The year is coming to an end and the highlights of December arrive, the last of 2018; as always, we want to recommend you the best cultural, gastronomic and leisure options that you can enjoy in Spain, Europe and the rest of the world. Here they go:
One of the highlights of December at the London Hayward Gallery
The exhibition Space Shitters at the Hayward Gallery in London has been since its opening in September one of the great cultural events of the British capital. Well, until January 6th there is still time to enjoy it. There awaits you a unique mix of design, modern art and architecture, among many other things.
Ephemeral architecture and design have flooded the Hayward Gallery
And all this reflected in the works of important creators of our time. Among them; Leonor Antunes, Larry Bell, Fred Eversley, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Jeppe Hein, Roni Horn, Robert Irwin, Ann Veronica Janssens, Anish Kapoor, Yayoi Kusama, Alicja Kwade, John McCracken, Josiah McElheny, Helen Pashgian, Charlotte Posenenske, Fred Sandback, Monika Sosnowska, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, De Wain Valentine or Richard Wilson. No more no less!
The surrealism of Dorotea Tanning in Madrid
Another exhibition that has been open for several months and that will close at the beginning of 2019, specifically on January 7th, is Behind the door, another invisible door. A show with the works of the artist Dorothea Tanning, one of the most prolific creators of the last century, who died in 2012, being already a venerable centenary.
The secrets of the art of Dorothea Tanning in the Reina Sofía
Throughout her long career she painted, modeled sculptures, wrote poems and created costumes for ballets. All this is recorded in this exhibition which opens its doors to the unique world of women, fairies, nature, architecture and desert that make up the surrealist and surprising universe of the artist.
The projects of Tadao Ando in the Pompidou
The George Pompidou Center in Paris, one of the most dynamic museums in Europe, is back to the highlights of December. In this case, we want to recommend it for the show dedicated to Tadao Ando that can be seen until next December 31st. A very interesting exhibition, since the rooms of the Pompidou have been able to accommodate the architectures of this Japanese artist awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1995.
Tadao Ando’s architecture is always spectacular, as we can see with the Shanghai theater
It is a retrospective where all the great projects carried out by Ando are reflected. When you see them all together, you can draw a series of conclusions his work. For example, his ability to give monumentality to the simplest geometric shapes incorporating at the same time nature into those volumes. In short, anyone who loves contemporary architecture and is visiting Paris in December can’t miss this exhibition.
We crossed the pond to enjoy Andy Warhol’s work
Spending Christmas and New Year in New York is a trend. Well, once there you don’t just have to go to Times Square on New Year’s Eve or skate at the Rockefeller Center. Take your time to enjoy the museums of the city. Our recommendation in this highlights of December is the Whitney Museum. There awaits you until March 31st a large sample about one of the most charismatic artists in the United States: Andy Warhol.
Warhol’s flowers are present in the Whitney sample
The exhibition is named Andy Warhol. From A to B, and back again. It is a review of the Pop Art genious. The passage of time and the evolution of art has caused this artist to be increasingly greater and more influential. This is what this exhibition is about; how Warhol still has facets to show, how he has influenced and how his work has become a consumer product. Pop Art by definition and in its purest form!
Double Plensa
Two exhibitions that have Jaume Plensa as protagonist coincide in Madrid and Barcelona at the same time. The one in Madrid, at the Crystal Palace, was inaugurated on November 16th and will remain open until March 3rd. There we can find a repertoire of sculptures suspended in the air and pierced by light, as if they were invisible beings. In fact that is the title of the installation.
Invisible for the Crystal Palace in Madrid
While that of Barcelona, at the MACBA, will open on December 1st and is scheduled until next April 22nd. That is, several months to see a retrospective in which the evolution of the Catalan artist is evident, since the museum houses works from the 80s to the present days. By the way, Plensa had not exhibited in a museum in his hometown for more than 20 years. So you have to see it, just in case he takes his time to return.
The largest cheese buffet in the world in Narbonne
The restaurant of Les Grands Buffets of the city of Narbonne is characterized by its gargantuan offer. This restaurant has revitalized tourism in this city in the south of France. There are many people who come there to indulge in the most literal sense of the term, since before their eyes the greatest repertoire of French food that one can imagine unfolds. All enjoyable at a more than adjusted price.
Has Narbonne become the Cheese Capital of the World?
To that selection of seafood, pâtés and foies, meats made at the moment and with ancestral recipes, stews, soups, fish, … all that the finest palate could wish for, since December 4th we have to add the largest cheese buffet in the world. Of course with the French cheeses as main stars, since without leaving Les Grands Buffets you will be able to enjoy a tasty walk through all the regions and cheese villages of the Gallic country. A unique gastronomic journey.
The last highlight of December brings us to China
We have saved for the end our most Christmas and wintery recommendation of all the highlights of December 2018. We are talking about the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture that takes place in the Chinese city of Harbin. It is the 35th edition of this festival; between December 20th and February 28th, 2019.
One of the giant ice sculptures in the last edition of the Harbin Festival
In these Chinese latitudes of the steppes of Manchuria, close to the mythical Siberia, snow and ice are not a problem. There is a lot! That’s why, years ago, it was decided to create this festival, which grows with each edition. So, today, light-weight sculptures of immense sizes are being created in an ephemeral way, many of them on an island in the middle of a frozen river. It has its kitsch touch like so many Asian things, but they are really awesome.
And we have reached the end. From Horse we can only wish that you enjoy these highlights of December 2018, and those that will come in 2019. We are waiting for you!