Ring in the new year by viewing a fresh round of exhibitions at the Harvard Art Museums, from a display of works by Fluxus artists to an installation of Picasso’s prints and drawings. Opening on Saturday, January 20, Wolf Vostell: Dé-coll/age Is Your Life features the work of German artist Wolf Vostell, who created art that challenged human complacency toward war, genocide, and other catastrophic world events. Picasso: War, Combat, and Revolution, opening the same day, presents a selection of Picasso’s prints and drawings related to the themes surrounding his pivotal painting Guernica.

Be sure to catch the remaining days of the thought-provoking exhibition Objects of Addiction: Opium, Empire, and the Chinese Art Trade, on view until Sunday, January 14. On the horizon, keep an eye out on our site for details about two spring exhibitions: LaToya M. Hobbs: It’s Time and Future Minded: New Works in the Collection, both opening March 1.

Also, check the calendar for special closing dates later this month.

EXHIBITION
Before It’s Gone

Plan your visit this month to experience Objects of Addiction: Opium, Empire, and the Chinese Art Trade before it closes on January 14. Explore the entwined histories of the opium trade and the Chinese art market between the late 18th and early 20th centuries.

EXHIBITION
Dé-coll/age Is Your Life

Fluxus artist Wolf Vostell appropriated the term décollage (to unglue or to take off) as a comprehensive concept for his art, emphasizing destruction as a creative process. The exhibition Wolf Vostell: Dé-coll/age Is Your Life (January 20–May 5, 2024) presents Vostell’s works in multiple media, alongside works by his Fluxus collaborators and other peers.

INSTALLATION
Picasso: War, Combat, and Revolution

An upcoming installation of drawings and prints by Picasso opens on Saturday, January 20, focusing on the core themes of his notable painting Guernica. It touches also on the repressive Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, broader imagery of death, struggles of good and evil, political and artistic revolution, and issues of desire and capture.

AT NIGHT
January At Night

Join us on Thursday, January 25 for Harvard Art Museums at Night and enjoy a warm evening with friends. Mingle in the Calderwood Courtyard with food and drinks, wander through over 50 galleries of art, and take part in a tour!

WORKSHOP
Visible Mending

Queer mender, natural dyer, and herbalist Maggie Ruth Haaland will lead an introductory workshop on Saturday, January 27 on darning and patching knitwear. Registration is required and space is limited; registration will open on this form, beginning on Wednesday, January 17.

INDEX
Material Insights

In this latest Index article, Nicole Ledoux, associate conservator of objects and sculpture, reveals new insights about the materials used in a Chinese opium pipe featured in Objects of Addiction: Opium, Empire, and the Chinese Art Trade.