Works by the celebrated Korean abstract painter Wook-kyung Choi (1940–1985) are currently on view at Sharjah Biennial 15, taking place in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this edition of the biennial is presented across five cities and towns across Sharjah and its eponymous emirate and brings together over 150 artists and collectives from more than 70 countries. Titled Thinking Historically in the Present, this year’s biennial was conceived by the late Okwui Enwezor and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah Art Foundation.

The biennial honors the vision and cultural legacy of Enwezor, who advocated for institutional models beyond the Western framework to promote a comprehensive discourse on contemporary art. Thinking Historically in the Present showcases more than 300 works that offer insights into the artists’ reflections on their post-colonial identities. Each work engenders nuanced dialogues on a wide range of topics such as the processes of creolization and hybridization of culture, the body as a repository of memories, the restitution of museumized objects, postcolonial subjectivity, the racializing gaze, and transgenerational continuities.

In a similar vein, Wook-kyung Choi’s works highlight her cultural identity as a Korean female artist, whose unique formal language challenged the male-dominated history of modernism. Defying the established norms of the Korean avant-garde movement, her works serve as social commentary and a form of resistance against the patriarchy and racism she faced both at home and abroad.
Dating to her years in the United States from the 1960s and her subsequent return to Korea in the late 1970s, the exhibited works are characterized by dynamic forms, vibrant colors, and relentless strokes. They showcase her versatile use of hybrid mediums, as in the amorphous and abstract configurations of Untitled (1966), which Choi created with cut-out newspapers and fragments of personal correspondences. Sharjah Biennial 15 continues through June 11, 2023.
 

Ugo Rondinone is the subject of the solo exhibition when the sun goes down and the moon comes up, on view from January 26 through June 18, 2023, at the Museum of Art and History, Geneva, Switzerland. For its third annual Open Invitation exhibition, the MAH has invited the Swiss contemporary artist to take over its building in order to orchestrate a dialogue between his own body of work and pieces from the museum’s collection, including paintings by renowned Swiss artists Ferdinand Hodler and Félix Vallotton.

In this extensive show, Rondinone exquisitely unfolds a unique, meditative narrative across the museum. Embodying the artist's contemplations on nature, his works weave a web of unexpected connections and create subtle echoes through different time-spaces. The exhibition is a meditation on the elemental forces of the human psyche, the dynamics between Eros and Thanatos, and the latent presence of Romanticism in our relationship with the world.

Installed in the entrance hall, the first of a total of 13 exhibition rooms, is the sun, a massive circular sculpture made of bronze cast branches. Acting as a symbolic gateway to the circular trajectory throughout the museum galleries, the sculpture invites the viewers to go to either right or left, exploring the principle of symmetry, which consists the conceptual bedrock of the exhibition. Showcased in the tenth room is the moon, the inverse to the sun; the two contrasting sculptures punctuate the visitor’s experience and produce a mirror effect, playing on the ideas of symmetry and connection.
Also presented in the show are the horizons, a series of glass sculptures that depict silhouettes of horses, and contemplative dancers from Rondinone’s iconic nudes series, made of wax and soil. Scattered throughout the different galleries, Rondinone’s body of work forms a subtle dialogue with works from the museum's collection; the glass horses respond to Hodler’s paintings of Lake Geneva, as do the nude figures to Vallotton’s landscapes.

The focal point of Rondinone’s practice is not so much the object itself as the relationship it forms with its immediate environment: the room, other works, and the body and mind of the viewer. The audiences, who actively engage with each work as they navigate through the nonlinear trajectory, are no longer passive observers but constitute a principal element of a unique aesthetic experience.

Two of Korea’s leading mid-career artists Koo Bohnchang and Hong Seung-Hye are participating in the large-scale special group exhibition Paik Nam June Effect at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Gwacheon, Korea. Juxtaposing works by the iconic 20th-century artist alongside those by approximately 25 Korean artists who were active in the 1990s, Paik Nam June Effect explores Paik's lasting, multifold impact on Korean contemporary art.

Koo Bohnchang, one of the most celebrated Korean contemporary photographers, presents Ah! My Fatherland (1992-1993), a series which the artist began as part of a group exhibition of the same title in which Koo participated not only as an artist but also as the organizer. The series depicts the zeitgeist of the time by reflecting the turmoil arising from a rapidly shifting national identity, intertwining traditional images with modern photographic technologies and thereby demonstrating the artist's diverse experimentation with the medium. Koo’s early work can be viewed in the section of the exhibition, titled ‘Identity of Nation, International Events, Dreams of Globalization.’
Also featured in the show are Hong Seung-Hye’s Paper Landscape (1994), in which the contemporary artist employs geometric shapes to create a landscape collage that is both flat and three-dimensional, and 2D to 3D (2022), Hong’s new work that brings Paper Landscape into our present space and time by expanding the earlier piece into a constructive, three-dimensional space. Hong's works, which compellingly engage with the variations of architectural spaces, can be seen in the third section of the exhibition titled ‘Mixed media and Installation, Hybridity, and the Third Space.’

Commemorating the 90th anniversary of the birth of Paik Nam June, the exhibition honors Paik's artistic achievements and his profound impact on the identity of Koran visual culture, while suggesting a new approach with which to survey Korean art in the 1990s. On view through February 26, 2023, Paik Nam June Effect reexamines the works of Paik along with those of subsequent generations of artists active at the time, reflecting on their attempts to discover new expressions for "Korean identity" at a time of rapid change owing to globalization and the advent of the information society, while at the same time contemplating on the expansion of the scope of artistic mediums incorporating science and technology.

The internationally renowned contemporary artist Anish Kapoor is the subject of an eponymous solo exhibition at the Centre of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko, Poland. Marking the artist’s first solo presentation in the country, the show introduces Kapoor’s works from 1997 to 2018 across the Museum of Contemporary Sculpture and the Orangery Gallery in the Centre of Polish Sculpture.
A central figure of the New British Sculpture movement in the 1980s, the Mumbai-born, London-based artist is known for his traditional approach to sculptural materials, techniques, and themes. In this exhibition, the artist presents organic, biomorphic stone sculptures alongside vibrant red works composed of soft and malleable materials.

The nine large-scale stone sculptures in the Museum of Contemporary Sculpture are comprised of blocks of granite, Vigaria marble, and Kilkenny limestone, reflecting the artist’s interest in the metaphysical. His abstract sculptures embody the immaterial void, creating a stark contrast to the sensual physicality of the fluid and oval forms. The void carved in stone block suggests an enigmatic, invisible dimension beyond the physical, and is closely connected to the artist’s ongoing exploration of the elusive relationships between two conflicting factors: mass and void, interior and exterior, and the physical and non-physical.

Introduced in the Orangery Gallery, the three sculptures made of wax and resin attest to the artist's persistent exploration of the concept of void in sculpture. Especially notable is the unique hue of rich and vibrant red, as shown in Past Present Future (2006) and Gethsemane (2013). Simultaneously evocative of the color of Indian spices and blood, Kapoor’s vivid red is closely connected to his diverse cultural background and longstanding interest in the vulnerability of the human body.
The exhibition is further enhanced by its innovative use of space, which accentuates the contrast between the physicality of different materials and visual narratives. As the audiences navigate through Kapoor’s artistic interventions across the two buildings, they are invited to experience a new dimension beyond the physical world.

The British contemporary artist Julian Opie is the subject of the solo exhibition titled Julian Opie: Studio for Kids, on view through April 10, 2023, at the National Gallery of Victoria (hereafter NGV), Melbourne, Australia. This interactive exhibition invites children and families to create their own digital self-portraits in the British artist’s signature style.

Julian Opie’s celebrated minimalist approach to painting, sculpture, and film has influenced the wider field of art and pop culture since he began his career in the early 1980s. Referencing pop art and modernist techniques, Opie’s distinctive formal language is instantly recognizable. 
Inspired by the artist’s London studio where the artist works surrounded by his personal art collection, visitors to Julian Opie: Studio for Kids can view a display of Opie’s works from the NGV Collection including Ali (2009), Elena rolling her eyes (2015), and Imogen smiling (2015). The multimedia studio begins with a tutorial on how to draw in Opie’s unique style using only line and color to create a digital portrait, which can then be shared with family and friends.

Julian Opie: Studio for Kids was originally developed by the artist in collaboration with the NGV during his major exhibition Julian Opie in 2018. The exhibition welcomes audiences to experience and foster creativity through Opie’s unique style, which reflects his artistic preoccupation with the idea of representation and the means by which images are perceived and understood.

The internationally acclaimed artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset are the subject of the solo exhibition After Dark, on view from November 13, 2022, through April 9, 2023, at By Art Matters in Hangzhou, China. Marking the third season of the museum’s exhibition program, After Dark induces a dynamic interaction between the audience and art by transforming the architectural features of the gallery space and moving away from the conventional white cube aesthetic. After Dark is the duo’s second major institutional solo exhibition in China, following The Well Fair (2016) at UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art), Beijing.

Continuing the duo’s long history of transforming museum spaces into unexpected environments, Elmgreen & Dragset have dramatically transformed the ground floor with a selection of sculptures and large-scale installations. Installed across the ground floor are a dance floor, stage, and cloakroom, evoking the scene of a club after its opening hours. From a young man sleeping in a pink rabbit costume to an acrobat suspended in midair looking down at the audience, sculptures in the midst of different activities come together to create a theatrical experience. On November 5, 2022, one week before the exhibition opening, Elmgreen & Dragset enlivened the space by hosting an actual club night, from which the traces are preserved in the gallery space to form a dialogue with the exhibited works.
Presented across the museum's sixth floor is Short Story (2020), a large-scale installation featuring a tennis court and two players. Instantly transporting viewers to a contrasting environment, the installation creates a narrative context in a static scene. Also on view is This Is How We Play Together (2021), which features two boy figures wearing VR devices, rendering them reminiscent of cyborg-like creatures.

Internationally acclaimed for their witty yet critical interpretations of everyday stereotypes, Elmgreen & Dragset have engendered dynamic discourse around existing social structures and human relationships for almost three decades. After Dark is inextricably linked to the history of the duo’s collaboration, as the title stems from an eponymous club in Copenhagen, where the two artists met each other for the first time. While representing a milestone in the duo’s artistic journey, After Dark delivers an uplifting message of hope to audiences, who are continuing to face major changes sparked by the pandemic.

Haegue Yang and Daniel Boyd are currently participating in the Okayama Art Summit 2022, an international art exhibition held in Okayama City, Japan, every three years. With the contemporary artist Rikrit Tiravanija as artistic director, this year’s triennale takes place across ten historical and cultural sites in Okayama City, including the Okayama Castle and Korakuen Garden.
Titled Do we dream under the same sky, the triennale brings together 25 artists from various cultural and social backgrounds. As artistic director, Tiravanija aimed to highlight the “peripheral practices” of the artists who come from “itinerant backgrounds,” encouraging viewers “to dream in a sky of difference, in a sky of multiplicity, of narratives of representation that [are] peripheral to the western canon.”

For the widely anticipated triennale, the celebrated Korean contemporary artist Haegue Yang presents four works across four different venues. Installed in an open area at Ishiyama Park is An Opaque Wind – Trifid Seating in Six Folds (2022), Yang’s new sculptural complex commissioned by the Okayama Art Summit. Comprised of arched towers of varying sizes and double-sided benches branching into three, the work highlights the artist’s long-standing interest in brick, a material both universally available and locally inflected. On view at the Okayama Shrine are two new works from Mesmerizing Mesh, Yang’s series of hanji (Korean traditional paper) collages inspired by sacred paper objects employed in shamanistic rituals, while the Okayama Orient Museum showcases Sonic Cosmic Rope – Gold Dodecagon Straight Weave (2022), in which metal bells are linked together to form a geometric arrangement. Also presented in the Tenjinyama Cultural Plaza of Okayama Prefecture is Sonicwear – Gold Conical Hands (2022), evoking the sculptural costumes from the performance directed by the German artist and choreographer Oskar Schlemmer.

Participating as the only Australian artist, Daniel Boyd introduces glass façade installations, alongside a selection of videos and paintings. Displayed across the classrooms, hallways, and gymnasium of the Former Uchisange Elementary School, Boyd’s paintings appropriate images of icons that have played significant roles in Australia’s founding history. He then covers much of the painting’s surface with clear, convex dots of glue, which act as “lenses” through which one views and comprehends the world. The artist further translates this signature technique into a moving image in Yamani (2018), exhibited in the Tenjinyama Cultural Plaza of Okayama Prefecture. Featuring numerous dots that consistently move across the screen, the video metaphorically evokes the process by which an individual fills and enlightens the dark void of the unknown based on their unique background and knowledge.

Shedding light on the narratives of diverse cultural and social backgrounds beyond the Western canon, Do we dream under the same sky runs through November 27, 2022. Throughout the duration of the triennale, the Okayama Art Summit will release interview videos with participating artists, which can be viewed on its official website.