The weather is always a little unpredictable in June, which is why it’s a good idea to keep this list of top art exhibitions handy – just in case you need a backup plan for rainy or just generally gloomy days. Here are six of our favorite shows happening this month. For even more things to do, check our event calendar.
Time Memory / Nairobi 2014-2016, Mixed media, 176 x 158.8 x 4.5 cm
Shinro Ohtake Solo Exhibition: Time Memory
Known for his fascinating collages, scrapbooks, and installations made from found objects, Japanese artist Shinro Ohtake uses the world, his journeys, and his dreams as inspiration.
“Time Memory” is a series that began in 2011, and explores the artist’s ideas about how time is inextricably linked with memory: “I view the ‘fragments of time’ of the paper scraps as the ‘layers of memory,’ and the drawn-in lines as the ‘flow of time.’”
Take Ninagawa
Dates: Until June 30, 2016
Map and contact details here.
The Swing 1876 / Oil on canvas / Musée d’Orsay, Paris © Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt / distributed by AMF
Renoir: Masterpieces from the Musée D’Orsay and the Musée De L’Orangerie
Two esteemed French collections of Renoir masterpieces come together for this exhibition, including the painting “Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette,” a true highlight making its Japanese premiere.
From Renoir’s early realism to the stunning nudes of his twilight years, the evolution of his artistry is delineated through 10 chapters. More than 100 works, including sculptures, drawings, pastels, and rare contextual material will be presented in the exhibition.
The National Art Center, Tokyo
Dates: Until August 22, 2016
Map and contact details here.
is it the goat’s rue powder or eleutherococcus senticosus rub that helps with the never ending sense of impending doom?, 2016. Acrylic on Canvas. 2100 x 1525 x 38 mm. Courtesy of Various Small Fires, Los Angeles
Make Memories with the Bunny: Joshua Nathanson
Takashi Murakami describes Joshua Nathanson’s artwork as “unfolding with a nonchalant scenery that reminds me of the folk songs I used to listen to in high school, the kind that unaffectedly depicts the details of daily life.”
It’s a wonderful description for the contemporary artist’s style, which puts a kind of magical spin on everyday experiences. This exhibition focuses on the experience of shopping, with each work having started as a sketch made at Los Angeles malls.
Kaikai Kiki Gallery
Dates: Until June 23, 2016
Map and contact details here.
Hidai Nankoku
Nankoku Exhibition
Hidai Nankoku, considered to be a pioneer of “avant-garde” style calligraphy-based art in Japan, spent most of his 87 years of life dedicated to art, history, and and writing. Towards the end of his life, he was a prolific lecturer at the University of Oxford, teaching the art of calligraphy. His work first gained traction in the US in the 1950s, particularly with his “variations of power” work.
Kashima Arts gallery will be featuring prominent and lesser-known works (including private letters and practice sketches) for the first month of summer. Today, his art continues to inspire other calligraphy artists, hoping to create strokes as effective and artful as his.
Kashima Arts
Dates: June 11-July 2, 2016
Map and contact details here.
Balance of Power, 2015 ©Cleon Peterson
Into the Sun: Cleon Peterson
Cleon Peterson is a Los Angeles–based artist whose violent paintings show clashing figures, symbolizing the struggle between power and submission in contemporary society. In his dystopian visions, violence and deviance are the status quo.
Peterson describes it as “a grey world where law breakers and law enforcers are one in the same; a world where ethics have been abandoned in favor of personal entitlement.” In this exhibition, more than 10 of his new monochromatic paintings, including a large format work, are going on display.
Diesel Art Gallery
Dates: Until August 12, 2016
Map and contact details here.
Susumu Koshimizu
New Sculptures by Susumu Koshimizu
Since the 1970s, Susumu Koshimizu has built a foundation in the worlds of sculpture and architecture. His series have been spotted in exhibits and museums over the past several decades in Japan and overseas, and he continues to work from his offices in Kyoto and Osaka to this day. His latest pieces are being released late this spring, in a partnership with Blum & Poe galleries.
Koshimizu is known for his incorporation of geometric patterns, created by a fine-art-tuned eye, with ordinary pieces found in a home or office. He aims to hand-craft pieces that are meant to be used, while simultaneously providing an opportunity to meditate. Feel the peace in his wooden pieces over at Blum & Poe this spring.
Blum & Poe
Dates: Until July 2, 2016
Map and contact details here.
Main image: Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette 1876 / Oil on canvas / Musée d’Orsay ©Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt / distributed by AMF
