By Cindy Brzostowski, to Museum Spotlight Europe (September 2022)
With summer’s end comes a respite from the heat—and a whole new series of special exhibit openings. This fall, temporary exhibitions across Europe begin their run, many stretching well into the new year, offering more must-sees than can fit into most travel itineraries. To help you narrow things down, we’ve rounded up what we think are the most exciting upcoming special exhibits of the season. From painters’ retrospectives to pop culture displays, there’s something to spark the interest of every sort of museum-goer. Which museums and exhibitions will become stops on your European tour?
England
Starting in England, there are two exhibits in London to consider visiting. The exhibit, Hallyu! The Korean Wave is showing at The Victoria and Albert Museum from September 24, 2022 to June 25, 2023. This exhibit examines the impact of South Korea’s popular culture on the rest of the world. If you can’t get enough of K-pop and K-dramas, or you consider Squid Game and Parasite as stand out, modern productions, then Hallyu! The Korean Wave is a must-see.
Painted sculpture, “Untitled G-Dragon, A Space of No Name”, by Gwon Osang. © Courtesy Gwon Osang
Then, over at the Science Museum, you can catch Science Fiction: Voyage To The Edge of Imagination from October 6 to May 4. Designed as a voyage on a spaceship, this immersive, interactive exhibition looks at how the imaginings of science fiction have influenced our actual future. Among the various displays, keep an eye out for objects from popular sci-fi movies, TV shows, and books.
France
France, Paris does not disappoint with its special exhibit line-up. At the Musée d’Orsay, Edvard Munch: “A Poem of Love, Life, & Death” will run from September 20, 2022 to January 22, 2023. Here, visitors can view around 100 works by the Norwegian artist who is most famously known for his piece, The Scream. The paintings, drawings, and other artworks on display showcase the recurring cycles and motifs that appear in his works throughout his career.
From October 5, 2022 to February 27, 2023 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Monet – Mitchell juxtaposes the works of Claude Monet and Joan Mitchell. Featuring about 60 pieces, the exhibit highlights the parallels in visuals and themes between the two artists, both of whom developed a sensory approach to their work and displayed a particular sensitivity to light and color.
Head to the Centre Pompidou from October 12, 2022 to January 16, 2023 to see the exhibition on Alice Neel, which was originally scheduled for summer 2020. Featuring 75 paintings and drawings, Alice Neel: ‘Un regard engagé’ demonstrates how the American visual artist explored class and gender, denouncing the male gaze.
Just two days after that opening, Walter Sickert: Painting and Transgressing opens at Petit Palais, on October 14 and runs until January 29, 2023. Partnering with Tate Britain, Petit Palais announces the exhibition as the first major retrospective for Sickert in France. Known for his provocative, avant-garde style, Sickert influenced many artists, including Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.
From October 19, 2022 to January 15, 2023, HORS-LES-MURS Scribbling – Scarabocchio, From Leonardo da Vinci to Cy Twombly is showing at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. This exhibit is the second part to a presentation that occurred in the spring in Rome’s Villa Medici. Explore the practice of doodling in almost 300 works from the Renaissance through the contemporary period.
Germany
It’s off to Germany we go! Pay a visit to the Neues Museum from October 15, 2022 to March 7, 2023 to see Adventures on the Nile Prussia and Egyptology 1842-45. This special exhibit focuses on the Royal Prussian Expedition that left Alexandria in 1842 and headed down the Nile for three years. Objects and materials brought back from the trip are on display, and the show looks at how the expedition helped develop the discipline of Egyptology.
In Munich’s Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Hats, Hoods, Hip Hop Caps isn’t just for lovers of designer headwear but also anyone interested in fashion. Running from October 20, 2022 to April 30, 2023, this temporary exhibition includes over 250 hats, bonnets, caps, veils, and other headgear—from King Ludwig II’s collection to pieces by famous, modern milliner Stephen Jones.
Austria
Make your way to Vienna for Basquiat: Of Symbols and Signs at Albertina Museum. Standing as the country’s first comprehensive, museum-based retrospective on Jean-Michel Basquiat, the show goes from September 9, 2022 until January 8, 2023. There are around 50 works on display, and together they celebrate the contemporary artist’s visionary, influential oeuvre.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1982, acrylic, oil, spray paint on wood, 182.8 x 121.9 cm
Also in Vienna, view the exhibition Idols & Rivals. Artist in Competition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Set for September 20, 2022 to January 8, 2023, this special exhibit looks at how ancient, Renaissance, and Baroque artists from the past competed with each other, spurring the creation of masterful works. Forget reality TV contests—this is the kind of showdown museum lovers must see for themselves!
Italy
In Italy, check out Olafur Eliasson: Nel tuo tempo at Florence’s Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi. Currently, this exhibition is the largest in the country of the Icelandic-Danish artist’s work, and the collection of new installations and historic pieces span the entire museum, bringing visitors into a deeper relationship with the art and the architecture.
Spain
Heading over to Spain, Paul Klee and the Secrets of Nature is showing from October 20, 2022 to February 12, 2023 at Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona. This special exhibit examines the Swiss-German artist’s study and exploration of nature and natural phenomena in his work. Klee’s art is showcased among four other women artists: Gabriele Münter, Emma Kunz, Maruja Mallo, and Sandra Knecht.
In Madrid at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, you can see Picasso/Chanel from October 11, 2022 to January 15, 2023. Pablo Picasso and fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel were close friends and creative geniuses in their own right, and this temporary exhibition delves into their relationship and work together.
Denmark
Turning to Denmark, you can catch Matisse: The Red Studio at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen from October 13, 2022 to February 26, 2023. Henri Matisse’s 1911 painting, The Red Studio depicts the French painter’s Parisian studio, notably featuring other works of his in the picture. This special exhibit puts the art featured in the painting on display with the masterpiece itself.
Henri Matisse, The Red Studio, 1911, oil on canvas, 181 x 219.1 cm
Special Mentions
If you’re in Norway, consider viewing Piranesi and the Modern at the National Museum in Oslo. Showcasing works by the 18th-century artist and architect Giovanni Battista Piranesis, the exhibit runs from September 9, 2022 to January 8, 2023.
At the Modern Museet in Stockholm, Sweden, there are two exhibits of particular note. From September 22, 2022 to January 8, 2023, Hilma af Klint: The Ten Largest displays the Swedish artist’s series of paintings, The Ten Largest, along with watercolor and hand-colored photographs. Running from October 29, 2022 to February 26, 2023, the exhibit Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well celebrates the photographer’s work as a filmmaker.
At the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, you can see Turner: The Sun is God. Scheduled for October 8, 2022 to February 6, 2023, this special exhibit includes nearly 90 paintings by the English Romantic artist J.M.W. Turner on display for the first time in the country.
Cover image: Olafur Eliasson, Firefly double-polyhedron sphere experiment, 2020. Photo: Jens Ziehe. Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. © 2020 Olafur Eliasson
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