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Global Culture Guide

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t-l-global-guide-to-arts-and-culture sidebar Global Culture Guide

Art

Europe

Paris "Gustave Courbet," at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais (rmn.fr/galeriesnationalesdugrandpalais; Oct. 13–Jan. 28). Courbet's vast ambitions are perfectly matched by the cavernous spaces of the Grand Palais, where the revolutionary Realist, whose monumental canvas A Burial at Ornans effectively buried Romanticism, receives his first Parisian retrospective in three decades.

"Arcimboldo," at the Musée du Luxembourg (museeduluxembourg.fr; through Jan. 13). The first-ever retrospective devoted to the 16th-century Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo, painter at the Hapsburg court in Vienna, whose wildly inventive heads composed of fruits and flowers were celebrated by the Surrealists as precursors of modernity.

Lisbon Museu Calouste Gulbenkian (museu.gulbenkian.pt). One of Europe's greatest treasure troves, including Egyptian artifacts, European art from the 11th through the 20th centuries, and jewels and glass of René Lalique, is celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout 2007. Through January 6, the museum presents "Religion in Ancient Greece," devoted to the Olympic Gods depicted on ancient coins, which complements the visiting exhibition "The Greeks: Art Treasures from the Benaki Museum, Athens."

United States

New York "Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org; Oct. 17–Jan. 6). Forty tapestries drawn from collections in more than 10 countries will be presented in a 130-year survey of the spectacular medium for which leading artists, including Peter Paul Rubens, Charles Le Brun, and Pietro da Cortona, furnished designs. A sequel to the Met's 2002 acclaimed exhibition of Renaissance tapestries, the show includes drawings, engravings, and oil sketches that served as cartoons for the weavers.

"Painted with Words: Vincent van Gogh's Letters to émile Bernard," at the Morgan Library and Museum (themorgan.org; Sep. 28-Jan. 6). Rare letters (never before exhibited) from van Gogh and his younger colleague outline the close relationship, professional and personal, during the period from 1887 to 1889. The show includes more than 20 sketches, paintings, and watercolors by both artists.

"Gustav Klimt: The Ronald S. Lauder and Serge Sabarsky Collections," at the Neue Galerie (neuegalerie.org; Oct. 18-June 30). The sale of Klimt's portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer to Neue Galerie cofounder Ronald Lauder last spring—at the time the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction—sent tremors through the art world. It is one of the more than 150 works here, offering a rare opportunity to reassess the career of an artist long considered a minor Modernist.

"Richard Prince: Spiritual America," at the Guggenheim Museum (guggenheim.org; through Jan. 9). Cowboys, girlfriends, tawdry jokes, and magazine advertisements: with these exhausted icons, Richard Prince created a collective portrait of fin-de-siècle America; now the king of appropriation art is appropriating the Guggenheim for a major survey of his work.

"Piranesi as Designer," at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (cooperhewitt.org; through Jan. 20). This ambitious exhibition celebrates 18th-century Italian artist Giovanni Piranesi, prolific printmaker and architect, and also a revolutionary designer of interiors and furnishings, whose sumptuous style—seen in his intricate chimneypieces, Egyptian-style settee, and gilt-and-marble tables—continues to inform the works of architects and designers.

"The Geometry of Hope," at the Grey Art Gallery, New York University (nyu.edu/greyart; through Dec. 8). In the 20th century, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Rio, and Caracas emerged as vibrant centers of Modernism, yet the art and artists of these urban centers are, for the most part, little known today compared with the Mexican Muralists. Drawn from the superlative Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection, the show documents the development and significance of geometric abstraction from the 1930's to the 1970's in South America.

Minneapolis "Frida Kahlo," at the Walker Art Center (walkerart.org; Oct. 27–Jan. 20) The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Walker Art Center team up for this exhibition of 50 paintings spanning the whole of the Mexican artist's career. Arresting, seductive, and iconic self-portraits will be displayed along with snapshots of Kahlo; many taken by family and friends. These portraits, in tandem with her surrealist paintings, elucidate the life and work of an artist whose subject was often herself.

Kansas City "Rising Dragon: Ancient Treasures from China," at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (nelson-atkins.org; Oct. 6–Feb. 10). In the heart of the heartland and with a stunning expansion that opened this summer, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has some of the country's exceptional Chinese art. On view this fall, many for the first time, 21 works masterfully crafted in bronze, stone, or jade that span over seven centuries, complemented by more than 20 funerary objects.

Atlanta "The Louvre and the Ancient World," at the High Museum of Art (high.org; Oct. 16-Sept. 7). More than 70 pieces from the Louvre's Egyptian, Near Eastern, and Greco-Roman antiquities collections come to Atlanta as part of a three-year partnership with the French institution for a show that traces the rise of the world's most iconic museum, beginning with the Napoleonic era. Opening concurrently, "The Eye of Josephine" (Oct. 16–May 18) reunites—for the first time—a collection of Greco-Roman and Egyptian frescoes, bronzes, marbles, and vases that secured the reputation of Napoleon's wife, Josephine, as one of the most prominent art collectors of her era. Don't miss "The Tiber," a marble statue dedicated to the Egyptian god Serapis and restored by the Louvre.

Houston "Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection," at the Houston Museum of Fine Art (through Jan. 21) proves that jewelry can transcend mere decoration to become artisanship with global impact. The exhibition includes 275 pieces, along with artists' drawings and sculptures which tie international jewelry-makers to larger artistic movements of the past 40 years.

"The David Whitney Bequest," at the Menil Collection (menil.org; through Oct. 28). This year marks the 20th anniversary of the art assembled by John and Dominique de Menil, housed in the luminous galleries designed by Renzo Piano. The Menil Collection campus includes the Rothko Chapel and Cy Twombly Gallery, both spaces for contemplation, but its heart remains the museum, where through the end of the month, the generous 2006 gift of collector and curator David Whitney—works by Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, among others, and 17 drawings by Jasper Johns—is on view.

Architechture

Europe

Germany American architect Richard Meier's latest project is an expansion of the Arp Museum in Remagen, Germany (between Cologne and Coblenz). Filled with sculpture, textiles, paintings, and drawings by Dada artist Hans Arp, his wife, Sophie Traeuber-Arp, and their collaborators, the museum occupies a former railway station on the Rhine. A striking 13-story cone-shaped elevator tower, rising above the river on a steep wooded escarpment, connects the repurposed building with the new structure.

United States

Philadelphia For the Philadelphia Museum of Art's new Perelman Building (philamuseum.org), which opened last month, Gluckman Mayner Architects renovated and expanded a 1927 Art Deco limestone landmark, formerly an insurance company headquarters, into a light-filled annex across the street. Inside is a series of new galleries—the museum's first in 30 years—for photography, costumes, and textiles, and Modern and contemporary design. Highlights of the inaugural exhibitions: 50 exceptional photographs by Alfred Steiglitz from the museum's collection of 600, and works by homegrown fashion designers James Galanos, Gustave Tassell, and Ralph Rucci.

Akron, Ohio The first U.S. building by avant-garde Viennese architects Coop Himmelb(l)au is an addition to the Akron Art Museum (akronartmuseum.org). An audacious glass wing cozies up to the museum's existing red-brick building, a former post office, while a 327-foot-long steel cantilever hovers above both buildings. Opening the wing is an exhibition devoted to the work of the quintessential American illustrator, Norman Rockwell (Nov. 10-Feb 3.), whose imaginative eye was cast both on scenes of quotidian life to images that document the American civil rights movement.

Film

New York New York Film Festival (filmlinc.com; through Oct. 14). Now in its 45th year, the Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual event has made previews of Academy Awards contenders and top-notch foreign films its stock-in-trade. Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, set in present-day India, kicks things off on September 28; No Country for Old Men, a thriller directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones, also jostles for the spotlight.

Cancun Cancún International Film Festival (cancunfilmfest.com.mx; Nov. 5-11). Cancún's white sands play host to a new kind of scene. This Latino-focused "ultimate Fest for the Americas" includes runway shows, a beach blanket drive-in, and international film premieres. Mexican Alejandro Lozano is featured opening night with his much-anticipated Sultans del Sur. Also slated to appear, either on-screen or at the beach: Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, and Gabriel García Bernal.

Bahamas Bahamas International Film Festival (bintlfilmfest.com; Dec. 6-13). Not that twilight screenings on the beach aren't enough, but the four-year-old Cinema in Paradise, which unspools at the blockbuster-scaled Atlantis resort, has more than location going for it, including a lineup of global offerings and a special category reserved for films with a Caribbean connection. (Special effects–driven pirate movies need not apply).

Theater

Europe

London Parade Donmar Warehouse (44-870/060-6624; donmarwarehouse.com; through Nov. 24). Known for its vivid productions of classic and contemporary theater, the Donmar presents the U.K. premiere of a musical by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown based on the infamous Leo Frank case. Choreographer Rob Ashford makes his directorial debut. Next up: Michael Grandage stages a starry Othello (Nov. 29-Feb. 23) featuring Chiwetel Ejiofar in the title role, Kelly Reilly as Desdemona, and Ewan McGregor as Iago.

Dance

New York

Misuse Liable to Prosecution, Brooklyn Academy of Music (718/636-4100; bam.org; Oct. 31-Nov. 3). Dance maker John Jasperse addresses 21st-century materials and materialism for a riff on poverty. Known for the spare set design of his productions and unusual costumes, the postmodernist works this dance onto a stage filled with things found, borrowed, or stolen.

Pichet Klunchun and Myself, Dance Theater Workshop (212/924-0077; dtw.org; Nov. 7-10). One of the most compelling, if low key–seeming stars of Performa07, a New York City–wide display of brand-new performance and visual art, is Jerome Bel. This Frenchman with an uncanny gift for odd and oddly riveting concoctions works opposite Thai dancer Pichet Klunchen for the first time.

Boston Paul Taylor Dance Company, Citi Shubert Theatre (800/447-7400; citicenter.org; Nov. 30-Dec. 2). As a beacon of modern dance, septuagenarian master choreographer Paul Taylor tours his company and reminds us how his weighted and weighty art can be expressive, entertaining, and disturbing. These bills include his lofty Aureole, his exhilarating Esplanade, and his shadowy Lines of Loss.

Los Angeles Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal (310/825-2101; uclalive.org; Nov. 8-9). UCLA Live, a leading presenter in Southern California of national and international productions, gives the North American premiere of Ten Chi, a choreographic travelogue based on Japan by the German iconoclast Pina Bausch.

Music

Europe

Paris Jörg Widmann Chamber Concerts "Festival d'Automne" (33-1/53-45-17-17; festival-automne.com; Nov. 16-25). Cutting-edge, sprawling, extending from Merce Cunningham to Anselm Kiefer, and from the Théâtre Châtelet to the Centre Pompidou, the Autumn Festival casts one of its spotlights on the acclaimed German composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann with three chamber concerts (in the Louvre and at the Opéra Bastille) of his works and other clarinet pieces from such disparate sources as Mozart, the 20th-century iconoclast Varèse, and the contemporary German composer Matthias Pintscher.

United States

Boston Boston Symphony Orchestra (888/266-1200; bostonsymphony.org). James Levine's renaissance as an orchestral conductor continues this season with a focus on his preferred composers: Berg's violin concerto with Christian Tetzlaff (Nov. 8-10); a new horn concerto by Elliott Carter (Nov. 15-20); and the U.S. premiere of Dutilleux's orchestral work Le Temps l'Horloge on a program with Renée Fleming singing Duparc (Nov. 29-Dec. 1).

New York Vanessa New York City Opera (212/721-6500; nycopera.com; Nov. 4-17). Samuel Barber's opera is counted as an American classic, a plum for a singing actress, and too seldom performed (in part because of Gian Carlo Menotti's somewhat overwrought libretto). City Opera is redressing this neglect by setting Lauren Flanigan in the title role; Anne Manson conducts the performances, making her company debut.

Throughout the fall, the World Music Institute presents leading performers and ensembles from throughout the world at 5 venues, uptown and downtown. A sample: "Argentine Nights: Celebrating Tango" (worldmusicinstitute.org; Oct. 4-7) brings performances of the legendary "forbidden dance" and an introduction to Argentine chamamé, a blend of European music traditions and indigenous idioms. "Masters of Indian Music" (Oct.-April 2008) offers a sense of India's vast musical heritage with three concerts, including shows by sitarist Shugaat Husain Khan, the seventh in a prominent family of musicians, and Subhra Guha, the country's leading female raga singer. Seventeen of Central Asia's finest performers demonstrate the rich tradition of vocal and instrumental music from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, among others, in the program "Spiritual Sounds of Central Asia: Nomads, Mystics, and Troubadours" (Oct. 27). "Whirling Dervishes of Turkey" (Nov. 3) re-creates the absorbing dance of spiritual rebirth to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the birth of Rumi, the great Sufi poet and original sema twirler.

Dallas Emerson String Quartet at Dallas Chamber Music (972/392-3267; dallaschambermusic.org). This past summer, the superb Emerson String Quartet capped off its 30th anniversary with a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall. This fall they tour with programs of Beethoven and Shostakovich, composers whose repertoire they have championed. DCM presents the Emerson at the intimately scaled Caruth Auditorium on the SMU campus (Oct. 8); a performance by the Eroica Trio follows on November 19; soprano Heidi Grant Murphy on December 10.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (214/692-0203; dallassymphony.com; Oct. 18-Dec. 18) performs all nine of Beethoven's symphonies in a festival devoted to the composer; the orchestra's new music director designate, Jaap van Zweden, leads the concerts November 1–4 and 8–11.

The Dallas Opera (214/443-1000; dallasopera.org) opens its 51st season on November 9 with Verdi's Macbeth (through Nov. 16). Bernard Uzan directs Italian baritone Alberto Gazale in the title role and Russian soprano Tatiana Serjan as Lady Macbeth.

Multimedia

New York "Crossing the Line: FIAF Fall Festival" at the French Institute Alliance Française (fiaf.org; through Oct. 30) tests the boundaries between the Arts and artists, New York and France, performance and spectatorship. Visual artist Cécile Pitois invites hands-on contact with her FIAF Gallery installation; the installation pieces double as springboards for the works of modern dance choreographers Kota Yamazaki, Myriam Gourfink, and Daniel Larrieu. Paris's Compagnie Käfig steps, stomps and springs through scenic renderings of society's abandoned spaces in Wasteland, a hip-hop dance that takes its cues from North Africa, Andalusia, and the ambient light of a stand-alone street lamp. Even the woods and the wolf take on new light for Little Red Riding Hood in Joël Pommerat's riff on this classic children's tale, appropriate for young and old.

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