It’s been a busy week as I prepare to go away and I’ve written a top 5 exhibitions to see in April and a profile of artist Jiachen Zeng.
This Monday newsletter will skip a week (maybe two), as I’m away from 11-23 April in Milan for MiArt and then on to Venice for the Arte Biennale - I’ll be writing about both and will report back after. Though that does mean you’ll get a bumper edition when I’m back - and for all the wonderful paid subscribers you’ll still get weekly posts while I’m away.
Thanks as always for keeping tabs on me, and have a great few weeks ahead.
Tab’s World
My latest articles and events for your reading pleasure.
There’s a mix of museum and gallery exhibitions in this week’s top 5 on FAD, and they are all free to visit so take your pick and pop in before they close.
Plus, catch up on editions of my new bonus newsletter for paid subscribers, including:
Feminist photography: highlights from a free exhibition at South London Gallery
Reframing art: some highlights from a new exhibition of contemporary Black artists
An interview with LEGO brick artist Nathan Sawaya
Click below to see all the subscription options, and a big thank you to everybody who’s supporting the newsletter already - couldn’t do it without you!
Tab’s Weeks Ahead
Highlighting my top events for the weeks ahead. Let me know if you'd like to join me!
I’ll be in Milan (11-14 April) and then Venice (14-22 April) so do hit me up with any recommendations for things to see as I’ll be working and visiting as much art as possible. Let me know by sending me a message with the button below.
For those who will be in London I recommend this young professionals in the arts event at Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham, showing the work of Saroj Patel - I know the artist and venue well. Plus you don’t have to be a member to join the event. Saturday 13 April, 11.30am-1pm, £5.
The Wider Arts
Here are my top picks of culture that may be enjoyed from the comfort of your home.
SELF HELP BOOKS: Hidden Potential by Adam Grant is a great read that shows even when doors close on people, individuals can find non-traditional routes to success by re-thinking their approach. I'm a big fan of Adam Grant's writing, including his book Think Again, and his podcast Work Life. As someone who recently left a corporate job to pursue his passion I can also recommend The Passion Paradox by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, a book that looks at how to approach your passion in a healthy manner. It’s honest about the pitfalls of passion if pursued singularly and it's got great advice on how to approach your passion with balance. The links go through to my online bookshop and you can follow me on Goodreads here.
INTENSE FILMS: 99 Homes looks at the heartbreaking business of repossessing the homes of those who fall behind on their rent in the US. Andrew Garfield is excellent as the conflicted lead who goes from evicted to evictor and Michael Shannon is equally great as his slimy boss. Fair Play outlines an intense destructive spiral that implodes a relationship when the woman in the couple gets promoted over the man, with Phoebe Dynevor great in the lead. Both on Netflix.
ART BOOK: Warhol after Warhol by Richard Dorment is a fascinating dive into the world of authenticating artworks told by an art critic who became embroiled in the case of an owner of an Andy Warhol piece trying to get it authenticated. I didn't know much about this aspect of art, and the true story reads like a thriller. The link goes through to my online bookshop and you can follow me on Goodreads here.
Articles I’m Reading
Interesting stories that I recommend, largely from beyond the art world. If you fancy reading offline at another time, I recommend the app Pocket.
This is a selection of articles I found thought-provoking in one way or another; opinions expressed in the articles don’t necessarily reflect my own views or those of Londonist.
INVESTIGATING CRIMES: GQ takes us inside the race to catch the last Nazis who still remain at large in a 30 minute read. The New Statesman takes us inside one detective's quest to track down those who engage in romance fraud (30 minutes) and Rolling Stones profiles the undercover FBI agent and her investigations in human trafficking (32 minutes). In the ‘juror who found herself guilty’, a woman corrects her decision made while being on a jury that found an innocent man guilty (44 minutes via Texas Monthly). We end with a tragic head-scratcher of a young man who plunged from a London balcony and all the twists and turns that led him to that moment - an absorbing 65 minute read via The New Yorker.
CHILD SAFETY AND DEVELOPMENT: ‘Behind a locked door’ looks at a horrific Austrian villa where children were experimented on in a 66 minute article for The New Yorker and The Guardian reports on how children were stolen for adoption in Guatemala (19 minutes). The MIT Press Reader has a fascinating 22 minute read on how children acquire racial biases. Switching to technology, The New York Times asks can you hide a child’s face from AI, The New Yorkers asks whether we can gets kids off smartphones (16 minutes), and The Atlantic asks whether teens should have access to disappearing messages (6 minutes). Slate shows us why ‘how was your day?’ is confusing to children (7 minutes) and BBC Future looks at the Nordic way to stop bullying (7 minutes). At the opposite end of the spectrum BBC worklife profiles the adults celebrating child-free lives (15 minutes).
DATA: The Pentagon has taken targeted ads to the next level to help it find its targets and Putin (24 minute read via Wired). The New York Times, also on the theme of targeted advertising, writes about ‘the man who trapped us in databases’ (30 minutes). If that has you worried enough then maybe your brain needs a good lawyer, as this 6 minute read on Vox talks about. In misleading data The New Yorker has investigated whether the data in Dan Ariely’s work may have been fabricated (52 minute read) - which would be a massive shame as his book Predictably Irrational is excellent. To end on a positive note it turns out our weather forecasts are a lot more accurate according to our world in data, even if it doesn’t always feel that way.
SOLAR ECLIPSE: With a solar eclipse due to be visible over in the US this week, an article about how medieval chroniclers interpreted solar eclipses and other celestial events (5 minute read on The Conversation). Scientific American looks at how animals respond to a solar eclipse (4 minutes) and BBC has a take on what it feels like to fly through a solar eclipse.