Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Birdman by Marc Wallinger.
Birdman by Marc Wallinger. Photograph: courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth/PA
Birdman by Marc Wallinger. Photograph: courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth/PA

Jeff Goldblum goes topless and Mark Wallinger goes into orbit – the week in art

This article is more than 5 years old

A statue of the actor appears in London, the Edinburgh art festival prepares to launch and Wallinger takes on humans in space for a new exhibition in Hastings – all in our weekly dispatch

Exhibition of the week

Mark Wallinger
The isolation of the human form in space is the focus of Wallinger’s metaphysical wit in this focused exhibition.
Jerwood Gallery, Hastings, from 21 July until 7 October.

Also showing

Jacob’s Ladder
Artists including Katie Paterson and Cornelia Parker explore the universe in this survey of the astronomical imagination. It’s one of several exhibitions taking place during the Edinburgh art festival.
Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, from 26 July until 26 August.

Johann Bayer’s 1639 illustration of Corona Borealis for his work Uranometria. Photograph: courtesy Ingleby Gallery

Astronomy Victorious
Tying in with the Ingleby show, this exhibition includes Copernicus’ 1543 book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, the first work to identify the sun as the centre of the solar system.
Centre for Research Collections, University of Edinburgh, from 27 July until 27 October.

Lucy Skaer
The 2009 Turner prize nominee explores the nature of collecting in a show with a rural gothic flavour.
Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, from 26 July until 26 August.

Alexander Calder
Cosmic grandeur and quantum entanglements make the mobiles of this great American surrealist masterpieces of scientific art.
Hauser & Wirth Somerset until 9 September.

Masterpiece of the week

The Toilet of Venus, circa 1620-25, by Guido Reni or studio. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Venus, goddess of love, seems to be enjoying her pampering. She swoons with pleasure while nymphs attend her. A recent cleaning has revealed the joyous colours and subtle brushwork of this flamboyantly carnal baroque painting. It used to be regarded as a studio copy of an earlier version by Reni, but now it is claimed this may be his original. Whatever its backstory, it is an over-the-top eyeful of fun.
National Gallery, London.

Image of the week

Jeff Goldblum relaxes at Tower Bridge. Photograph: Scott Garfitt/Rex/Shutterstock

Jeff Goldblum is now the embodiment of a public figure, with a 25ft, topless statue temporarily on display near Tower Bridge, in London. We looked at how the smouldering Jurassic Park star’s likeness compares with those of other Hollywood personalities. View the gallery.

What we learned

The Stirling prize shortlist has an educational feel

Liverpool Biennial plays host to a violent mix

Is Coldwar Steve the Hogarth of the social media age?

Catrin Huber has added colour to Pompeii’s ruins

… while Blenheim turns blue for Yves Klein

The V&A’s new entrance piazza has driven up visitor numbers

Homeless photographers are taking to the streets

Sausage dogs make good muses

The children of Sarajevo recall their artistic renewal

Leeds’s Hyde Park Picture House is a main attraction

A painting of the KKK is causing a stir in Texas

Kerry James Marshall has made a monument to America’s black history

David Wojnarowicz is finding his historical place, too

The astronomy photographer of the year awards are a starry affair

Will Scott took shelter at the British seaside

… while New Brighton revealed its charms

Burt Glinn got with the Beat

Saul Leiter’s Manhattan is a place of the past

… once populated by rebel women

Essex is home to radical architecture

Hong Kong is still shaped by feng shui

… while a Beijing office has become an architects’ test lab

Bill Viola is coming to the Royal Academy

Ed Ruscha reflects on ecological disaster

We remembered the extraordinary Anne Olivier Bell

Don’t forget

To follow us on Twitter: @GdnArtandDesign

Sign up to the Art Weekly newsletter

Data protection laws have changed in the UK, under an initiative called GDPR. Make sure you continue to receive our email roundup of art and design news by confirming your wish here.

This article was amended on 23 July 2018. Venus is the goddess, not god, of love.

Comments (…)

Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion

Most viewed

Most viewed