Exhibition of the week
Helen Frankenthaler
This poetic and dreamlike abstract expressionist painter belongs in the company of Pollock and Rothko as a modern great.
• Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, from 15 September.
Also showing
Marina Abramović
A cinematic and sculptural homage to the performance artist’s hero Maria Callas.
• Lisson Gallery, London, 14 September to 30 October.
Gerhard Richter
Drawings by one of the most brilliant and radical artists alive.
• Hayward Gallery, London, 9 September to 12 December.
Liza Lou
A selection of works that capture 30 years of experimentation by Los Angeles-based Lou.
• Lehmann Maupin, London, 15 September to 6 October.
Sax Impey
Stormy paintings of the vastness of the sea that surrounds St Ives.
• Anima Mundi, St Ives, 11 September to 23 October.
Image of the week
Going Home by Benji Reid
This image is from Reid’s first solo exhibition, Laugh at Gravity, part of Photo London 2021. Reid considers himself a Choreo-Photolist, a term he coined to encapsulate his practice where theatricality, choreography and photography meet in the image. In the hyperrealities he presents, the subject is liberated by acts of the artist’s imagination.
What we learned
A new documentary investigates the notorious ‘lost Leonardo’ …
… and our film critic gave it the thumbs-up
The Nazis’ favourite artists are on show in Germany
Pre-Raphaelite muse Elizabeth Siddal is the inspiration for a new play
A touring public art installation pays tribute to NHS staff and key workers
The São Paulo Biennial features work by musical pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry
Yoko Ono wants us to mend the world, one broken teacup at a time
A rare Hogarth portrait is coming back to London after 100 years …
… while a new book celebrates the architecture and cultural history of the city’s pubs
There is an expensive and strange new addition to Berlin’s museums
Turner prize-winner Helen Marten has a breathtaking new show in London
The Photo London festival is back, with work from 88 galleries from 15 countries …
… including unseen pictures of the Sex Pistols …
… plus US photographer Michael Grecco’s shots of the rest of the punk movement …
… it named Marguerite Bornhauser the winner of its Emerging Photographer award …
… while there is also a show dedicated to work from and about the original Mexico
Melanie Issaka has revived the lost art of the photogram
Marina Abramović and Tracey Emin feature in a new photobook about inspiring women …
… while Tom Shaw has been photographing the black players who have represented England at cricket
An exhibition of contemporary indigenous Australian photography is opening in Queensland
Gulnara Samoilova has told the story behind her famous photographs of 9/11
Masterpiece of the week
J-H Fragonard: Psyche Showing Her Sisters Her Gifts from Cupid (1753)
Classical mythology and history have been revived again and again in art, from the Renaissance to erudite abstract painter Cy Twombly. In the second half of the 18th-century, neoclassicism, partly inspired by the excavation of Pompeii, took a more serious and archaeological approach. But Fragonard couldn’t care less. For him, the tale of Cupid and Psyche is just an excuse to paint frills and flesh. This decadent artist of the ancien regime delights in silky layers of colour. As you look at this picture for a while its narrative details seem to melt. All that is left is a heady perfume of amorous languor.
• National Gallery, London.
Don’t forget
To follow us on Twitter: @GdnArtandDesign.
Sign up to the Art Weekly newsletter
If you don’t already receive our regular roundup of art and design news via email, please sign up here.
Get in Touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
