What we’re seeing

OPENINGS

Takis: Champs Magnétiques
18 February – 17 May
Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Palais de Tokyo present Champs Magnétiques (Magnetic Fields) in tribute to self-taught artist and radical inventor Panayiotis Vassilakis Takis, on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Born in Athens, Takis moved to Paris in the 1950s, encountering the likes of Yves Klein and Jean Tinguely. He spent the 1960s between Paris, London and New York, where he met Marcel Duchamp. In his artistic and scientific work he explored magnetic field energy, integrating light, music and magnets into his sculptural practice. This is a comprehensive overview of an extraordinary artist.

Vassilakis Takis, Signal à quatre bras, 1967. © LAFFANOUR Galerie Downtown.
Photo: Marie Clérin. © ADAGP (Paris)

Kehinde Wiley: a New Republic
20 February – 24 May
Brooklyn Museum

Celebrated painter Kehinde Wiley, who received a Medal of Arts from the State Department in Washington earlier this year, is known for his vibrant portraits of young black men, and sometimes women, which adopt the ornate detailing and strong poses of traditional European portraiture. In so doing, they draw attention to the absence of African Americans from such conventional historical and cultural narratives. This much anticipated exhibition provides an overview of work produced over the past 14 years, featuring both painting and sculpture.

Kehinde Wiley, Femme piquée par un serpent, 2008. Courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York. © Kehinde Wiley

Doris Salcedo
21 February – 24 May
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo is well known for her piece entitled Shibboleth (2007), a 167-metre-long crack in the floor of Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. This major retrospective features major works from throughout her 30-year career, as well as the first US presentation of her recent work Plegaria Muda (2008–10), above. Salcedo makes work in response to the violence and conflict of everyday life in Colombia, giving voice to those who have suffered silencing and repression, fusing socio-political concerns with the fragile poetry of everyday objects and materials. In conjunction with the exhibition, the MCA is showing a short film documenting Salcedo’s site-specific and ephemeral installations — an invaluable opportunity to see these works that either no longer exist or are impossible to display in a gallery.

Doris Salcedo, Plegaria Muda, 2008–10. Photo: Patrizia Tocci. Reproduced courtesy of the artist; Alexander and Bonin, New York; and White Cube.

LAST CHANCE TO SEE

Lucy Skaer: Random House
Until 21 February
Peter Freeman, New York

Lucy Skaer is well known for Thames and Hudson, an installation of three remarkable works that she displayed when shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2009, which incorporated the skull of a sperm whale. In this ambitious new presentation, Skaer references the title of that installation with the name of another major publishing company, Random House, a title that also refers to her father’s house, the steps of which appear in the exhibition. An opportunity to see new and recent work by Skaer as she continues to work across mediums to explore material, meaning and value.

Lucy Skaer, Random House, 2015. Installation view. Courtesy Peter Freeman, Inc. New York

Coming and Going. Lance Wyman: Urban Icons
Until 22 February
Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City

The Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) opened in 2008 and has proved itself to be an impressive addition to the contemporary art scene in Mexico. In Coming and Going, the museum presents the full scope and influence of graphic designer Lance Wyman. A key figure in contemporary design over the last five decades, Wyman arrived in Mexico City in 1966 with the intention of participating in a competition to design the graphics for the Mexico Olympic Games in 1968. His visual design work has dramatically influenced the visual identification of urban life in Mexico and the wider world, with significant projects including the Mexico City Metro system and the Mexico World Cup in 1970.

Lance Wyman, Urban Icons, 2014. Installation view. Photo: Oliver Santana