Raphael: The Drawings, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
This show brings together 120 works from various international collections that span the brief but brilliant career of Renaissance artist Raphael. Aged just 37 when he died, Raphael’s renowned drawing skills had a transformative effect on European art over subsequent centuries. Highlights include Head of a Muse, which broke records when auctioned at Christie’s in 2009, as well as The heads and hands of two apostles, considered by many to be one of the finest drawings Raphael ever made.
Until 3 September 2017, www.ashmolean.org
EC Davies: Press Play and Record, Vane, Newcastle upon Tyne
Bringing together a body of work created by British artist EC Davies over the last three years, this show includes video, animation, sound works and textiles. Developing aspects of her collaborations with choirs in Berlin and North East England, Davies exchanged individual lines of song lyrics for gifts to then produce further events and actions. Lyrics and exchanges with collaborators, including spoken word recordings, have been woven into this new work.
Until 1 July 2017, www.vane.org.uk
Marc Quinn, Sir John Soane’s Museum, London
An exhibition featuring 12 new sculptures by British artist Marc Quinn created from casts of the artist and his muse, the dancer Jenny Bastet, in a series of embraces. It is the first time this new body of work – entitled All About Love – has been shown, the pieces placed around the museum amongst the collection of objects that Sir John Soane assembled over his lifetime.
Until 23 September 2017, www.soane.org
A Certain Kind of Light, The Exchange, Penzance
A group show exploring how artists have responded to light, its transience and effect, from the 1960s to the present day. ‘A Certain Kind of Light’ includes paintings, sculpture, photography, and installation, with highlights including Colour Construction by Peter Lanyon, who was a leading figure at Newlyn Art Gallery in the 1950s and 60s, as well as camera-less photographs by Garry Fabian Miller who had a solo show at the gallery in 2008. Other artists exhibiting include: Roger Ackling, David Batchelor, Angela Bulloch, Ceal Floyer, Peter Freeman, Raphael Hefti, Anish Kapoor, Rut Blees Luxemburg, Julian Opie, John Riddy, Mark Titchner, Paul Winstanley and Toby Ziegler.
Until 23 September 2017, www.newlynartgallery.co.uk
A Perfect Chemistry, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
Only four years after the invention of photography in 1839, two Scots had mastered the new medium and were producing works of incredible skill in extraordinary quantities. The productive partnership of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, which lasted from 1843 until early 1848, produced a raft of stunning images. This show highlights how, despite the technical challenges faced by the duo, they created some of the first examples of social documentary in the history of photography.
Until 1 October 2017, www.nationalgalleries.org
Images:
1. Raphael, The heads and hands of two apostles, c. 1519–20. Black chalk with over-pounced underdrawing with some white heightening, 49.9 x 36.4 cm. © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
2. EC Davies, Follow My Leader, 2017, video, 3min. Courtesy: Vane, Newcastle upon Tyne
3. David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, Jeanie Wilson and Annie Linton [Newhaven], 1843-1847. Calotype print: 20.80 x 15.70 cm. Courtesy: Scottish National Portrait Gallery
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