Latest news with #KarlStengel
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Culture Agenda: The best things to do, hear, see or watch in Europe this week
The sun is (hopefully) shining wherever you are — and great food, art, disco and flower shows are calling... Although we're most excited about watching Tom Cruise hanging upside down off a plane's wing in the upcoming Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning. If you're still catching up with last week's happenings — check out the latest culture catch-up, in which our critic David Mouriquand and editor Tokunbo Salako delve into the vinyl release of Pink Floyd's iconic 1971 live recorded set, Cannes' opening film Partir un Jour, and the latest gory Final Destination instalment. Until next time, here are this week's highlights. New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place Where: The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design (Oslo, Norway) When: 23 May - 14 September 2025 Pioneered by prestigious restaurants like Noma, New Nordic Cuisine took off in the mid 2000s — and re-shaped Europe's culinary landscape. At its core is a focus on minimalism through fresh, seasonal ingredients, which in turn became a distinctive Scandinavian aesthetic found in everything from architecture to art. A new exhibition at Oslo's National Museum of Art explores the movements' cultural roots and evolutions, featuring more than 500 artworks, photographs and objects from renowned Nordic restaurants and contemporary artists like Olafur Eliasson. It's a delicious deep dive into the intersection between food, art and environment. Karl Stengel's debut solo UK show Where: Oxo Tower (London, UK) When: 21 May - 30 May 2025 Hungarian artist Karl Stengel was one of the most prolific yet overlooked post-war artists. To mark what would have been his 100th year since birth, various exhibitions have been paying tribute across the continent — from Florence to, now, London. This one is particularly special as it's also the UK's first ever solo Stengel show, offering a rare opportunity to discover the breadth of the artist's dynamic creations, including 24 paintings, works on paper and mixed-media compositions spanning the 1970s to 2010s. They're powerfully introspective, reflecting both Stengel's personal experiences and the evolving artistic world around him. Disco: I'm Coming Out Where: Philharmonie de Paris (France) When: Until 17 August 2025 Disco is uh, uh, uh, uh, stayin' alive, with this dazzling exploration of the movement's cultural origins. From its roots in Black America to the rainbow-lit dance floors of the 80s, disco's vibrant energy may have subsided, but still speaks to contemporary culture — especially within the dance hall spaces of LGBTQ+ communities. The Philharmonie de Paris highlights this through an immersive (and suitably groovy) display of costumes, instruments, objects, and more! Ain't no stoppin' us now, we're on the move to see this one asap. RHS Chelsea Flower Show Where: Royal Hospital Chelsea (London, UK) When: 20 - 24 May 2025 Nothing screams spring like perusing the perfectly manicured grounds of the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show. Often referred to as the 'World Cup of gardening', it's a lavish display of florals, cutting-edge garden designs and products — although perhaps most notable for its royal attendees. This year's theme, titled 'Your Space, Your Story', celebrates gardens as spaces for individual expression, while sustainability (including innovations involving AI) will also play a big role. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Where: UK cinemas When: 21 May 2025 Your mission, should you choose to accept it… is to go to the cinema this Friday for the latest (and possibly final ever) Mission: Impossible movie. Having premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last week, Tom Cruise returns as death-defying secret agent Ethan Hunt, who this time is attempting to save the world from a rogue AI named the Entity. As always, you can expect plenty of nerve-shredding stunts, blockbuster spectacle and, indeed, a few cliché lines. If you needed a franchise refresher — here's our ranking of all the previous films. Stay tuned to Euronews Culture for David Mouriquand's full review. Cannes Film Festival Where: Cannes, France When: Until 24 May 2025 As the Cannes Film Festival enters its second week, there's lots to keep an eye out for — including the upcoming premieres of Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind and Julia Ducournau's Alpha (find out more about the French filmmaker here). Meanwhile, other highly-anticipated contenders have already screened, including Lynne Ramsay's Die, My Love and Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme. Here's a reminder of the programme in full — and our favourite Palme d'Or winners from the past 25 years. Rick and Morty season 8 Where: Max When: 26 May 2025 Wubba lubba dub dub - the popular Adult Swim cartoon returns for more intergalactic adventures involving Rick, an alcohol-guzzling scientific genius, and his highly strung grandson Morty. Beloved for its comedic absurdity and dark philosophical undertones, the show has built a cult following that doesn't seem to have diminished — despite its co-creator and star Justin Roiland being dropped in 2023. In fact, the show is currently locked into a 10 season contract (so won't be leaving our universe any time soon). Sparks: Mad! When: 23 May 2025 Before Chappell Roan was being called "your favourite artist's artist", Sparks were. Throughout the course of their 50+ year career, the American band has remained a cult gem of the pop world, notable for their playful experimentation and Anglophile-inspired idiosyncrasies. They're also nothing if not prolific — the release of 'Mad!' marks their 28th studio album, which includes sweet synthy singles like "My Devotion" and shows the band's continued ability to evolve. PS: For those curious to know more about the band, we'd recommend watching Edgar Wright's 2021 documentary The Sparks Brothers! Morcheeba: Escape The Chaos When: 23 May 2025 Another album to look out for this week — the return of trip hop band Morcheeba. Founded in 1995 by Skye Edwards and brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey, 'Escape The Chaos' is a nostalgic pastiche that pays tribute to their 30-year career. In reference to lead single 'We Live And Die', Edwards told Rolling Stone: "[It's] about my duration in the band and the music world and life in general. The lines become blurred after all this time. In a way, it's a homage to the thirty years of being in Morcheeba which is 60% of my existence.' Bonus suggestions: Skunk Anansie's 'The Painful Truth' and our top ten live albums.
Euronews
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
From the gulag to the rolling hills of Tuscany: 100 Years of Karl Stengel
ADVERTISEMENT Marking a hundred years since his birth, exhibitions across 2025 are shining a light on the life and work of Karl Stengel, a Hungarian artist whose works – ranging from abstract expressionist canvases to surreal drawings – have only recently gained the recognition they deserve. The artist's remarkable legacy and story is now being commemorated by the Stengel Collection in Florence , whose centenary exhibition (running until 11 April) presents more than 45 paintings, works on paper and mixed-media compositions – all against the backdrop of the Renaissance-era Palazzo Rosselli del Turco. Karl Stengel, Untitled 24, 1987. Acrylic on canvas and oil pastel, 67 x 95 cm. Courtesy of the Stengel Collection. Beyond Tuscany, Italy, where Stengel spent his later years, international exhibitions include one at London's Oxo Tower (21-30 May) and another currently running at the MACQ Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Querétaro in Mexico until 27 April. Stengel's story is a poignant one. His journey as an artist began under the most unlikely of circumstances: while imprisoned in a Soviet gulag after WWII, he picked up a stone and began drawing one of his guards on a cement bag. Vito Abba, director of the Stengel Collection, recalls the significance of that moment, describing it as "a symbol of his lifelong determination to create art, no matter the circumstances." Upon his release, Stengel continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest , but after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he was forced to flee, eventually finding refuge in Munich, where he completed his artistic training in 1961. Karl Stengel, Untitled 34, ND. Acrilyc on canvas, 80 x 120 cm. Courtesy of the Stengel Collection. Throughout his career, Stengel's work was heavily influenced by a range of artistic forms, including music, poetry, and literature. As Abba explains, 'Stengel's art is richly layered with artistic references, which reflect his lifelong love of other creative forms such as music, theatre, literature and poetry." He often painted on books and music sheets, connecting his visual works to the sounds of composers like Béla Bartók and Beethoven , as well as poets like Federico García Lorca. This cross-pollination of artistic media was a hallmark of Stengel's work, adding an extra level of depth to his expressive style. One of the most exciting aspects of the centenary exhibition in Florence is the opportunity to explore Stengel's "diaries" – a collection of smaller works in which the artist experimented with new ideas and methods. These diaries, which I don white gloves to pore over, include intricate drawings on book pages and music sheets, offering a personal glimpse into his creative process. 'They're often a visual record of what he was reading or listening to at the time,' says Abba. These pieces are not just visual records but also a reflection of Stengel's broad cultural interests and his spontaneous responses to the world around him. Karl Stengel, Untitled I - Hamlet, ND. Oil pastel on paper, 100 x 120 cm. Courtesy of the Stengel Collection. Though a significant proportion are abstract in feel, many of Stengel's pieces are filled with recurring motifs such as heads, silhouettes, and doorways – symbols that suggest themes of exile and trauma, deeply tied to his own experiences. Abba notes that "his life and work is deeply rooted in the 20th century," with echoes of German Expressionism, Art Informel and Abstract Expressionism evident in his art. At the same time, his works remain universal, speaking to themes of human suffering, resilience, and the search for meaning in a – still – fractured world. Despite the emotional depth and sheer multitude and versatility of his works, Stengel never sought fame or recognition. As Abba tells Euronews Culture, 'freedom was more important than recognition." His commitment to artistic freedom often led him to resist the pressures of the art market , instead pursuing what he believed to be true to his vision. This focus on personal integrity rather than commercial success likely contributed to the fact that Stengel's work did not gain widespread recognition during his lifetime. It was only in the years following his death in 2017 that his art began to receive international attention. Karl Stengel, Dreiklang, 1990. Acrylic on canvas, 105 x 80.5 cm. Courtesy of the Stengel Collection. The exhibitions celebrating Stengel's centenary, organisers hope, will bring his work to new audiences. The upcoming exhibition at the Oxo Tower in London , scheduled for May, for instance, marks the first time his works will be shown to a British public. Abba believes that Stengel's story – of resilience, exile, and the enduring power of art – will resonate with contemporary audiences around the world. 'There is no doubt that many of the circumstances that affected Karl during his life, and the political climate of the 20th century, unfortunately have parallels in today's world,' Abba explains. 'I think it has brought a new kind of resonance and relevance to his work.' Karl Stengel. Courtesy of the Stengel Collection. In spite of its sobering themes, Stengel's work remains a powerful, encouraging testament to the transformative potential of art. 'This is a positive and hopeful narrative,' says Abba. 'It says something about the human impulse to create, and of the power of art to make meaning out of experiences.' Find out more about the Stengel Collection here .
