We know, we know, nobody likes January – what, with the pants that have mysteriously shrunk over the holidays, piles of work that have accumulated and the resolutions that already evaporated in thin air? But it's not all grim: We have the right dose of art shows that will sweeten up your January blues! 

Beijing's coolest not-for-profit art museum in the 798 Art District currently houses Nicolas Party’s largest solo show. In “Arches” the Swiss artist creates an immersive installation with the vibrant and intense color palette he is known for. Comprising of painting, pastel, sculpture, video, and murals specifically created on-site for the museum, the exhibition is a bustling hub of color. Offering a current take on traditional subjects, the work is deeply rooted in an art-historical dialogue and echoes of Matisse, Morandi, Picasso, Hockney seem plausible. The artworks are hovering between representation and abstraction, emphasizing on subtracting the essential quality of the subjects, be it still life or portraiture, and thus translating and transforming it through color and composition. However, no-one needs to have studied art history to enjoy Party’s work as it speaks its own unique visual language of mesmerizing qualities. You’d regret not going, so if you’re in Beijing make sure you check it out. 

M Woods, D-06, 798 Art Zone, No. 2 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100015

2. Annette Kelm at Kunsthalle Wien

What stands out in Annette Kelm’s solo show at Kunsthalle Wien is the idea of photography itself: what it conserves, what it depicts, what it omits and how it relates to time. Kelm addresses the constructed quality of photographic representation. Moving within traditional boundaries like still life, studio photography, architectural shots, documentary and portraiture each image is a probing exploration of what is possible within a photographic frame. Familiar objects are ripped from their usual context and thus become something unfamiliar. Playing with the idea of the symbolic, she challenges the viewer’s expectation of meaning. By taking images of artifacts that are already on display, she questions how things are displayed and what this represents – and furthermore how this representation is constructed. The photographs always work on different levels. Her portraits (often depicted as a series) are not just portraits: they reiterate the fact that photography only depicts a moment of many and is, by nature, exclusive. 

Kunsthalle Wien, Museumsquartier, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna

3. Raphaela Vogel at Berlinische Galerie

Located between sculpture, video installation and performance the show “Son of a Witch” by Raphaela Vogel – which is part of a festival to mark the 10th anniversary of Videoart at Midnight – is characterized by an exploration of body and space and links this to digital technologies and how they, in turn, emit power. Stringing together kitsch, high-tech like drones or action cameras, and humor, the artist constructs uncanny (some have called them apocalyptic) settings and deconstructs them. Mostly staring in the art films herself, the videos consist of filmed actions and become part of the sculptural environment within the exhibition, creating a hybrid form in which technology, the body and time necessitate an angular motion. By using drones, Vogel gives technology its own perspective in which humanity is observed. And this technology is often a male-defined domain. So whose view is it, when the drone hovers above our heads? Does it open up new worlds or do we see the same thing in the same way, just from a different angle? Exploring power dynamics and reflections on gender aspects (or the body in general) the show raises interesting questions on how technology affects (or interferes) with our identity.

Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstrasse 124–128, 10969 Berlin

4. Jesse Darling at Tate Britain, London

The archetypal story of Saint Jerome and the lion forms the base to Jesse Darling’s exhibition of sculptures, drawings and objects at Tate Britain. The story goes something like this: Saintly Jerome studies in the library and boom: a lion jumps in roaring the scariest of roars! All others flee in fear, but Jerome notices that the lion is wounded (or has a thorn in its paw which he removes, accounts vary) and patches him up nicely. The lion is instantly tamed and also his BFF for life. This ambiguous relationship of savior and saved, of vulnerability and tamed wildness is apparent in the whole installation. Deconstructing identity using a cocktail of theology and mythology, the artist focuses on topics of (dis-)ability, otherness and questions power and control, using everyday objects and materials. The sculptures in the installation have anthropomorphic qualities: a display cabinet shyly trying to sneak away on its bend legs while another one seems to collapse under its own weight, showing vulnerability as well as resistance and strength. While discussing topics of struggle, identity, gender, love, and companionship the show never fails to be humorous. Jesse Darling illustrates that there is liberation in vulnerability.

Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG

5. Soul of a Nation at Brooklyn Museum, New York

Passionate, exuberant, defiant, uplifting and current are words that come to mind when thinking about “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power.” This wildly dynamic exhibition originated at Tate in London and stopped over at Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas before landing in New York. Around 150 artworks by more than 60 artists take over two floors of the museum, posing questions of what it was like being a black artist during the Civil Rights movement and the birth of Black Power in the 60s, often addressing issues of social injustice and inequality. At the time artists across the US engaged in debates on what defined “Black Art” or if there was a necessity to define or even use such a term. Simultaneously, a fiery debate between figuration and abstraction broke loose. The works, just like the era, are inherently political yet this is not all that they are – and what this exhibition does really well, is showcasing the aesthetic innovation of era-defining works. Featuring iconic works by William T. Williams, Carolyn Lawrence, and Betye Saar amongst many others, this show is not to be missed!

Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238