Among the first European art events in the post lockdown era, there is the recent Galerie Open Doors initiative in Brussels which has involved 40 galleries in the capital thanks to the coordination of Brussels Gallery Weekend.
This is the case of the Templon gallery, which has hosted he works of Chiharu Shiota, who has always worked on the body. The artist with her red threads composes inclusive cobwebs, places where you enter and are able to bring together performances, body art and installations in a process that puts the body at the center. She plays with the notions of temporality, movement and dreams. The viewer asks for a both physical and emotional commitment. In recent years, Chiharu Shiota’s works have been exhibited in various parts of the world.
Later on (early July) the Paris Gallery Weekend took place. A four-day event in which people can live the city again jumping from one gallery to another with a certain spirit of freedom and tranquility. Xippas Paris has presented Karishma D’Souza’s Invocation exhibition. The Indian artist had already exhibited twice in the French gallery. Founded in 1990, Xippas Paris is in the heart of the Marais. Xippas has opened two more spaces in Montevideo and Geneva in 2010 and 2011. In addition, in April 2019 the Baronian Xippas Gallery was opened in Brussels and another one in January 2020 in Punta del Este (Uruguay). In Karishma D’Souza‘s Invocation exhibition the artist presents her recent watercolor drawings and oil paintings which represents her personal memories turned into signs and symbols. The artist often refers to the political situation in India and issues of social injustice. She gives voice to those who have been chased from their homes so they could build another factory; forests uprooted by “hungry ghosts” of capitalism for a further industrialisation; of murders and persecution and the numerous lies of official propaganda. The portrait of a friend, the reminiscence of a conversation, a window with a view or a poetic image. Inspired by the cultural context of her childhood, D’Souza creates narratives that draw on Sufi poetry and Rajasthan miniatures.
Throughout the summer you can visit the Geneva Sculpture Garden 2020 initiative 2nd edition, a high-level exhibition set up at the Parc de la Grange / Parc des Eaux-Vives / Quai Gustave-Ador / La Réserve Genève / Ele Rousseau. Thirty large-format sculptures, several of which were specifically created for the exhibition by young artists. There are “paths” and special projects (Stefan Tcherepnin and Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, La Réserve Genève, Francesco Vezzoli, Ele Rousseau). Fountains, benches, architecture, flags or mobile phones, participatory works, engaging with the Eaux-Vives and La Grange parks, trace the contours of a new way of thinking about today’s sculpture.
From the end of August until all November, Manifesta in Marseille will take place. Traits d’union.s, the central program of Manifesta 13 Marseille, is conceived according to six historical locations: The Home, The Refu-ge, The Almshouse, The Port, The Park and The School.
The team of curators (Katerina Chuchalina, Stefan Kalar, Alya Sebti) announced 47 participants of Traits d’union.s, with a combination of newly designed works, some specially commissioned.
