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With summer in full swing, you may be looking for some creative ways to beat the heat and keep yourself occupied. Our seasonal suggestion? Step inside a museum. Here, you can keep cool and immerse yourself in art—a perfect pairing for a summer's day.
Fortunately, this month is packed with an eclectic and exciting range of exhibitions. In our picks for July, you'll find art for every type of taste. So, whether you prefer 500 years' worth of masterworks on paper, contemporary installations made out of thread, or a mixture of different “material art,” you'll want to dive into these exceptional shows this month.
Ready to step out this summer for the best in art and culture? Here are 5 museum exhibits to look forward to this month.
Rembrandt to Picasso: Five Centuries of European Works on Paper at the Brooklyn Museum
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Did you know that many of art history's most prolific painters also dabbled in drawing? Aiming to shine a light on this alternate art form, the Brooklyn Museum has crafted Rembrandt to Picasso: Five Centuries of European Works on Paper, an exhibition that presents over 100 European drawings and prints from its permanent collection.
Though focused entirely on drawings, Rembrandt to Picasso: Five Centuries of European Works on Paper is astoundingly eclectic—a characteristic that the show owes to both its comprehensive chronology and the diverse approaches of the artists. “Drawn directly on paper or a printing plate, in broad gestures or precise marks,” the museum explains, “these works convey the vivid presence of the artist’s hand,” from the “spontaneous etchings of Rembrandt, through the bold graphite lines of Pablo Picasso.”
Rembrandt to Picasso: Five Centuries of European Works on Paper is on view until October 13, 2019.
Dora Maar at the Centre Pompidou
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Another artist who explored multiple mediums was Dora Maar, a French Surrealist who excelled in both photography and painting. In order to showcase her mastery of these practices, the Centre Pompidou in Paris presents Dora Maar, a landmark exhibition dedicated to the life and work of this underrated artist.
Featuring over 500 objects, this show is France's biggest Dora Maar retrospective to date. While Maar is often only known for her personal life and controversies (she was in a toxic relationship with Pablo Picasso, for example), the Pompidou intends to reveal another side of Maar by retracing the life of “an accomplished artist and a free and independent intellectual.”
Dora Maar closes on July 29, 2019.
See and Be Seen: Picturing Notoriety at the Norton Museum of Art
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See and Be Seen: Picturing Notoriety, a show at the Norton Museum of Art, examines the ways in which artists approach the concept of celebrity. Featuring over 50 works spanning the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, See and Be Seen offers an in-depth look at how depictions of fame have changed with the passing of time and, subsequently, the emergence of new technologies.
According to the Norton Museum of Art, artistic interpretations have helped to illustrate this correlation. “Artists have absorbed and mobilized the transition from one technology to the next,” the museum explains. “Their visions and sensibilities are at the core of how we respond to and define ‘celebrity.' ” Featuring everything from Henri Toulouse-Lautrec prints and posters to portraits by Annie Leibovitz, this is one star-studded spectacle you won't want to miss.
See and Be Seen: Picturing Notoriety is on view until October 22, 2019.
The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China at LACMA
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“From plastic, water, and wood, to hair, tobacco, and Coca-Cola,” some Chinese contemporary artists can turn any material into art. In The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China, LACMA traces the ways in which this unique relationship has evolved since the 1980s.
Featuring works by some of today's top artists—including Xu Bing, Cai Guo-Qiang, Lin Tianmiao, and Ai Weiwei—this unique exhibit showcases the many ways in which Chinese creatives continue to change the concept of materiality. In addition to objects on display, The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China explores this idea through a book, which, impressively, is the “first scholarly volume to examine Chinese art through the lens of materiality.”
The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China is open until January 5, 2020.
Shiota Chiharu: The Soul Trembles at the Mori Art Museum
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Berlin-based artist Chiharu Shiota is celebrated for her site-specific string installations. For Shiota Chiharu: The Soul Trembles, her latest and largest solo exhibition, Shiota has wrapped exhibition space in the Mori Art Museum in intricate webs of black and red thread.
Crafted over the span of 25 years, the work featured in this exhibition “epitomiz[es] the ‘presence in absence' that Shiota has explored throughout her career.” In addition to her signature large-scale installations, The Soul Trembles comprises other forms of art, including sculptures, footage of performances, photographs, drawings, and more. Together, these creations illustrate the artist's “earnest hope to deliver to others soul-trembling experiences derived from nameless emotions.”
Shiota Chiharu: The Soul Trembles is on view until October 27, 2019.
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