Romain Mader/Tate Modern Was your New Year's resolution to try and do more cultural stuff? But you haven't really kept to it yet? Well, galleries are a great place to start, and a useful way to provide yourself with some Monday morning coffee machine chat in the office. It's always nice to get to the noteworthy shows soon after they open too, so that you don't feel late to the party.
With that in mind, click through for the five shows not to be missed this month. From the Tate Modern's Performing For The Camera – guaranteed to create conversation both on and off social media – to Vogue's 100-year retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery, February is setting itself up to be an exciting month for art openings.
Vogue 100: A Century Of Style
National Portrait Gallery, 11 February - 22 May 2016
Celebrating an incredible 100 years of British Vogue , this landmark exhibition presents original covers, prints and archival material.
You can expect to see a selection of works by the most influential fashion photographers of the past 100 years – from Cecil Beaton, Herb Ritts, Irving Penn and Lee Miller to David Bailey, Mario Testino and Tim Walker.
We expect queues around the block, so best to book. Tickets available here.
Betty Woodman: Theatre of the Domestic
ICA, 3 February 2016 – 10 April 2016
Until recently, ceramics have been pretty sidelined as an art form in major galleries. But 2016 is set for a new appreciation of ceramics, with Tate St Ives presenting 100 years of ceramic art from May. Meanwhile, British ceramicist Betty Woodman presents her first solo show in a major exhibition opening on the 3rd February at London's ICA.
Born in 1930, Woodman has established herself as one of the most important artists working in ceramics today. Her bold and unafraid works mix a variety of media and won't disappoint – a colourful visual treat.
Entry is free.
Performing for the Camera
Tate Modern, 18 February - 12 June 2016
In the age of the selfie, self-expression in front of the camera has never been a hotter topic (unless 2006 Myspace profile pics count). Although this show at the Tate Modern doesn't spend much time exploring the selfie in it's current context (bar the work of Amalia Ulman), it does present a holistic exploration of the relationship between photographer, subject and performance. Expect to see works by the greats including Cindy Sherman and Lee Friedlander, as well as contemporary artists like Romain Mader (pictured right).
Tickets available here.
Romain Mader /Tate ModernErwin Wurm: One Minute Sculptures
Tate Modern, 22 February 2016, 19.00 & 19.45
As part of Tate's Performing for the Camera , featured artist Erwin Wurm invites participants along to create his infamous awkward sculptures. Using everyday objects and found furniture, Erwin creates situations and instructions that allow you to perform for the camera and become one of his real-life artworks – even if just for 60 seconds.
Tickets £20, book here .
Heather Phillipson, More Flinching
Whitechapel Gallery, 12 February - 17 April 2016
Presented as part of the Whitechapel Gallery's Electronic Superhighway (2016-1966), Heather Phillipson takes on galleries 5 & 6 from 17th February. The wider exhibition explores the impact technology and the internet have had on art over the past 50 years, and is already proving to be a visual sensation, according to Instagram. Phillipson, currently writer in residence, presents a new multimedia installation looking at conceptual distances and the intimacy of the body.
Entry is free.
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