Events Planner: Art Exhibitions

FRANCE

FRANCE

Rubens at the Palais des Beaux Arts, Lille, 6 March-14 June

Lille, one of this year's European Capitals of Culture, is staging a number of cultural events in the coming months including this major retrospective of the works of the Flemish Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) at the Palais des Beaux Arts.

Among the works on display will be paintings produced for the churches and convents of Lille, as well as sketches and tapestries. Along with the work of Caravaggio, his realistic style greatly influenced modern painting. The exhibition is open daily, except Tuesdays, from 11am-7pm and from 11am-9pm on Fridays. For admission prices and further information call 00 33 359 579 400 or visit www.exporubens.com.

USA

Roth Time: A Dieter Roth Retrospective, New York, 12 March-7 June

This retrospective of the works of German-born post-war artist Dieter Roth (1930-1998) brings together nearly 350 of his works at The Museum of Modern Art (Moma) and its affiliate P.S.1. Contemporary Art Centre.

The exhibition will be spread between the two museums. Moma itself has been temporarily re-housed in Long Island City, Queens, while the old building is renovated. On display will be a comprehensive collection of Roth's introspective drawings, his writing from the late 1940s, paintings, sculpture, installations and an impressive display of 128 videos depicting Roth's life. Often regarded as an eccentric, Roth used organic matter such as cheese and rabbit droppings in his work. P.S.1. is open Thursdays-Mondays from 12-6pm and is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; Moma is open from 10am-5pm on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and from 10am-7:45pm on Fridays. It is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For more information call 001 212 708 9400, or see www.moma.org.

ITALY

Pop Art UK: British Pop Art 1956-1972, Modena, 18 April-4 July

Pop Art tends to evoke the work of the American artists Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Wayne Thiebaud and Roy Lichtenstein.

In fact, the movement's origins can be traced to England in the 1950s and it only leap-frogged across the Atlantic in the 1960s. This major exhibition at the Palazzo Santa Margherita and the Palazzina dei Giardini focuses on the British contingent, featuring 60 works by David Hockney, Peter Blake (who created The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band sleeve), RB Kitaj, Patrick Caulfield and many more. Among these will be lesser-known works as well as old favourites such as Richard Hamilton's collage Just What is it that Makes Today's Homes so Different, so Appealing. The exhibition is open Tuesdays-Fridays from 11am-1pm and 4pm-7pm, and Saturdays and Sundays 10:30am-7pm. It is closed Mondays. For more information call 00 39 0 5920 6911 or see www.studioesseci.net.

USA

The Arts of Fire: The Islamic Influences on the Italian Renaissance, Los Angeles, 4 May-5 Sept

Ceramics and glass from the Italian Renaissance became collectors' items amongst wealthy Europeans of the period.

It was artisans from Syria that invented glassblowing and the Italians also adopted their use of enamelling, copying many of the different styles from the East. Consequently their glass and ceramic artworks had an ornate Eastern style. On display at this exhibition will be examples of this influence on Italian Renaissance ceramics and glassware from the Getty Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There will also be a seminar on 13 May and a public lecture entitled "From Bazaar to Piazza" on 16 May. This exhibition takes place at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and is open Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday 10am-6pm, and Friday and Saturday 10am-9pm. Admission is free and booking is recommended for the seminar and lecture. For further enquiries call 001 310 440 7300, or visit www.getty.edu.

SPAIN

Dali/Gaudi, Barcelona, 5 April-10 May

This year marks the centenary of the birth the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali (1904-1989), and this is just one of the many events taking place in his honour.

Dali was a great admirer of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) and the exhibition presents a collection of his works that were particularly influenced by the great architect, in the city where Gaudi lived and worked, Barcelona. On display will be a collection of his oil paintings, drawings, manuscripts and photographs in the Sala Gaudi del Centre Cultural Caixa Catalunya, in the Gaudi-designed La Pedrera. There are several other Dali-related exhibitions and events taking place throughout the year. For further information call 00 34 972 677 505 or visit the website www.dali2004.org.

AUSTRALIA

Darkness and Light: Caravaggio and his world, Melbourne, 11 March-30 May

Nine selected works of the Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) come to Melbourne this spring in an exhibition focusing on his use of "chiaroscuro" or darkness and light.

During his lifetime his works often caused an outcry because of their realistic nature in depicting scenes such as The Sacrifice of Isaac and The Crucifixion of Saint Peter. His style has since been imitated by many artists such as Georges de la Tour (1593-1652) and Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582-1622) whose works will also be on display, along with around 60 more works influenced by Caravaggio. The exhibition, being held at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, is open daily from 10am-5pm. For admission prices and further information call 00 61 3 8620 2222, or see www.ngv.vic.gov.au.