Exhibition of the week
Rachel Whiteread
The ghostly casts of everyday things and places that Whiteread makes are wonders of our time.
• Tate Britain, London, from 12 September to 21 January.
Also this week
Scythians
One of the most fascinating and enigmatic peoples of the ancient world gets the blockbuster treatment.
• British Museum, London, from 14 September to 14 January.
Frank Bowling
One of the stars of Tate Modern’s Soul of a Nation shows his latest absorbing, abstract paintings.
• Hales Gallery, London, from 8 September to 21 October.
Robert Longo
Huge, haunting charcoal drawings with a political edge by this major American artist.
• Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, London, from 15 September 11 November.
Christopher Bucklow
This imaginative, intelligent artist, known for his painting and photography, shows a stimulating range of works, both old and new.
• Southampton City Art Gallery, from 15 September to 13 January.
Masterpiece of the week
The Rape of Europa, by Guido Reni (1637-9)
The god Jupiter takes the form of a bull to carry Europa across the sea in this highly unusual depiction of a famous myth. In other paintings of the story, such as Titian’s, it is full of sexual tension. Reni, however, portrays a fully-clad Europa sitting comfortably on her gentle beast. She looks up to heaven in the manner of a Catholic saint. This is emphatically an image of divine revelation and as such typical of the high baroque age it was created in. It might look absurd, were it not for the subtle genius of Reni’s colouring. His grey sea is sublimely different from the traditional blue or green oceans of earlier art. The bull is also a stony grey, like a floating statue. Against this he sets the brilliant pink, blue and gold of Europa’s gowns to create a perfumed chromatic beauty. Reni is a painter worth spending time with.
• National Gallery, London
Image of the week
Jeremy Corbyn has made it into fashion history after a T-shirt bearing his name and an altered Nike swoosh was acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum for one of its galleries. The museum will display the garment in its collection charting how moments of political and social change have a bearing on design trends.
What we learned this week
Graphic design can save your life
A Spanish fortune teller is not the daughter of Salvador Dalí
A billionaire Trump donor has given £5m to the V&A
… which splashed out on a Jeremy Corbyn T-shirt
Richard Allenby-Pratt sees a wild future for Dubai
… while patterns are everywhere in Barcelona
Devon artists are welcoming tourists
Public housing in Sydney is all aglow
New Riba chief Ben Derbyshire wants architects to take back control of design
Axel Scheffler’s notebooks are bursting with little creatures
Craft beer labels can be works of art
Bunny Christie makes mindbending stage designs
The Taylor Wessing prize shortlist has been announced
Protesters are everywhere at the Whitney
Artist Tim Shaw is in the dark about his next exhibition
Public spaces across the UK are exploring a Portrait of Britain
Banksy is setting up a Palestinian Gift Shop
Valentino’s cursed ring is going on sale
Monet’s family is selling some of his artifacts
Get involved
On 24 September, art scholar Edgar Tijhuis will lead a full-day course on how to write about art and make money from it at Kings Place, London. Book now to secure your place.
Our A-Z of Art series continues – share your art with the theme W for women.
And check out the entries we selected for the theme V for value.
Don’t forget
To follow us on Twitter: @GdnArtandDesign
