Currently installed at the MET, Reconfiguring an African Icon brings together in dynamic fashion two segments of the museum’s full collection – modern and Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The exhibition brings together contemporary masks and works that prove an engagement with African masks as inspiration in the contemporary art scene. In conjunction with Reconfiguring an African Icon, Now at the MET has produced a fascinating feature on the behind-the-scenes of the exhibition. Read it here.

View works from the exhibit, which runs to August 21, 2011,  after the jump.

John Waters, internationally recognized film and trouble maker, “invades” the Walker Art Center from June 11, 2011.

Pop culture provocateur John Waters raises a host of questions in Absentee Landlord, his devious and sometimes irreverent curatorial intervention in the exhibition Event Horizon. Imagining the galleries as rental apartments, Waters sets up relationships among nearly 80 “roommate” artworks that may be friendly or belligerent, unruly or reserved, supportive or indifferent. In exploring the tensions and connections among disparate works in the Walker’s wide-ranging collection, Waters imbues his new role as curator with his trademark blend of subversion and insight.

The exhibition will run through March 4, 2012.

More at Walker Art Center.

Upcoming at Royal/T, Culver City, FACEMAKER features “works from contemporary young artists including the title piece by Ben Jones, in addition to Dearraindrop, Shepard Fairey, Takashi Murakami, Barry McGee, Kenny Scharf, Eric Yahnker, Jane Moseley, Olaf Breuning, Carroll Dunham, KAWS, Ted Mineo, David Shrigley, and Gary Webb, and the show will explore interpretations of the most universal element of human perception: the face..”

The exhibition is curated by Kathy Grayson. Her intent in drawing a global crew of artists to exhibit is to explore the range of interpretations of a most universal element of human perception.

Above find work by Ben Jones (courtesy of The Hole, NYC). More of Jones’ is after the jump, along with work by Eric Yahnker (Courtesty of Ambach and Rice).

FACEMAKER opens on April 14, 2011.

Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232

“A sincere DIY documentary film on new art and the young artists behind it. Directed by Isaac Niemand, and produced by ROJO® in collaboration with BossaNovaFilms, it was all filmed on the heat of live action at ®Nova Contemporary Culture which happened in July and August 2010, in MIS-Museum of Image and Sound, and SESC Pompeia, in São Paulo, Brazil.”

Circle of Animals is the first public sculpture project by Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei. In twelve bronze heads, Weiwei reinterprets traditional Chinese zodiacs. The works will begin a world tour on May 2, 2011 – starting in New York after a debut at the Sao Paulo biennale. The sculptures will go up at Grand Army Plaza in Central Park and remain on view through July 15, 2011. (via DB).

More images of Weiwei’s zodiac sculptures after the jump.

Refashioned opens on May 21, 2011 and will feature 20 objects by a trio of artists who employ garments to explore historical narrative. Include are Lauren Gillette, Anne Lemanski, and Angelika Werth. Each is interested in the conventions of outward appearance and how these convey the details of life.

The exhibition will run at The Portland Museum of Art through July 21, 2011.

Full press release and assorted images after the jump.

Now on view in Berlin, at KW Institute for Contemporary Arts, the first comprehensive exhibition of Israeli artist Absalon. Absalon died in Paris at age 28, leaving behind a series of works that systematically engage in space.

Dazed Digital spoke with Susanne Pfeffer, curator of KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, whose words put into context Absalon’s work and who also explains the genesis of the exhibition. Read the interview here.

The Exhibition is on view through March 6, 2011.

A look at the installation after the jump.

On view through May 8, 2011 The Spectacular of Vernacular at Walker Art Center explores the roll of the vernacular in the work of two dozen contemporary artists. Included are the photographs of William Eggleston and the day-glo paintings of Lari Pittman.

Focusing on pieces made since the 1970s, the exhibition shows how the vernacular, in its very ubiquity—its integration into home life, social rituals, and sense of place—is an ongoing fascination for artists. With artworks that draw from such diverse sources as local architecture, amateur photographs, and handmade domestic items, it’s suggestive of a long, meandering road trip through the emblems and eyesores of everyday culture, replete with tourist destinations and outmoded hotels.

A full catalogue is available. Select highlights are viewed after the jump.

Asia’s newest contemporary art fair opens today in Singapore. Art Stage Singapore boasts 120 contemporary and modern art galleries, representing 28 nations. The presented work balances Asian and Western, and the event also provides space for personalities (for example David LaChapelle) to entertain with talks and presentations.

You may notice the ever present KAWS Companion in the above photography. Head to the leap for more looks inside Art Stage Singapore (images from Straits Times).

Art Stage Singapore runs to January 16, 2011. Location is the Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956.

Announced on December 17, 2010 -

The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today that Pierre Huyghe is the 2010 winner of the museum’s contemporary artist award. Huyghe was selected by an independent panel of jurors for his “pioneering vision and tireless ambition to make art that defies expectations and extends conventional practices into new territory.”