If you have a passion for art, there is a lot to be excited about this year. There are a number of new exhibits that will be hitting museums across the world in 2016 that are already creating some buzz. Here are five exhibits that I am most excited about this year.
Georgia O’Keeffe
Location: Tate Modern
Dates: July 6, 2016 – October 30, 2016
The first lady of American Modernism will finally receive the attention that she deserves from the British art establishment. The exhibit will feature a retrospective of her work in all its vibrant and powerfully provocative glory. O’Keeffe, one of the pioneering voices of feminist art, made waves with her gendered landscape painting and her fascinating life.
Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones
Location: Saatchi Gallery
Dates: April 4, 2016 – September 5, 2016
The Rolling Stones are a mainstay of British culture, so the Saatchi Gallery in West London is an ideal venue for the band’s exciting new exhibition, Exhibitionism. Two entire floors of the gallery will be dedicated to over 500 original Stones’ artifacts, from paraphernalia and instruments to album artwork and cinematic experiences. This exhibit will pay homage to the legendary band in an exceptional way.
Saul Leiter: Retrospective
Location: The Photographer’s Gallery
Dates: January 22, 2016 – April 3, 2016
Sam Leiter has been one of the most influential photographers in recent memory. The pioneering American image-maker broke standard convention in both documentary and art traditions to form photography as it is known today. Leiter never quite received the recognition he deserved, so it is great to see the Photographers’ Gallery attempt to rectify the problem. “I like it when one is not certain what one sees,” Leiter once stated. “When we do not know why the photographer has taken a picture and when we do not know why we are looking at it, all of a sudden we discover something that we start seeing. I like this confusion.”
Bruce Conner: It’s All True
Location: Museum of Modern Art
Dates: July 3, 2016 – October 2, 2016
The MoMA will be featuring a compelling exhibition this summer, marking the first large survey of the postwar American photographer, Bruce Conner. This will be the first complete retrospective of his 50-year career, and it will include film, video, painting, assemblage, drawing and performance.
Robert Rauschenberg
Location: Tate Modern
Dates: December 1, 2016 – April 9, 2017
Tate Modern has a busy schedule this year, with trailblazing artist Robert Rauschenberg’s remarkable six-decade-long career on display in another retrospective. As the gallery explains, the exhibit “will provide a long overdue opportunity to discover a remarkably consistent artistic trajectory which steadfastly refused to be straight-jacketed by rules and conventions.” Many of the works that will be on display are rarely permitted to travel, so make the effort to see them while you have the opportunity.
