Derek Jarman – Black Paintings, Trondheim Kunst Museum, Norway
Although best known for his work as a film director, Derek Jarman was also an artist and painter. Near the end of his life, as he was dying of an AIDs-related illness, he produced his Black Paintings. Not surprisingly, the works here reflect on religion, human existence and his own mortality as he faced the inevitability of his death. This year sees a number of events and exhibitions marking 20 years since Jarman’s death on 19 February 1994, with UK events featured on www.jarman2014.org.
25 January – 16 March, trondheimkunstmuseum.no
Codex, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, USA
A salon-style installation of more than 40 artworks, ranging from photographs to drawings to prints, Codex has been conceived by the French artist Pierre Leguillon. Inspired by the book form but containing no books, it focuses on two-dimensional works and videos that ‘in various ways deform and fragment the book’. Artists featured in the show include Ed Ruscha, Jean-Baptiste Maitre, Marcel Broodthaers, Cindy Sherman, Philip Guston, Robert Crumb, John Baldessari and Raymond Pettibon.
Until 29 March, www.wattis.org
Places of Transition, freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL, Vienna, Austria
Bringing together a variety of international works, Places of Transition hopes to evoke new kinds of creative connections while intending to formulate ‘a radical break with traditional forms of representation’, exploring what are described as ‘new territories of thought’. Works include Akram Zaatari’s video Tomorrow Everything Will Be Alright; Oliver Ressler’s film Socialism Failed, Capitalism Is Bankrupt: What Comes Next?; and Libia Castro and Ólafur Ólafsson’s neon sign installation with the phrase: “Your country does not exist.”
Until 13 March, www.quartier21.at
Anything is possible when everything is lost, Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris
Kabul-born, Los Angeles-based artist Lida Abdul has produced a body of work that refers to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan but which seeks to capture life in the country, rather than focus on soldiers and war. Ruins are a constant theme in Abdul’s films and photographs: “that which remains,” says Abdul, “that which creates in the individual’s mind a before and an after.”
Until 30 March, www.gulbenkian-paris.org
Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Barker Hangar, Los Angeles, USA
The international art fair of the West Coast of USA celebrates its fifth year, presenting 70 established and emerging galleries from around the world, including exhibitors from Berlin, Paris, Rome and New York. With a number of first-time exhibitors, galleries will present group and solo displays, with featured artists including Nathaniel Mellors, Christian Rosa and Sterling Ruby.
30 January – 24 February, www.artlosangelesfair.com
