This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three major stories. First, a host of exhibitions and events celebrating the 100th anniversary of Swiss kinetic artist Jean Tinguely, including shows at the Tinguely Museum in Basel, Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg, Hauser & Wirth Somerset, and the Grand Palais in Paris. Second, the newly opened Fenix museum in Rotterdam, a museum dedicated to migration, featuring a dramatic stainless steel tornado staircase. Third, the episode's Work of the Week focuses on Ben Shahn's 1941 study 'Harvesting Wheat' for his mural 'The Meaning of Social Security,' discussed in conjunction with a major exhibition of Shahn's work at the Jewish Museum in New York.
The episode matters because it highlights significant centenary celebrations for a pioneering artist whose kinetic and auto-destructive work remains influential. The opening of Fenix museum addresses the timely and globally relevant theme of migration through art and architecture. Additionally, the discussion of Ben Shahn's mural study connects historical social policy with contemporary art, while the exhibition at the Jewish Museum underscores the enduring relevance of immigrant artists and social realism in American art.