The top 6 museum exhibitions this autumn

 

Summer has come to an end and autumn forces us to change our outdoor plans for indoor ones. But with the incredible calendar of exhibitions this autumn in Spain’s museums and art galleries, we have to admit that the plan couldn’t be more appealing. Take note of our recommendations and don’t forget to save a few days in your calendar, because there is a lot to discover, to learn and to enjoy.

  1. ‘The Magritte Machine’. Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid.

Retrospective of René Magritte (1898-1967), the great Belgian surrealist painter, whose work is characterised by its repetitive and combinatory component – his obsessive themes come back over and over again with countless variations. The exhibition brings together more than 90 paintings and includes an installation and a selection of photographs and home movies made by the artist. From 14 September 2021 to 22 January 2022.

  1. ‘Joieres 1965-1990. Entre l’art i el disseny’. Museu del disseny de Barcelona.

The Museu del Disseny in Barcelona gives space to the women jewellers who, during the 1960s, contributed to the renewal of jewellery in Catalonia. From 12 October until 28 November 2021, these unique pieces by designers such as Ninon Collet and Mariona Lluch, Marta Breia, Teresa Capilla, Montserrat Guardiola, Margarita Kirchner, and Carmen Zulueta will be on display.

Museu del Disseny de Barcelona

  1. ‘Chema Madoz | Cruelty’. Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid.

Can the inhospitable come to rest among images and objects that are so close and hospitable, some of them endearing? This is the question around which this exhibition revolves, in which 73 photographs by the great photographer Chema Madoz can be seen, in which, always using black and white, the artist proposes a new twist on the surrealist and poetic imagery to which he is attached. The exhibition is an excellent opportunity to rediscover Madoz’s work from a new perspective, in which dreamlike and playful beauty is combined with the disturbing. From 16 September to 21 November 2021 at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid.

Photo: © Chema Madoz, VEGAP, Madrid, 2021

  1. ‘Women in Abstraction’. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

This exhibition aims to tell the untold story of art, mainly from the 20th and 21st centuries, focusing on the contribution of women artists to abstraction. The exhibition includes some 100 artists from various disciplines, such as dance, applied arts, photography, film and performance, from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, Europe and the United States, with the aim of telling an expansive and complex story made up of multiple voices. From 22 October 2021 to 27 February 2022.

            Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian in his studio, 1975

  1. ‘Japan. A Story of Love and War’. CentroCentro, Madrid.

For the first time a selection of more than 200 works of the floating Japanese ukiyo-e genre comes to Madrid, with pieces by the most prestigious Japanese artists of the period, offering a complete panorama of Japanese life in the 19th century. The exhibition includes samurai armour, kimonos, fans and photographs in ten sections, ranging from the feminine world of the geisha and the legend of the faithful samurai warriors to the birth of ukiyo-e and the famous shunga prints, rich in eroticism. From 22 September 2021 to 30 January 2022 at CentroCentro, Madrid.

 

  1. ‘The centenary. Fellini in the world’. El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria, Barcelona.

Twenty years after his death, Fellini continues to be an indisputable figure in world art. He is undoubtedly a universal figure who has made a very significant contribution to the history of cinema: first as a screenwriter and then as a director. This exhibition, co-organised by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura a Barcelona and El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria de Barcelona, shows us his most intimate side. And it takes us through his dreamlike world. From 1 October 2021 to 9 January 2022.

© Pep Herrero – Born CCM