Athens, Greece
Documenta 14: 'Learning from Athens' promised to address some of the current social and political issues facing Europe today by questioning its foundations: colonialism, patriarchy, gender-normativity and capitalism. Yet many feared that the exhibition tried to glamorise the ‘Greek crisis’ and capitalise on what is a very complex and difficult social and economic situation. What’s in it for Athens? Review by Anaïs Castro
Cubitt Gallery, 8 Angel Mews, Islington, London N1 9HH
In the contemporary, the idea of ‘sanctuary’ is an interesting one. Helen Nisbet’s use of the word when describing ‘Houses are really bodies’, her debut installation as Cubitt’s latest Curatorial Fellow, strikes chords that place the show both within a dense history and at the forefront of the present. Review by Jack Smurthwaite
Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HS
Beer’s practice is diverse – encompassing film, sound, and sculpture – and perhaps more easily related by sensibility than subject matter. His home video, ‘Mum’s Continuous Note’, which welcomes us into the exhibition, serves as our induction. Review by Kit Webb
Kunstmuseum Bonn, Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 2, 53113 Bonn, Germany
‘New Originals’ from Lundahl & Seitl was developed expressly for the Kunstmuseum Bonn and marks a new phase in the way the artists work. For the first time, an audio-performative work by Lundahl & Seidl is taking place as an independent exhibition over a three month stretch of time. Text by Sally Müller
Decad, Gneisenaustraße 52, 10961 Berlin, Germany
Novelist and filmmaker Christopher Petit presents ‘In What’s Missing, Is Where Love Has Gone’. Using a pixelated image of the late David Bowie as a stimulus, the four works presented are an examination of a quiet voyeurism that speaks to internal, often inexpressible observations surrounding popular, repetitive images. Review by Candice Nembhard
Wysing Arts Centre, Fox Road, Bourn, Cambridge, CB23 2TX
‘All Channels Open’ is similar to a compilation played within a subdued, minimally lit dance floor. An imaginable mic is passed to each artist in an effort to amplify her or his voice and position in the space. Review by Jaime Marie Davis
Palacio de Cristal, Parque del Retiro, Madrid, Spain
Baumgarten’s works have long been concerned with ethnography, anthropology and the corruptions of colonialism. ‘The ship is going under, the ice is breaking through’ continues a body of research on nature begun during the 1960s. Review by Anneka French
Bodega, 167 Rivington Street, Lower Level East, New York
Today there are many critical voices calling for America to look carefully at the political landscape of Europe in the interwar years. Hannah Black’s second solo exhibition in America, ‘Soc or Barb,’ uses an abridged citation of the communist philosopher and activist Rosa Luxemburg to remind her audience of a previous political precipice, the failed 1918 German Revolution. Review by Alexandra Symons Sutcliffe.
Primary, 33 Seely Rd, Nottingham NG7 1NU
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Pivotal to the exhibition, through physical dominance and content, are photographs supported by stage trussing. These are structures that would, as the exhibition title suggests, be at home within the context of large stadium gig. Review by Alice Gale-Feeny
Braziers Park, Ipsden, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 6AN
Much of what is experienced at a festival is serendipitous, but Supernormal has an especial tendency towards cryptic timings and locations. Review by Oscar Gaynor
Tyneside Cinema Gallery, 10 Pilgrim St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6QG
Watson’s audio collage transcends the limitations of various other artistic approaches through its expression of the passing of time, and articulation of the multiple identities of public spaces. The ensemble of recordings depict the town moor as a natural place, a meeting place, a place for partying, and a place for relaxing, a place for both people and nature, within the city. Review by Zara Worth
Wysing Arts Centre Fox Road, Bourn, Cambridge, CB23 2TX
Time and again, artists made clear the nature of music and sound as material process. Breath pushed through a hollow vulture bone. A horse hair bow run across metal strings. Hands slapped against wet clay. Review by Luke Naessens
The Tetley, Hunslet Road, Leeds LS10 1JQ
Sixteen small speakers are attached to the high wall and connected by wires to a computer, as if the building itself is hooked up to some kind of cardiac monitor. These noises, as it turns out, are not the internal organs of The Tetley but a series of audio clips of empty gun shell casings falling to the floor. Review by Sacha Waldron
Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (M HKA), Leuvenstraat 32, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
'Energy Flash' will be the first museum exhibition for considering rave, as well as the social, political, economic and technological conditions that led to the advent of rave as an alternative movement across Europe.
