgeois is on show. With more than 100 works in three sections, the exhibition explores the complex family ties that marked her life and work. From her sculptures to her installations, Bourgeois challenges the dualities imposed by society, and uses her personal experiences to weave a discourse that transcends time. The first part of the exhibition, Don’t Leave Me, narrates her fear of separation and her relationship with her mother figure, while I’ve Been to Hell and Back reflects her conflicting emotions towards her father.
Louise Bourgeois’s giant Maman spider in Tokyo. Editorial credit: Mori Building Co.
Through emblematic works such as The Destruction of the Father, Bourgeois performs an artistic exorcism of her fears and anxieties. At this point, the classic spider emerges as a fundamental symbol in her work, representing the figure of the mother, that strong and protective woman. The final section, Repairs in the Sky, highlights his ability to find a balance between the positive and negative forces we encounter in life. By exhibiting elements of her personal life, such as items of clothing, Bourgeois not only reflects her memories, but also constructs a space where feelings and subsequent resilience to heal are exposed.
When will it take place? 25 September 2024 to 19 January 2025.
Where? 53F, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo, Japan
Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday from 10.00am to 10.00pm. Tuesday from 10am to 5pm.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Teresa Solar’s sculptural journey between bodies and voids
MACBA presents Bird Machine Dream, a solo exhibition by Teresa Solar Abboud that explores resistance and language through large-scale sculptures. The exhibition, produced in collaboration with CA2M, moves from a ‘space of contraction’ in Madrid to a ‘space of dilation’ in Barcelona, expanding the discourse with new pieces. Teresa Solar is able to create stories through the sculptures, inspired by bony figures and voids, and conveys the resistance that is experienced when adapting body and nature.
One of the sculptures from the first part of Sueño máquina de pájaro installed at the CA2M Museum. Editorial credit: Roberto Ruiz.
In Sueño máquina de pájaro, different stages of the artist’s career are explained, from her beginnings with video and drawing to her large-scale sculptures. Throughout the exhibition, the installations invite us to reflect on the relationship between the body and space, and where ceramic materials transform the voids. The exhibition allows us to travel through Teresa’s universe, where the physical and the symbolic are connected in the same language.
When does it run? From 21 November 2024 to 9 March 2025.
Where? Plaça dels Àngels, 1, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona
Timetable: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11.00h to 19.30h. Saturday from 10.00h to 20.00h. Sunday from 10.00h to 15.00h.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Asian women redefine their image in art
The revolutionary figure of women arrives at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in South Korea with the exhibition Connecting Bodies: Asian Women Artists. The exhibition reflects on the contemporary meaning of the body in the art of Asian women after the 1960s. The exhibition features more than 130 works by artists from 11 Asian countries, and proposes a dialogue on how the body becomes an intermediary space between ideology and culture. Throughout the exhibition, we see how the female figure is presented as a transformative key necessary to redefine their identity in cultural diversity.
Installation view. Editorial credit: MMCA and Tina Kim Gallery.
The exhibition is divided into six sections, touching on themes from Flexible Territories of Sexuality to Bodies as Becoming, and explores the meaning of the body depending on territory, spirituality and power structures. Between mythologies and urban performances, Connecting Bodies reflects a feminist vision that revolutionises the concepts of subject and object, and reclaims a world where identity and the body come together in an inclusive way.
When will it take place? 3 September 2024-3 March 2025
Where: 30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea
Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Wednesday and Saturday from 10am to 9pm.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
The Shadows of Pop Art
Tate Modern is showing the first major exhibition in the UK dedicated to the American artist Mike Kelley, who fused pop art in a dark and sinister way. Through drawings, collages, videos and multimedia installations, we see how Kelley challenged classic social norms. In this way, the exhibition attempts to convey Kelley’s artistic world, and the connections he made between popular culture and human experiences.
The Poltergeist, 1979, by Mike Kelley. Editorial credit: Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts. Vague at ars, ny & DACS, London.
The heart of the exhibition revolves around Under a Sheet/Existence Problems, which explores absence and rituals, and reflects his childhood as a Catholic. Handmade objects and second-hand toys are presented as key pieces, but not innocently, as they invite us to reflect on the concept of masculinity and family roles. On the other hand, the exhibition ends with his latest installations that reflect memory and hidden desire. Among them, we can highlight Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstructions (2000-2011), where the artist brings to life photographs of extracurricular activities from high school yearbooks, transforming them into musical and theatrical videos.
When? Until 9 March 2025
Where: Bankside, London, UK
Opening times: Monday to Sunday 10.00am to 6.00pm
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
The Lenses of Change in the 1970s
The 1970s was a period of upheaval in the United States, marked by social unrest and the struggle for civil rights. This context served as the beginning of a revolution in documentary photography. The National Gallery of Art has opened its doors to The ‘70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography, an exhibition that delves into this moment of transformation. The show features 100 photographs by more than 80 artists such as Mikki Ferrill and Frank Espada, who used the camera to offer portraits of their communities. In the same way, Tseng Kwong Chi and Susan Hiller joined photography with performance, offering a new look at the function of art in a changing world.
Image by Mitch Epstein, Massachusetts Turnpike, 1973. Editorial credit: National Gallery of Art.
The exhibition highlights how aesthetics were transformed by the advent of colour, and how reality was captured in a more vivid way. William Eggleston revolutionised the perception of photographic art, while Lewis Baltz questioned the idyllic narrative of nature. Through his images, he showed how urbanism was destroying our environment, something that is still happening today. The exhibition gives us the opportunity to reflect on aspects that were hidden or not directly questioned, and which are still decisive today.
When does it take place? From 6 October 2024 to 6 April 2025.
Where? Constitution Ave NW, Washington DC, USA
Hours: Monday to Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Tickets: Admission is free
