Venice Ai Weiwei was a strong presence at the 55th Venice Biennale, all but dominating the collateral events. You could leave his exhibitions, but you couldn’t stop thinking about them. The German pavilion hosted Bang, a forest of 886 piled-up wooden stools.
“Global Caribbean IV: French West Indies & Guiana”
Le François, Martinique Fondation Clément Approaching the Fondation Clément, one was struck by the incongruousness—or justice—of a contemporary Caribbean art exhibition at a former slave plantation. Yet with the first step into the foyer, the past ceased to matter.
“Art and Sustainability IV: Metaphors to Embrace the World”
Buenos Aires Praxis International Art Gallery “Art and Sustainability IV” curator Rodrigo Alonso selected his six artists based on their ability to create “metaphors to embrace the world.” The exhibition’s subtitle is extremely important, because as Alonso explains, “Unlike other professional spheres, such as architecture or design, art cannot easily contribute to the actual material
Kathleen Elliot
New York Tenri Cultural Institute of New York Kathleen Elliot’s glass sculptures straddle the line between ritual and playfulness. Her work, which stems from a love of natural forms, explores how the wonders of nature, big and small, have an indisputable calming effect on us as we muddle through the distractions of daily life.
“OccupyING the Present”
Boston HarborArts Outdoor Gallery HarborArts Outdoor Gallery not only features a permanent collection of large-scale sculpture, it also hosts temporary exhibitions at the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina. Located in East Boston, directly across the harbor from the Institute of Contemporary Art, the 14-acre shipyard offers its grounds, walls, and roofs to artists with the
Frieze New York 2013
New York Randall’s Island Park With Paul McCarthy’s 60-foot-tall Balloon Dog leading the way, sculpture made a strong showing at Frieze New York 2013. Nearly every gallery displayed three-dimensional work, often involving installation or non-traditional materials, making it clear that sculpture can be made from and be just about anything these days.
Steven Claydon
Los Angeles David Kordansky Gallery In this exhibition, English artist Steven Claydon presented a group of sculptures that, despite their conceptual nature, are oddly traditional and highly theatrical. The work is concerned with communicating connections between matter and information, meaning and status.
55th Venice Biennale
Venice The 55th Venice Biennale was less about art world trends and more about real world issues. There was Cuban art about escape, Angolan art about the remnants of an impoverished society, Chinese art about the invasion of privacy at airports, and Hungarian art about bombs that, in both world wars, were fired but didn’t
Absalon
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv Museum of Art Twenty years have passed since the death of the Israeli-French artist Absalon at the age of 29. This show, a revised version of a comprehensive exhibition mounted two years ago at Berlin’s KW Institute of Contemporary Art, featured installations, sculptures, models, preparatory sketches, and video works loaned from
