Reviews

Bitter Campari (1960s), Franz Marangolo.

How Campari built its brand

An exhibition tracing the advertising history of the Italian liqueur reflects the changing tastes of the 20th century

16 Aug 2018

Andrea Fraser follows the money

In her new book, the artist uncovers uncomfortable truths about art, money and politics in the US

14 Aug 2018
Balls (film still; 2018), Lily Cole.

Lily Cole’s new film breathes life into the past at the Foundling Museum

Fiction and history, past and present are interwoven in this tale of two women whose children are taken into care

13 Aug 2018
State of Grace (detail; 2002), Rebecca Belmore.

The work of Rebecca Belmore demands to be heard

The experiences of Indigenous peoples past and present are brought into view in this provocative yet sensitive exhibition

11 Aug 2018
Gesellschaft (Party) (1911), Emil Nolde.

Colour, controversy and religion in the art of Emil Nolde

From biblical scenes to garden paintings, the paintings of this German Expressionist reveal a complicated soul

9 Aug 2018
Installation view of ‘Yuko Mohri: Voluta’, at Camden Arts Centre, 2018, Photo: Damian Griffiths. Courtesy Camden Arts Centre

Yuko Mohri unwinds at Camden Arts Centre

The artist’s new sound installation involving solenoids, sensors and tropical fish is surprisingly decorative

7 Aug 2018
Installation view of 'Pia Camil: Split Wall', Nottingham Contemporary, 2018.

The strangely familiar world of Pia Camil

The artist’s immersive exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary makes us question our public personas

3 Aug 2018
Petite danseuse de quatorze ans (1881; cast in 1921–31), Edgar Degas. Installation view of ‘In Colour: Polychrome Sculpture in France 1850–1910’ at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

How polychrome sculpture revolutionised art in 19th-century France

Coloured sculpture was a controversial art form that raised wider questions about realism and the role of art

31 Jul 2018

The mastermind behind the modern art market

A collection of short memoirs about the late Sotheby’s chairman Peter Wilson portrays an enigmatic and highly influential figure

30 Jul 2018
Last Self-Portrait (1956), David Bomberg

David Bomberg finally gets his due

The English painter’s work found early success, but has since been unduly neglected

27 Jul 2018
Biyema Byeri reliquary figure (late 19th or early 20th century), Fang Betsi, Moyen-Ogooué, Gabon. Musée d’ethnographie de Genève

Ecstasy and ethnography in Geneva

An exhibition at the MEG urges us to see African religious objects afresh by placing them in contemporary sacred contexts

25 Jul 2018
Exterior of the Bauhaus school of applied at Dessau, designed by Walter Gropius in 1926, photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images

Rethinking the utopian vision of the Bauhaus

The Bauhaus’s radical designs were meant for the masses, but they were far from affordable

20 Jul 2018

A great 16th-century Qur’an gets the attention it deserves

A meticulous study of the Chester Beatty Ruzbihan Qur’an does justice to the ingenuity of its calligrapher

19 Jul 2018
Gibbs toothpaste poster print (c. 1970), Michael English. British Dental Association Museum

The Wellcome sinks its teeth into the history of dentistry

A fascinating display takes us from the patron saint of toothaches to public health campaigns in the 1940s

18 Jul 2018
Daydream (detail; 1900), Odilon Redon

The enigmatic visions of Odilon Redon

A new exhibition suggests that Redon’s pictures owe as much to literature and music as they do to the visual arts

17 Jul 2018
Blue Water Lilies, Claude Monet

How Monet’s water lilies took root across the pond

The French painter’s late style influenced a generation of American Abstract Expressionists

17 Jul 2018
Pectoral disc (19th century), Ghana, Asante peoples

The great West African kingdom that made its mark in gold

An exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art places the powerfully symbolic gold objects of the Asante peoples centre stage

16 Jul 2018
NSA-Tapped Fiber Optic Cable Landing Site, Keawaula, Hawaii, United States (2016), Trevor Paglen. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Trevor Paglen reveals the hidden networks that rule our lives

The artist’s subjects include drones, undersea cables and a sculptural satellite in space

16 Jul 2018
Frida Kahlo with Olmec figurine (1939), Nickolas Muray.

A fresh look at Frida Kahlo

By placing the artist’s possessions next to her portraits, the V&A seeks to reveal the woman behind the icon

13 Jul 2018
Bilte, (2008) Tomma Abts, installation view at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, 2018, © 2018 readsreads.info

Tomma Abts’ intriguing paintings contain infinite worlds

In the largest survey of her work so far, the artist explores the tensions between control and chaos

11 Jul 2018
Sorry for suffering – You think I’m a puppy on a picnic? (1990), Lee Bul. Twelve-day performance at Kimpo Airport, Narita Airport, downtown Tokyo and Dokiwaza Theater.

The monstrous bodies of Lee Bul

A survey of the Korean artist’s work reveals a fascination with the fragile boundary between beauty and horror

10 Jul 2018
Film still from txtferz (2018) by Elizabeth Price, installed at Morley Gallery (5–14 July).

Elizabeth Price’s gestures of protest

The artist’s new video piece, installed at the Morley Gallery, draws attention to the current crisis in UK higher education

9 Jul 2018
January, Yellow and Black (1957), Paul Feiler.

The modern mysticism of Paul Feiler

An exhibition in Hastings makes clear the abrupt shift in the St Ives artist’s style of painting

7 Jul 2018
A selection of glazed ceramic buttons (1944–45), Lucie Rie.

The great modern potter who made an art form of buttons

A comprehensive look at the career of Lucie Rie places the spotlight on her handcrafted buttons

6 Jul 2018