The Diary: Exhibitions, shows and events in July


Our pick of events happening this month or coming up


Words by Ellen Peirson

Melbourne Art Fair
2 – 5 August
Southbank Arts Precinct

The fair returns to showcase 40 galleries that present works from Australasia. The event promises a diverse and engaging calendar of tours, events and talks that encourages all those who attend to participate and become a part of the discourse. The city’s lively cultural centre will attract more than 20,000 visitors in the four days of the event to see the vast collection of work.

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up
Until 4 November
V&A

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up Until 4 November V&AImage Credit: Frida Kahlo On A Bench, Carbon Print, 1938, Photo By Nickolas Muray © The Jacques And Natasha Gelman Collection Of 20th Century Mexican Art And The Verge,Nickolas Muray Photo Archives

Frida Kahlo’s clothes and most intimate possessions are displayed for the first time outside of Mexico, offering an view into the life of the feminist icon. Kahlo’s story of tragedy and empowerment is documented through her home, to which she was confined for much of her life through illness and her self-portraiture that became her focus when bed-bound.

Summer Exhibition
Until 19 August
Royal Academy

Summer Exhibition Until 19 August Royal AcademyImage Credit: John Bodkin / Dawkinscolour

The Royal Academy celebrates its 250th Summer Exhibition, curated by Grayson Perry RA and a committee of Royal Academicians. Perry’s chosen theme is Art Made Now, insisting that all entries are from 2017/18 to create a diverse and relevant exhibition. Perry has set A Room of Fun to showcase the most entertaining submissions in David Chipperfield’s newly unveiled RA redevelopment.

A Modern Adventure, 1929-1958
Until 27 August
Centre Pompidou

A Modern Adventure, 1929-1958 Until 27 August Centre Pompidou Image Credit: Centre Pompidou, Mnam-Cci Bibliothèque Kandinsky / Dist. Rmn Grand Palais

This show offers a unique retrospective of work by the Union des Artistes Modernes, the 20thcentury artist association, which identified Paris as a destination for the avant garde. It brings together the work of artists, architects and designers in a review of French modernism and the forms and approach that earned the movement global recognition.

All Too Human; Bacon, Freud & A Century of Painting Life
Until 27 August
Tate Britain

All Too Human; Bacon, Freud & A Century of Painting Life Until 27 August Tate BritainImage Credit:  R.B. Kitaj, The Wedding, 1989-93 / The estate of R. B. Kitaj

Major works from the past century tell the story of how modern artists have painted life and captured its rawness and intimacy. The show focuses on a contextual and objective look at the work of Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon alongside other major artists of their generation. Particular attention is paid to the work of women artists in such a male dominated field.








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