Exhibition of the week
Anish Kapoor
Ecstasies of colour and sensuality from this endlessly creative titan of 21st-century art.
• Lisson Gallery, London, until 6 May
Also showing
Marlene Dumas: Oscar Wilde and Bosie
These two spooky, arresting portraits of the martyred writer and his lover add a queer slant to history painting.
• National Portrait Gallery, London, until 24 September
Graham MacIndoe
An unvarnished look at the process of kicking heroin in brutally honest photographic self-portraits.
• Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, 8 April-5 November
Rachel Kneebone
Sensuality and fantasy are rife in the work of this decadent ceramicist.
• V&A, London, until 14 January
Eric van Lieshout
Cats living under the Hermitage are among the stars of this “social” artist’s immersive video installation.
• South London Gallery, until 11 June
Masterpiece of the week
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, An Allegory with Venus and Time, (about 1754-8)
The light and space of Venice are brought indoors and preserved in paint by this uplifting masterpiece of rococo art. Painted for a ceiling in a Venetian palace, it lets your imagination wander in the libertine age of Casanova and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Tiepolo proves painting does not have to be serious to be great.
• National Gallery, London.
Image of the week
A truly vast sculpture by Damien Hirst, part of his comeback show Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable. As I said in my five-star review: “It is the biggest statue I have ever beheld. Hirst has created a figure on the scale of ancient monuments like the Colossus of Constantine, whose marble foot survives in Rome’s Capitoline Museum … When did I last see a contemporary artwork that surprised, unsettled and delighted me as much as this? It was probably when I walked into the Saatchi gallery in 1992 and saw a tiger shark apparently swimming towards me, mouth open.”
What we learned this week
Tate Britain’s exhibition Queer British Art 1861-1967 earned five stars from Adrian Searle
Essex is home to radical some architectural gems – we spoke to their owners
On Leonora Carrington’s centenary, Marina Warner saluted the uncanny artist
Andres Serrano believes his best shot was of a white man with black skin – here’s why
American pop artist James Rosenquist died this week aged 83 – read an obituary here
Ellen von Unwerth’s photographs are a riot of fun and sly subversion
Marc Quinn and Cerith Wyn Evans’s new works are blunt, blank and compelling
Emine Saner spoke to Sergey Ponomarev about his photos from war-torn Syria
The gifts given to the Queen during her reign will go on display at Buckingham Palace
Art that depicts Britain’s wars with Spain could enlighten sabre-rattling Brexiters
Turner’s German masterpiece Ehrenbreitstein is to go to auction
Moths are munching their way through the UK’s historic houses
York’s Viking centre is reopening following flood damage
A new exhibition brings together Constable’s views of Brighton
Get involved
Our A-Z of Readers’ Art series continues – please submit your artworks on the theme of S is for Spray Paint.
Guardian members can book now for these exclusive private views: Michelangelo & Sebastiano at the National Gallery, London, 40th anniversary highlights at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and True Faith, a group show exploring the impact of Joy Division and New Order on the art world, part of Manchester international festival.
Don’t forget
To follow us on Twitter: @GdnArtandDesign.
