117 Previews: Gather Around

VVZELA KOOK, Columbus of Horticulture, 2019, 3D printed objects, glass dome, acrylic, installation dimensions variable; animation: 4 min 50 sec. Courtesy the artist.

Garden of Six Seasons
Para Site, Hong Kong
Mar 14–Jun 7

A prelude to the 2020 Kathmandu Triennale, “Garden of Six Seasons” will explore landscaping practices and gardening traditions in connection with notions of cultural specificity and transplantation. Among the 24 diverse practitioners represented, Naufus Ramirez Figueroa and Citra Sasmita will create new commissions. Other highlights include Vvzela Kook’s animation Columbus of Horticulture (2019), based on the historic roles of plant hunters in shaping various ecosystems, and Andrew Thomas Huang’s film Kiss of the Rabbit God (2019), a love story between a mortal protagonist and a deity. Additionally, maps from the 19th century will elucidate how humans have navigated the earth.

Installation view of **ANDREW REWALD**’s *Alchemy Garden*, 2019– , socially engaged community collaboration, 11 × 14 m, at the National Art School, Sydney. Photo by Sebastian Goldspink. Courtesy the artist, Biennale of Sydney, and the National Art School.

Biennale of Sydney
Nirin
Multiple locations
Mar 14–Jun 8

“The urgent states of our contemporary lives are laden with unresolved past anxieties and hidden layers of the supernatural,” according to Brook Andrew, artistic director of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney. Titled “Nirin,” meaning “edge” in the Wiradjuri dialect, the Biennale aims to expose and shift the perspectives that have informed the foundational systems of our world. Unfolding across the city, the event will comprise contributions by First Nation, Australian, and international artists, including Ahmed Umar, whose ceramic sarcophagus references the vulnerability of queer lives in Sudan, and Andrew Rewald, who will reveal the Alchemy Garden (2019– ), reflecting on the relationship between plants and human history.

**TAREK ATOUI**, *WITHIN*, 2013, photo documentation of musical performance with ten drummers and electronic musician fortissimo at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, during Sharjah Biennial 11. Courtesy the artist and Sharjah Art Foundation.

Tarek Atoui
Cycles in 11
Sharjah Art Foundation
Mar 21–Jun 21

Over the past 11 years, sound artist Tarek Atoui has been exploring different methods for listening, composing, and performing. Stemming from his 2008 residency at the Sharjah Art Foundation and developed through research into Deaf culture and Arabic music history, his project WITHIN (2013– ) comprises musical instruments that he invented, as well as auditory experiences, and films that assemble variegated perceptions of sounds. “Cycles in 11” will feature live performances by Atoui and guest creators using the instruments from WITHIN and other projects, probing new ways of finding connections through the sonic realm.

**HIROSHI SUGIMOTO**, *Polar Bear*, 1976, from the *Diorama* series (1974– ), gelatin silver print, 42.3 × 54.6 cm. Copyright the artist. Courtesy the artist and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.

Stars: Six Contemporary Artists from Japan to the World
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Apr 23–Sep 6

Six of Japan’s most prominent artists—Yayoi Kusama, Lee Ufan, Tatsuo Miyajima, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, and Hiroshi Sugimoto—will be the subjects of a Mori Art Museum blockbuster. The exhibition promises to delight experts and the uninitiated alike, with new commissions displayed alongside some of the artists’ most widely recognized works, including Miyajima’s pool of LED lights flashing numbers from zero to nine, Sea of Time ’98 (1998), and Sugimoto’s photograph series Diorama (1974– ). For the historically inclined, there will also be archival materials from 50 major overseas art exhibitions that have shaped the international image of postwar Japan.