Now, as we head into 2024, art is still important in our life. They’re like a mirror to our world and a break from all the stress.
There are some really exciting art shows to check out this year. Don’t the Olafur Eliasson’s exhibition in Japan – it’s all about art meeting environmental awareness. Over at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, there’s ‘The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism,’ which is all about this super influential cultural movement. Then, there’s Anthony McCall’s mind-blowing light stuff at Tate Modern, and ‘Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue’ at MoMA in New York, mixing Frank’s work with today’s conversations. These shows aren’t just a mix of cool and thought-provoking stuff; they remind us how art can connect us, make us think, and wow us.
Olafur Eliasson: A harmonious cycle of interconnected nows
Azabudai Hills Gallery, Tokyo
November 24, 2023 － March 31, 2024.
Azabudai Hills Gallery, the core cultural facility of the new mixed-used development by Heatherwick Studio in central Tokyo, celebrates its opening with an exhibition by Olafur Eliasson.
Olafur Eliasson , an Icelandic-Danish artist, has attracted worldwide attention not only for his diverse genre-crossing works, but also his proactive engagement with social issues including the climate crisis.
The “Olafur Eliasson: A harmonious cycle of interconnected nows” exhibition, curated by the Mori Art Museum, showcases Eliasson’s artistic exploration of nature, geometry, and movement. It features both new and older works, including installations, drawings, and sculptures. Highlights include “Your split second house,” a light-and-water installation, and “Firefly biosphere (falling magma star),” a geometric sculpture with refracted light. The exhibition, blending art with natural phenomena and physics, offers a sensory-rich experience, underscoring Eliasson’s fascination with patterns and the interplay of natural elements in art.
Team Lab Bordeless
Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza B B1, Tokyo
Opens February 9th ,2024 , Tickets go on sale January 16th,2024
TeamLab Borderless is moving from its former location in Odaiba and is set to reopen in the Azabudai Hills in central Tokyo in early February 2024.
TeamLab Borderless is a world of artworks without boundaries and a museum without a map. It is a journey into a boundary-less world of art, where visitors are invited to “wander, explore, and discover.” This unique museum, devoid of maps, presents an immersive experience where art exists without borders. The highlight of the exhibition is teamLab’s latest project, “Existence in Perception.” This new series delves into the concepts of perception and existence, challenging visitors to reconsider how they view the world through interactive and experiential artworks. The exhibition promises to be a captivating exploration of the interplay between human perception and the surrounding world, realized through teamLab’s innovative art.
Frank Auerbach : The Charcoal Heads
The Courtauld Gallery , London
Feb 9 – May 27, 2024
The Courtauld Gallery in London will present “Frank Auerbach: The Charcoal Heads” in Spring 2024, showcasing for the first time a remarkable series of large-scale drawings by Frank Auerbach (born 1931). These early works, created in post-war London, feature intense, large-scale portrait heads made in charcoal, reflecting months of dedicated effort per drawing. The richly textured, layered drawings, sometimes repaired after breaking through the paper, vividly convey the subjects’ vitality and the artist’s struggle. The exhibition, a first-time comprehensive assembly of Auerbach’s extraordinary post-war drawings from the 1950s and early 1960s, will also include related paintings of the same sitters, highlighting the deep connection between his painting and drawing practices. This unique exhibition offers a chance to see early masterpieces by a globally acclaimed artist, supported by the Huo Family Foundation and The Garcia Family Foundation.
Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s
The Hammer Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles
Feb 11 – May 12 , 2024
Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–70s” is North America’s first exhibition highlighting post-Korean War artistic innovations in South Korea. Spanning two transformative decades, it features pioneering works in assemblage, installation, happenings, and conceptual art, along with pieces using industrial materials and new technologies. The exhibition reflects a period of rebellion against traditional art forms, embodying a critical, self-reflective approach. It captures a key moment in Korea’s cultural history, where artists used experimentation to navigate a new republic’s challenges, including authoritarian rule and rapid industrialization, marking a significant era in Korean art.
It is co-organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, and The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.
The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism
The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York
Feb 25- July 28, 2024
In February 2024, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will unveil “The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism,” a landmark exhibition showcasing 160 works including paintings, sculptures, photographs, films, and ephemera. This first major New York City survey since 1987 explores the Harlem Renaissance’s impact on modern Black urban life in the 1920s–40s, highlighting its central role in international modern art. The exhibition features artists like Charles Alston, Aaron Douglas, and James Van Der Zee, alongside European counterparts such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Notably, it includes significant contributions from HBCU collections, the Smithsonian, the National Portrait Gallery, and major European lenders. Supported by the Ford Foundation, the Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore Foundation, and Denise Littlefield Sobel, the exhibition bridges Harlem’s artistic legacy with the broader African diaspora.
I. M. Pei: Life is Architecture
M+ , HongKong
Opening Jun 29th, 2024
M+, Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture, located in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, presents its special exhibition ‘I. M. Pei: Life is Architecture’. This retrospective showcases the influential architecture of Ieoh Ming Pei, ranging from the National Gallery of Art East Building in Washington, D.C. to the Grand Louvre in Paris. The exhibition explores Pei’s seven-decade career through themes such as ‘Transcultural Foundations’ and ‘Material and Structural Innovation’. It features a vast array of drawings, models, and photographs, many of which are displayed for the first time, alongside new photographs by contemporary photographers like Giovanna Silva and Mohamed Somji. This exhibition contextualizes Pei’s work within social and cultural frameworks, highlighting his impact on modern architecture and global culture.
Anthony McCall at Tate Modern
Tate Modern, London
June 27, 2024 – April 27, 2025
This summer, Tate Modern in London will host an exhibition featuring the immersive ‘solid-light’ installations of Anthony McCall, an English-born, US-based artist. Best known for his groundbreaking 1973 work “Line Describing a Cone,” part of Tate’s collection, McCall’s art blurs the lines between sculpture, cinema, and drawing. Visitors can interact with large-scale sculptural forms made from mist and evolving light projections. The ten-month exhibition, located on the Southbank of the River Thames, follows McCall’s last major UK show, “Solid Light Works,” held at the Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire, his first major UK exhibition in over a decade.
BERLIN – THE NINETIES
C/O Berlin
Sep 14, 2024 – Jan 23, 2025
After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Berlin experienced a period of political upheaval and transformation. During this time, photographers from former East Germany established the OSTKREUZ photo agency in 1990. An exhibition at C/O Berlin showcases works by agency co-founders Sibylle Bergemann, Harald Hauswald, Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler, and later members. Documenting the decade from 1989 to 1999, these photographs capture the city’s tumultuous changes and societal shifts following the Wall’s fall, exploring themes of transformation and identity. The exhibition features about 200 photoworks, including iconic scenes and previously unseen archival material, with an accompanying publication.
Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue
MOMA , New York
Sep15 , 2024 – Jan 11 , 2025
“Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue,” the first solo exhibition of Robert Frank at MoMA, offers a fresh look at his work following his 1958 seminal photobook, “The Americans.” Marking the centennial of Frank’s birth, this exhibition delves into his six-decade career until his death in 2019, showcasing his exploration in photography, film, and books. Featuring around 200 works, including many from MoMA’s collection and previously unexhibited materials, it reflects Frank’s engagement with various artistic mediums and communities. The title is inspired by Frank’s 1980 film, a personal reflection set in New York City and Nova Scotia, where Frank lived with his wife, artist June Leaf. The exhibition encapsulates Frank’s creative drive, highlighted by his statement, “Because I am alive”.
Ryuichi Sakamoto Exhibition (tentative title)
The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Dec 21, 2024 – March 30, 2025
In December 2024, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo will host the first comprehensive exhibition in Japan dedicated to the large-scale installation works of composer and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023). Celebrating Sakamoto’s pioneering spirit in the arts, the exhibition showcases his innovative sound installations, which have been a focus since the 2000s. These works, often collaborative, present sound in three-dimensional exhibition spaces. The exhibition will feature some of Sakamoto’s most famous pieces, a new work conceived before his passing, and a retrospective of his artistic journey, dynamically displayed in and around the museum.