Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power
Tate Modern, London (12 July–22 October)
This exhibition charts the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the US from 1963 onwards, the emergence of Black feminism, and the concept of Black Art. Most of the 150 works, which include painting, sculpture, and photography, have never before been displayed in the UK.
Black Unity (1968), Elizabeth Catlett. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; © Catlett Mora Family Trust/DACS, London/VAGA, NY 2017
Charles Sheeler from Doylestown to Detroit
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (22 July–5 November)
Sheeler’s photographic estate is held by the MFA, which presents 40 works from three series in his career. Included are experimental images of Doylestown in 1916, his collaboration with Paul Strand on the film Manhatta in 1920, and his 1927 photographs of the Ford plant in Michigan.
Ford Plant Stamping Press (1927), Charles Sheeler. Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; © The Lane Collection
Cristóbal de Villalpando
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (25 July–15 October)
Cristóbal de Villalpando was one of the most accomplished painters in the Spanish world. The show’s centrepiece is his monumental Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus of 1683 (pictured), which has never been exhibited outside the artist’s native Mexico.
Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus (1683), Cristóbal del Villalpando. Col. Propiedad de la Nación Mexicana
Opening: Exhibition Road Quarter
Victoria and Albert Museum, London (30 June)
The V&A celebrates the opening of its much-anticipated extension with the REVEAL Festival (30 June–7 July). Designed by Amanda Levete Architects, the Exhibition Road Quarter comprises a new entrance, a porcelain-tiled courtyard, and a large gallery for temporary exhibitions.
The V&A’s exhibition Road Quarter is designed by Amanda Levete Architects. © AL_A
Alma-Tadema: At Home in Antiquity
Leighton House Museum, London (7 July–29 October)
Alma-Tadema’s Romantic paintings of domestic life in antiquity helped create popular ideas of what life in the ancient past looked like, and some of these ideas persist today. This display presents his work alongside that of his wife, Laura, and his daughter, Anna.
A Kiss (1891), Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Courtesy of Martin Beisley
Jean Dubuffet – The Deep End
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1 July–24 September)
For the first time, the Stedelijk displays its entire collection of works by the French artist, from his early experimental paintings and lithographs of the 1950s, to his tangled, reductive forms of the late 1960s. Concurrently, the Rijksmuseum has installed 12 of Dubuffet’s late sculptures in its gardens.
Personnage hilare (Portrait de Francis Ponge) (1947), Jean Dubuffet. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Cantastorie
Kunsthaus Zürich (25 August–8 October)
In the cantastorie tradition, performers used bold images to tell a tale, often in song. Around 100 of these vibrant examples of early 20th-century Italian folk art are included in this exhibition, which also features a purpose-built stage on which their stories will be brought to life.
Panel for Palmerino (first half of 20th century). Sammlung Würth, Künzelsau
SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now
Mori Art Museum and the National Art Center, Tokyo (5 July–23 October)
On the 50th anniversary of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), two museums jointly stage the largest exhibition in Japan to date of Southeast Asian contemporary art. Illustrated is Htein Lin’s Biology of Art (1999).
Biology of Art (from the series ‘00235’) (1999), Htein Lin. Courtesy: Martin LeSanto-Smith