Comics Unmasked

British Library, London • Until August 19, 2014

Hugh Armitage takes at a look at the Comics Unmasked exhibition at the British Library and how the British comic has always been about the outsider.

“In the UK it has remained a largely marginalised medium, reserved for schoolchildren at best and ‘weirdos’ at worst. This underground quality has made it the perfect place for LGBT and other alternative content to thrive.”

Matisse: The Cut Outs [rating=5] British Folk Art [rating=3]

Tate Modern / Tate Britain, London • Until September 7 / August 31, 2014

Tate Modern’s blockbuster exhibition of Matisse’s Cut-Outs, and Tate Britain’s British Folk Art, are fascinating insights into different types of outsider art.

“As a summer exhibition this is perfection and I left feeling rejuvenated – it’s like being bathed in sunshine, cleansed by the sea and stroked by a cool breeze all in one go.”

Whitechapel Gallery, London – E1 7QX • April 16 – June 22, 2014

The Whitechapel Gallery retrospective of Chris Marker’s work digs deep into his oeuvre and asks its audience, “Wanna know more?”

“The poetry and pain of failed politics and the reverence and risk in populist modes of expression and communication are recurring and sometimes co-dependent essences in the air throughout this retrospective.”

Whitechapel Gallery, London – E1 7QX • 15 January – 23 March 2014

The Whitechapel Gallery hosts a wide-ranging exhibition of Hannah Höch’s work that introduces us to subtler artist than has been seen before.

“The essence of her language of re-examination and re-addressing patriarchy is to dismantle the world through its populist manifestations and create something new with insightful sharpness, wit and an instinct for subversion.”

Tate Modern, Bankside, London – SE1 9TG • October 16 – March 9, 2014

The Tate Modern’s Paul Klee: Making Visible is a surprising and comprehensive exhibition.

“The exhibition’s title is taken from a statement Klee published in 1920, his ‘Creative Confession.’ In it, he says that “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes the visible.” In his work, Klee was a definite visionary.”

The V&A, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL • March 23 – August 11, 2013

More than a tour through an icon’s golden years, David Bowie Is lays on a retrospective that paints a vivid portrait of the man & the music.

“Water and boats often feature in his landscapes, and they do here, with the human figure sometimes floating on or above water. The people are ghostly and ethereal, creating an air of mystery, of things just happened, or about to happen.”

Bluecoat Chambers, Liverpool, L1 3BX • November 14, 2012

Habibi Problem by Cielaroque Dance Company tells the story of Iranian student Mehdi Kazemi. Homotopia Festival 2012.

“The Arabic word ‘Habibi’ is the male form of ‘darling’ or ‘my beloved.’ Cielaroque have devised a piece that, with its use of split screen filmed animation, is able to tell two stories at once – that of the escaped man and that of his imprisoned lover.”

Open Eye Gallery, 19 Mann Island, Liverpool, L3 1BP • September 15 – November 25, 2012

Mark Morrisroe: Late Photograms, at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery. Homotopia Festival 2012.

“At art school in Boston, Morrisroe was a prize-winning student as well as a drag performer and founder of the underground magazine Dirt. His photographic work continued and developed a punk aesthetic.”

Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street Liverpool, L3 8EL • November 11, 2012

David Hoyle’s Archetype, at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery. Homotopia Festival 2012.

“We were led by Hoyle into different rooms, bejeweled with bright pre-Raphaelite canvases, Victorian history paintings, Rembrandt portraits and medieval masterpieces, to be met with a performer in each”

Michael Werner Gallery, 22 Upper Brook St, London, W1K 7PZ • September 27 – December 22, 2012

An exhibition of pictures by Peter Doig confirms his position as one of the most significant painters working today.

“Water and boats often feature in his landscapes, and they do here, with the human figure sometimes floating on or above water. The people are ghostly and ethereal, creating an air of mystery, of things just happened, or about to happen.”