art & design
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The latest photo series from artists Christto Sanz and Andrew Weir makes a sly dig at Qatar’s desperation to make its mark in the world of sport
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As modernist prints from his collection go on show, the star tells how photography became his second greatest passion
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The British artist on east London’s Institute of Light cinema, Michael Clark’s Bowie tribute and Jarvis Cocker’s flair for radio
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In the 1960s, when Victorian art was deemed kitsch, some amateur collectors rescued paintings from shops and auctions. Those pieces are now worth a mint – but it was never about the money
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Belgian photographer Klaartje Lambrechts invites us into a world of beauty, violence and decay, full of stories that remain tantalisingly out of reach
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Created in 1515 Dürer’s woodcut shaped public perceptions of the creature for more than two centuries. It’s a pre-eminent example of art besting reality
news
in pictures
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Maganbhai Patel, known as Masterji, came to Coventry from India, and soon packed in his factory job for a career as a photographer. His images – now on show in his first exhibition – add up to a brilliantly evocative portrait of immigrant life
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talking points
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David Adjaye, Asif Kapadia, Amanda Levete and Simon Stephens have put forward wildly ambitious plans to light up 17 London bridges – from a hovering ghost river to Chinese firecrackers
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Dylan’s art marks him out as a staunch traditionalist – but his powers of observation make his canvases evocative celebrations of life itself
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reviews
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Switch House, Tate Modern, London
From the tears of Man Ray to the Paris of Robert Frank and the manspread of Salvador Dali, this astounding collection is a history of modernist photography -
A pink octopus, an albino camel, a bronze slug … a menagerie of curious creatures slyly evoke the mysteries of the animal kingdom
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She was the irresistible beauty from the brothels who captivated Europe. This show is a glorious reminder of her rise and fall
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Why there's no such thing as an iconic image
Stuart FranklinHis image of a man blocking tanks in Tiananmen Square captivated the world. But the Magnum photographer now believes the ‘iconic’ image is dead -
Event provides a platform for young photographers working to change the view of Africa as a continent of the desperate
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To mark this year’s UrbanPhotoFest theme of ‘photography, memory and archive’, our readers shared old pictures and memories of cities around the world
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Nude: art from the Tate collection at the Art Gallery of New South Wales is a new exhibition of more than 100 works from the Tate in London, exploring the relationship between art and nudity from the 1790s to the present day
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We’re now running a regular weekly photography assignment in the Observer New Review and wherever you are in the world, this week we’d like to see your pictures on the theme ‘eerie’
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John Vidal takes to the skies with US photographer J Henry Fair on an aerial toxic tour of south Wales
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Delays, acrimony and an €860m price tag can’t detract from the beauty of Herzog & de Meuron’s new concert hall. But will it win over the citizens who footed the bill?
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Architects from Amsterdam to Lagos are building on water to try to tackle the twin urban pressures of population density and climate change
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Poundbury, the Prince of Wales’s traditionalist village in Dorset, has long been mocked as a feudal Disneyland. But a growing and diverse community suggests it’s getting a lot of things right
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After delay over referendum result owners confirm 278-metre tower at 22 Bishopsgate will go ahead
the big picture
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This week the 20th Paris Photo fair opens for business, bringing together 153 galleries and some of the finest photographers of all time
you may have missed
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The splashy projects by Zaha and Foster are back in business – and in the new design microcity, the world’s greatest graduate show is showcasing inventions by the best brains from 30 different countries
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Wiggling ducts, jumbles of planks, coils of cable … William Heath Robinson’s peculiar genius has been given the perfect home
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It sparked Cornelia Parker’s career, shaped Yinka Shonibare’s politics and opened Stuart Maconie’s mind to all things unorthodox. Leading cultural voices on why children deserve to study art history
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Artemisia Gentileschi turned the horrors of her own life – repression, injustice, rape – into brutal biblical paintings that were also a war cry for oppressed women. Why has her extraordinary genius been overlooked?
video
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The street artist Stik set out to ask the denizens of Old Shoreditch how his new mural should reflect their gentrified neighbourhood
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Rembrandt’s perfect drawing, Caravaggio’s invention of Hollywood lighting, Monet capturing a moment in time. David Hockney and critic Martin Gayford discuss the craft behind the greatest art
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A 120-meter long model of the 17th century London skyline burns to ashes to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London
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