Week exhibition
Mat collishaw: Move37
How many artists are really “at the forefront”? Collishaw is. He catches the essence of now in this strange experience with AI.
Seed 130, London, until May 31
Also showing
Niki de Saint Phalle and Yayoi Kusama: Inner child
Two legendary and subversive artists finally in a delusional meeting.
Opera Gallery, London, until May 5
Maurizio Cattelan: Bone
The artist whose gold Loo was hidden in Blenheim reveals his latest ironies and Japes.
Gagosian Davies Street, London, from April 8 to May 24
Mark Wallinger: Severity is the weakest force in the universe
The winner of the Turner Prize shows new works on gravity, which reminds us, “the weakest force in the universe”.
Fine art tension, London, from April 5 to May 31
Anne Collier
Marilyn Monroe, Sylvia Plath and Valerie Solanas are represented by relics in collar photographs.
The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until May 21
Image of the week
There may be few sewer installations designed with the finesse of the new wastewater treatment plant of 139 million euros (117 million pounds sterling) in Arklow, which resembles a pair of mint green pagodas by the Irish Sea and whose inspiration was Sydney Opera House. Read the full article
What we have learned
Pete Sedgley, key collaborator with his colleague OP Bridget Riley, died at the age of 94
The artists shared serious fears about Donald Trump’s attacks on “anti-American art”
700 post-it notes, Ed Atkins, continued for his child is at the heart of his new show
The New York Frick collection should reopen after a renovation of $ 220 million over five years
Berlin’s Works on Skin Project sells works of art to climb on the human body
Ken Kiff’s brilliantly strange work is being reassessed
A huge new show underlines how Paris has become a paradise for black artists
Vanessa Bell’s work comes out of the shadow of the Bloomsbury group
Tate Modern received a six -meter Painting Joan Mitchell from a bedroom in a billionaire
Trees and humans merge the new show at Giuseppe
Weekly masterpiece
Saint Sebastian by Matteo di Giovanni, probably 1480-95
How do you survive your body pierced by an arrow shower? According to medieval gold legend, Roman soldier Sebastian, who had converted to Christianity, found himself after being shot down several times by pagan archers. This made him a popular symbol of endurance, resilience and, above all, the recovery of the plague. This painting of the 15th century Tuscany may not be massively distinguished, but it is typical of the images of Saint-Sébastian which were placed in churches and houses to protect people. He may have been ordered as a prayer or a personal spell.
We must remember the otherness of the past and the religious atmosphere of the ancient centuries before jumping to what may seem, to the obvious interpretation that Sebastian is a gay icon. That said, even this humble painting emphasizes her nudity, represented with an elegant combination of muscles and grace, as well as his dreamy face and an arrow just above his loincloth: there is sensuality in his suffering. Homoeroticism and piety may not have been mutually exclusive: the medieval religion later asked for emotional contact, and if secret desire helped unlock it – why not?
National Gallery, London
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