The World’s Most Notable Past, Present, and Future Art Exhibitions

In anticipation of the annual Copenhagen Art Week, which acknowledges the success of galleries, art fairs, and museums across Denmark, LUXUO celebrates the world’s most notable past, present, and future art exhibitions. Shortlisting esteemed artists from all over the world, this list includes the works of Marina Abramović, Anselm Reyle, Es Devlin, Kevin Francis Gray, and Jeppe Hein, amongst a multitude of others.

‘After Life’ by Marina Abramović at Burlington House, and Royal Academy of Arts, London

One of the most important performance artists in the world, presents the first ever UK exhibition spanning her life’s work – including live re-performances of iconic works, as well as brand new work for these galleries. Dedicating over 50 years to her craft, Marina Abramović is the pioneer of performance art, consistently testing the limits of her own physical and mental endurance, and on-occasion inviting audience members to encounter it with her.

The much anticipated exhibition will showcase works such as Rhythm 0 (1974), which encouraged participants to freely interact with Abramović however they chose – famously resulting in a loaded gun held to her head, and The Artist Is Present (2010), which was revered for pushing participants beyond their comfort zone, to question their own emotions, as they sat in silence opposite the artist.

Marking Abramović’s first major exhibition in the UK, ‘After Life’ is expected to reflect on artist’s physical changes, and explore her perception of the transition between life and death. Curated in close collaboration with Abramović, this exhibition will offer visitors the sort of intense, physical encounter for which she has become known.

*’After Life’ Exhibition dates: 25 September — 12 December 2021

NUDES by Anselm Reyle at Andersen’s, Denmark

Known for his interest in experimenting with a wide range of techniques, employing traditional media alongside industrial scraps, colored foils, found neons, automotive lacquer, and nonetheless items from our every day’s life in the form of objet-trouvés, Anselm Reyle masters the vocabulary and formulas of appropriation to create immersive installations, sculptures and paintings. Through challenging the primarily sublime ideal of abstraction, Reyle invites viewers to re-think each individual element in their newly acquired context.

His latest solo exhibition dubbed ‘NUDES’, emphasizes the discrepancy between the subject matter and its visual representation through installing seemingly fragile compositions consisting of a multitude of coloured neon tubes, which stretch across the entirety of the Andersen’s space. The fluorescent tubes irradiate the room with a wide range of bright colours while fragments of neon elements in the form of letters or symbols primarily assimilated from Pop culture playfully engage the viewer’s eye.

*’NUDES’ Exhibition Dates: 4^th December 2020 – 31^st January 2021

‘Memory Palace’ by Es Devlin in Pitzhanger, London

Exploring the human perspective and our relationship to memory, London-based artist and stage designer Es Devlin presents an expansive chronological landscape charting pivotal moments throughout history. The exhibition which showcases monumental events and their impact on the human perspective, is inspired by the Ancient Greek classical mnemonic technique of cataloguing memories within familiar locations. Dubbed ‘Memory Palace’, this installation takes the form of a detailed map carved meticulously from bamboo.

Spanning a total of 18 meters, Es Devlin utilizes large-scale mirrors to reflect the installation upon itself, creating an immersive environment which offers a unique perspective of time and space. Tracing back seventy-five millennia to the caves in Southern Africa that contain the first known human drawings; then moving forward to 1543 and the tower in Frombork, Poland, where Nicholas Copernicus drew the first heliocentric map of the universe; Memory Palace depicts notable moments in history including, the steps of the Swedish parliament where Greta Thunberg began her School Strike for Climate in 2018.

The cataloguing of all seventy-three momentous events, are regarded personal and subjective to Es Devlin, and chosen as the result of a collaborative process between the artist and her studio members. Housed within the Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Memory Palace encourages guests to reflect upon the ever-changing nature of human history and our place within it.

*The ‘Memory Palace’ Exhibition is now closed

‘Shadowed Forms’ curated by Kevin Francis Gray at Andersen’s, Denmark

As part of a group exhibition dedicated to the works of British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, ‘Shadowed Forms’ by Kevin Francis Gray, celebrates the artist’s great presence in the form of videos, sculptures, and paintings. Designed to blend both past and future talent, the exhibition will centre around Barbara Hepworth’s 1972 ‘Sheltered Form’.

Featuring a collaboration between Kevin Gray and audio-visual artist Samson Kambalu, ‘Shadowed Forms’ will showcase a variety of hanging marble sculptures, positioned symmetrically behind Hepworth’s sculpture. Though made of cold, hard marble, these sculptures appear porous to the touch, with smooth grooves and indentations.

Conceptualised out of pure respect and adoration for Barbara Hepworth, ‘Shadowed Forms’, presents disorganised linear forms in a playful use of perspective, which work to work to draw out the expertly curated exhibitions’ subliminal themes and relationships.

*The ‘Shadow Forms’ Exhibition is now closed

‘In is the only way out’ by Jeppe Hein at The Cisternerne, Denmark

Initially unveiled in November 2018, renowned artist Jeppe Hein’s underground’s labyrinthic colonnades has since found a permanent home at the Cisternerne Museum of Denmark. Dubbed ‘In is the only way out’, Hein’s long-standing exhibition invites guests to participate actively throughout. Inspiring individuals to confront the darkness in order to reach the light, Jeppe Hein is well-known for his interactive and playful sculptures and art installations, all over the world. No stranger to the headlines, Jeppe Hein has created a multitude of mirror labyrinths, water pavilions and even a series of Modified Social Benches which challenge our way of being together.

Spanning a total of 4320m², ‘In is the only way out’ is an exhibition that requires audience participation in order to be complete, with hidden challenges, surprises and disorientation throughout. Through carefully manipulating the environment, the exhibition’s cold and moist climate was specifically intended to sharpen the senses and keep participants on hyper-alert.

*The ‘In is the only way out’ exhibition is ongoing.

‘Untitled (Questions)’ by Barbara Kruger at The Geffen Contemporary, MOCA, Los Angeles

MOCA has reinstalled the monumental wall work by Los Angeles–based artist Barbara Kruger (b. New York 1945), Untitled (Questions) (1990/2018). Originally commissioned by MOCA in 1989 for the exhibition A Forest of Signs: Art in the Crisis of Representation, and last installed in 1990 on the south wall of MOCA’s building, the emblematic red, white, and blue artwork returns in an ongoing outdoor exhibition of the museum’s curatorial highlights over its forty-year history.

Installed on the north facade of The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, facing Temple Street and measuring 30 by 191 feet, Barbara Kruger’s work points to issues of patriotism, civic engagement, and power relations.

*The ‘Untitled’ (Questions) exhibition is ongoing.

‘Inbetween’ by Pontoatelier in Madeira Islands, Portugal

Specializing in the development of a variety of projects including, housing, urban planning, scenography and furniture, Pontoatelier is an architecture office based in Madeira Island, led by the architects Ana Ferreira and Pedro Ribeiro. Combining professional activities with their love for design and entertainment, Pontoatelier presents ‘Inbetween’, a sculptural outdoor pavilion and large-scale installation that acts as an open-air room for its visitors.

Located on the biggest island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago, this installation was inspired by São Miguel’s rustic atmosphere, volcanic scenery and immense natural landscapes. Once the site of an abandoned golf course in the urban gardens of Ponta Delgada, the design of ‘Inbetween’ features four angled walls made from blackened timber, encasing 25 intact volcanic rocks placed atop a pavement made from small stones, that the firm refers to as a “volcanic carpet”.

Utilizing natural materials found from the site, the project aims to encourage people to interact between the stones, whilst facilitating both physical and spiritual escape.

*The ‘Inbetween’ installation is ongoing.

‘Cloud Landscape’ by Kohei Nawa as part of Aichi Triennale, Japan

Presented in Autumn 2013 as part of a exhibition in Nagoya, Japan, Kohei Nawa filled a dark room with billowing clouds of foam using a a mixture of detergent, glycerin and water. Pumped up from the floor in eight different locations, the ‘Cloud Landscape’ appeared to be in constant motion. Conceptualised with the goal of creating “a primordial planet”, the artist experimented with different quantities of the three ingredients to create a foam stiff enough to hold a shape without being affected by gravity.

*The ‘Cloud Landscape’ exhibition is now closed.

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