Diverse Worlds
The title, ‘Mundos Diversos’, aptly sums up this highly diverse show of work by 20 photographers spanning almost the last half-century. The work shown ranges from the classic, neo-realist approach of the now-deceased Juan Dolcet and Gerardo Vielba, to current-day avant-garde pieces from Javier Vallhonrat, Juan Genovés and Daniel Canogar. Between these extremes are the search for formal beauty of Carlos Serrano, shades of the ‘movida’ from Ouka Lele and dreamlike offerings from Antonio Tabernero and Julio Álvarez.
Osteria Santo Spirito
It’s always a pleasure to eat ‘al fresco’ in Piazza Santo Spirito. The Osteria Santo Spirito – a favourite haunt of recent resident Daniel Day Lewis – is the best option if you want a wide choice of menu. Any meal will start with a complimentary basket of breads and tapenade. Pasta dishes vary according to season; ravioli may be served with a delicate avocado sauce or taglierini with-made pesto. You can follow this with excellent meat or fish ‘mains’ or simply go for a big salad or plate of cheeses or salamis served on a rustic wooden board.
The Nude in Czech Photography
From the earliest days of photography, Prague has fostered some of the most forward-thinking and avant-garde work in the genre. Frantisek Drtikol was a pioneer of expressionist photography and Jan Styrsky, better known as the sculptor, also experimented with film. Even the great Art Nouveau painter and graphic designer Alfons Mucha dabbled with lenses. The photo work of these artists is uniquely informed and unconventional and testifies to the richness of creative expression in the days before everything went dark in the Czech lands with the Munich accord of 1938.
20th-Century Brazilian Art
What with soap operas, ritual images of Carnival in Rio, and package holidays to the beaches of north eastern Brazil, the Portuguese may think they know a lot about their giant former colony. This exhibition organised by the Gulbenkian Foundation should provide a healthy antidote to the clichés, presenting a comprehensive panorama of Brazilian art from the 20th-century. The show is spread over the first floor of two adjoining buildings.
NHL Hockey: LA Kings vs Colorado Avalanche
Ice hockey? In the desert? Hey, this is Vegas, baby! While the mayor struggles with the city’s frustrating lack of a professional sports franchise, teams from neighbouring states often make it a point of playing exhibition games here. The rough-and-tumble NHL exhibitions always sell well. This is the first year for the LA-Colorado match-up, and given Las Vegas’s geographical position between the teams, the fans are sure to split between the two. We advise choosing to support the team in whose section you sit.
Joan Osborne
The Kentucky folksinger Joan Osborne found herself somewhat incongruously in 1996 with a single that invited the listener to consider the possibility that God might be ‘just a slob like one of us’. Not the kind of thing that was going to earn plaudits from the guardians of America’s public morality, but it did create a sizable following. Her follow-up album ‘Righteous Love’ is less likely to draw attention but is nonetheless a solid showcase of the warm virtues that led to her breaking through in the first place.
