One thing connects this week’s exhibitions from around the worlds - iconic. While completely overused in the culture today, iconic is a pertinent concept here. From iconic artists grappling with larger than life ideas and themes, to iconic histories weaving through the stories of great women and the idea of storytelling itself.
Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic
Gropius Bau, Berlin
Marina Abramović is that artist. Based on the folklore of the Balkans, the region where the conceptual artist and performer grew up, Balkan Erotic Epic includes cinematic and sculptural installations with live performances.
Eroticism as a bridge between life and death, the self and the cosmos – these are some of the themes that Abramović explores acts of personal endurance and rituals.
On view until 23 August
Basquiat × Banksy
Hirshhorn Museum, Washington
Two paintings by two major artists in one space.
The exhibition is of two important works one by Jean-Michel Basquiat and the other by Banksy.
Basquiat’s Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump painted in 1982) and Banksy’s response, Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search painted in 2018 are placed together in dialogue, revealing the threads connecting street and contemporary art, and the public consciousness.
On view until 7 September.
DIVAS: From Oum Kalthoum to Dalida
Sursok Museum, Beirut
This sounds incredible.
Honouring the legacy of iconic female singers of the Arab world, this exhibition pays homage to some of the greats.
Oum Koulthoum, Warda Al-Jazairia, Asmahan, Fayrouz, Laila Mourad, Samia Gamal, Souad Hosny, Sabah, Dalida – these are the timeless and powerful divas who changes culture, fashion, art, and music through their varied and prolific contributions.
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the lives of these singers and actresses and the profound impact their art left behind.
On view until 1 February.
A Moving Line: 1500 Years of Indian Visual Storytelling
Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru
Wow - more than 250 works are exhibited tracing how India has told stories for over fifteen hundred years across generations, mediums, and technologies.
The exhibition reflects how, as societies changes, so does the creation of new visual identities and the evolution of a country and its people through the vehicle of storytelling across time and space.
On view until 15 November.