Explore the art of a Ming dynasty prince
Bada Shanren was a Ming prince who managed to survive the military conquest of the dynasty by retreating to a monastery for about 30 years before emerging as a gifted artist. Shanren was a painter of shuimohua, a type of brush painting using black ink, and also a calligrapher. A new exhibition in the United States now looks at the different phases in his life, including his peak as an artist in the 1660s. It features 43 of the artist's works and will be the last exhibition of Chinese paintings at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art before it closes for renovations for more than a year. Enigmas: The Art of Bada Shanren runs until January 3. For more information visit www.si.edu.
Retrospective of Auguste Rodin in Canada
Auguste Rodin worked in relative obscurity until his Gates of Hell project — a monumental sculpture commissioned in 1880 for a museum (which was never built), which depicts figures from the works of Dante. Many of the Paris-born sculptor's most renowned pieces, such as The Thinker, started off as design figures for this composition. From 1900 onwards, the Paris-born sculptor achieved global acclaim. This exhibition in Canada features 300 of his works, including The Thinker, along with sketches, watercolours and prints. Metamorphoses: In Rodin's Studio runs at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts until October 18. For more information visit www.mbam.qc.ca.
When Jack the Dripper entered a dark phase
Jackson Pollock pioneered what is now known as "action painting" — dripping paint on canvasses that were laid on his studio floor. This exhibition in the UK examines the American painter's darker late career, when he abandoned the colourful works that made him famous for these so called "darker pours" — a series of black enamel and oil paintings. These show an emergence of human figures and faces, which was a significant departure in his style of work. Works from his peak in the late 1940s will be shown alongside these works. Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots runs at the Tate Liverpool from Tuesday until October 18. For more information visit www.tate.org.uk.
