This week's art scene brings a diverse array of exhibitions ranging from immersive installations to conceptual provocations. The highlight is Máret Ánne Sara's earth-conscious installation at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall, alongside significant shows featuring Peter Doig's musical paintings and Ed Ruscha's latest conceptual works.
The exhibition of the week features Máret Ánne Sara's latest commission in the Tate Turbine Hall. Visitors can expect an earthy, earth-conscious installation presented on a grand immersive scale. This ambitious project runs at Tate Modern in London from October 14 through April 6, promising to transform the iconic industrial space into an environmental meditation.
Peter Doig's "House of Music" at the Serpentine Gallery presents what critics are calling "as cool as art gets." The exhibition features an ecstatic, dream-like hanging of Doig's paintings alongside his personal vinyl record collection, which plays through colossal speakers salvaged from old movie theaters. This unique multimedia experience runs through February 8, blending visual art with carefully curated soundscapes.
At Gagosian Davies Street, Ed Ruscha presents "Says I, to Myself, Says I," showcasing the latest brilliant and eerie jokes from the great American artist. Ruscha, known for being both a conceptual provocateur and pop painter, continues to challenge viewers with his distinctive blend of text and image. The exhibition runs from October 14 through December 19.
The art fair season reaches its peak with Frieze London and Frieze Masters taking over Regent's Park from October 15-19. As observers note, "it's that time of year again and the squirrels run for cover as the super rich go shopping in the park." The fair brings together international galleries and collectors for one of the art world's most significant commercial events.
Julian Bell's "England Road" at Natasha O'Kane Gallery offers a more intimate experience with meditative landscapes and city scenes created during the painter's road trip through England. The exhibition runs concurrently with Frieze, from October 14-19.
This week's featured image captures a historic moment at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where nurse Wendy Porter stands in the staircase of the North Wing. The location houses William Hogarth's masterpieces "The Pool of Bethesda" and "The Good Samaritan" – two large-scale murals that had remained almost unseen for 300 years. Following a £9.5 million restoration project, these works opened to the public for the first time on Monday.
The week's learning highlights include revelations about how country days in Somerset saved photographer Don McCullin's sanity, and insights into Lisa Herfeldt's relationship with her art materials. The coverage also explores how Nigeria's independence freed the minds of its artists, and how art dealer Betty Parsons reserved weekends strictly for painting her own work.
Critical assessments this week include a scathing review of the British Museum's "Nordic Noir" exhibition, described as "scarily poor." In contrast, Wayne Thiebaud's still life paintings of sweets and cakes are praised as "a taste of the American dream." The week also features Don Bachardy's recollections of how David Hockney painted him for a landmark work of queer art.
The masterpiece of the week is Claude Monet's "Flood Waters" from 1896, currently at the National Gallery in London. Unlike biblical flood paintings by artists such as Uccello, Michelangelo, and Poussin that depicted divine punishment, Monet's work simply observes bad weather. Stranded at his home in Giverny by local flooding in autumn 1896, Monet created this gloomily entrancing view of a water-covered field. Barren trees rise like specters from the grey swamp as the drowned earth merges with mists above, creating what critics describe as "a starker, grimmer version of Monet's water lily paintings" with a haunted, almost nightmarish effect.
