1 Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932
A period that shook the world is marked by this centenary show about the Russian Revolution’s impact on art. While the bourgeois art collecting that had brought Matisse’s Dance to Russia was killed by the Bolsheviks, the first 15 years of communism saw public commissions aplenty as modern art became utopian agitprop. Here is some of the greatest art of the 20th century made under some of the most difficult conditions.
At Royal Academy of Arts, W1, from Saturday 11 February to Monday 17 April
2 Wolfgang Tillmans
The spontaneity and sincerity of his photographs makes Tillmans one of the most engaging artists of our time. This exhibition proves he is also one of the most politically conscious. Tillmans begins this survey with the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and his art chronicles the charged history of our time ever since. Expect sex, death, pleasure and politics, for all that can be photographed is here.
At Tate Modern, SE1, from Wednesday 15 February to Sunday 11 June
3 Cagnacci’s Repentant Magdalene
Mary Magdalene has fascinated European artists as a sinful woman repenting her ways – and a chance to combine the sacred and profane in a single picture. The 17th-century Italian painter Guido Cagnacci adds a whole set of twists to the tale in this ambitious painting. Sin is violently chastised by an angel while an almost nude Magdalene lies on the ground in a sensual pose. Is that a cross under your robes, Cardinal, or are you just pleased to see me?
National Gallery, WC2, from Wednesday 15 February to Sunday 21 May
4 Volcanoes
The discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 18th century, artistically rich Roman cities buried by Vesuvius in AD79, brought artists to the area. Their eyes were soon drawn by the volcano looming above them. Joseph Wright painted rivers of lava and Charles Lyell studied the geology of the Bay of Naples. Relics from Herculaneum appear in this show that explores the cultural history of volcanoes.
At the Bodleian Library, Oxford, to Sunday 21 May
5 Entangled: Threads & Making
This exhibition investigates how women have reclaimed craft techniques traditionally defined as “female”. It is a survey of weaving and knotting, twisting and braiding, sewing and yarning by more than 40 female practitioners at the forefront of art in the 20th and 21st centuries. Modern masterpieces by Sonia Delaunay and Louise Bourgeois are juxtaposed with threaded art by Karla Black and others.
Turner Contemporary, Margate, to Sunday 7 May
