On the 60th anniversary of India’s constitution, artist Jitish Kallat discusses some of his country’s most political art shocased in an entralling exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

Discover Shanghai’s upcoming art district on Moganshan Road. A former industrial area, numerous local contemporary artists have transformed this district into a showroom for their creations.

Fashion week may be over, but the Triennale di Milano is proving there is still at least one good to reason to be in the city.

Currently hosting one of the most significant retrospectives of the international art scene, Roy Lichtenstein: Meditations on Art provides a comprehensive glimpse into the artistic career of this legendary Pop artist.

The works on display hail from museums and private collections alike and cut across multiple themes. Highlights include ‘Girl with Tear’ as well as lesser known works such as the ’Chinese Landscapes’ series,  and unveil the numerous influences—from Matisse and Mondrian to Dalí and Picasso—which shaped Lichtenstein’s creative energy.

Although visitors may enter expecting to see a greater number of works, they will undoubtedly appreciate the attentiveness with which the curator, Gianni Mercurio, highlights the importance of historical images to Lichtenstein’s art.

Whilst here, make sure a visit is paid to the gratuitous display organized in collaboration with Salvatore Ferragamo, Greta Garbo: Il mistero dello stile, which looks beyond the cinematic and explores the stylistic elements of Garbo’s persona.

‘Roy Lichtenstein: Meditations on Art’ until 30 May. ‘Greta Garbo: Il mistero dello stile’ until 4 April 2010.

La Triennale di Milano, Viale Alemagna 6, 20121, Milan, Italy.

Contemporary art lovers take note – Opera Gallery will be hosting Inner Space, the first London exhibition of artists Sas and Colin Christian.

The American-based partners have gained significant recognition worldwide, and their latest exhibition is set to take art lovers on an unforgettable journey into one’s subconscious.

Sas is a self-taught painter who couples tongue-in-cheek humour and Harajaku influences with strong imagery of “flirty, punk, Catholic and damaged, but not broken girls” to create vibrant oil portraits. Her husband, Colin, crafts extraordinary fiberglass sculptures inspired by old sci-fi films, pin-up girls and anime. Since 2004, Colin has used silicone to take cartoon realism to the next level, translating line drawing into stunning 3D reality.

From 3 Feb, 2010. Opera Gallery London, 134 New Bond Street, London W1S 2TF;  Tel : (+44) 0207 491 2999; Email: london@operagallery.com

798 Space is an avant-garde and trendy space in Beijing that hosts high-level cultural, artistic and commercial activities. This former German electronics factory is now filled with over 100 galleries as well as bookshops and cafés.

British avant-garde design house Fredrikson Stallard is set to inaugurate its latest display Gasoline Gardens at London’s David Gill Galleries.

The exhibit features fifteen porcelain vases created in collaboration with traditional Chinese porcelain makers and a UK airbrushing artist, effortlessly fusing two contrasting cultures to create astonishing contemporary design.

According to the designers, “We are creating a cultural collision. But in both cases the work is about status. In China, the vase was a symbol of power and wealth and in 20th century America, the car fulfilled the same role. But while the Chinese decorated their vases with dragons and flames, the American hot rod painters went for sexy girls and smoke.”

Each unique vase is layered with differing imagery as sinuous girls emerge from flames, smoke, and streaks of silver.

Gasoline Gardens, 20 November-22 December 2009. David Gill Galleries, 3 Loughborough Street, London SE11 5RB. T: (+44) 0207 793 1100.

Catch a glimpse of an art project that celebrates the 2oth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and parts of which will be sent across the world.

Hailed as the “leading female artist of the burgeoning Pop Surrealism movement” by NY Arts Magazine, Lori Earley is celebrated for her ethereal portraits of femme fatales. Reflecting a distorted reality, Earley’s subjects are characterised by elongated figures, exaggerated eyes, Victorianesque couture and textured backgrounds.

Mystery and melancholy combine with an intense colour palette in Earley’s latest exhibition at London’s Opera Gallery. Already highly sought after by art collectors, Laments and Lullabies is Earley’s most ambitious and evocative collection to date. An intuitive painter, Earley’s stylised portraits depict a rare artistic finesse, extraordinary eye for detail and raw human emotion.

Laments and Lullabies is exhibiting at Opera Gallery, 134 New Bond Street, London W1S2TF from 16 Oct – 11 Nov, 2009.

Last night, the Salvatore Ferragamo Old Bond Street boutique in London celebrated the start of the Frieze Art Fair 2009 with an exhibition by Blue and Joy.  Devised by Fabio La Fauci and Daniele Sigalot,  Blue and Joy creations are characterised by maverick characters, a selection of which are currently on display and for sale at the boutique.

As Kevin Robert, CEO of Saatch&Saatchi, remarks, “Blue and Joy are dreamers. They create smiles wherever their work lives. Ideas are what matters in today’s world, and Blue and Joy encompass that completely with their creativity shining through regardless of the medium. This show’s fearless.”

The exhibition culminates in a unique 2.30 by 1.5 metre bespoke button masterpiece made from 35,000 Salvatore Ferragamo vintage buttons. These buttons have been carefully selected from the maison’s Florentine factories and are made of a variety of materials, including mother-of-pearl, metal and bone.

Blue and Joy, Salvatore Ferragamo, 24 Old Bond Street, London, UK. Until 24 October 2009.

Sand animator, Kseniya Simonova, moves audiences to tears with her portrayal of life in Ukraine during USSR’s Great Patriotic War against the Third Reich.

Man has forever remained fascinated by all things unhuman. With the rapid development of technology, computers and robots have begun to resemble evermore man, raising questions as to our role within Nature. Will such sophisticated technological creatures cause us to form emotive bonds with computers? Will man one day fall in love with a female android?

These are the questions gallery owner, Thierry Ruby, will seek to raise and explore in his upcoming display, Venus Robotica. Hosted at the Gallery Cabinet des Curieux in Paris, Ruby has gathered he works of 15 differing artists from across the world in his mission to define what could be the robotico-feminine ideal of tomorrow.

‘Venus Robotica’, 15 Oct – 28 Nov 2009, Gallery Cabinet des Curieux, 12 Passage Verdeau 75009 Paris, France; T: +33 (0) 1 44830957.

October 2009 – Laments and Lullabies: Lori Earley

Hailed as the “leading female artist of the burgeoning Pop Surrealism movement” by NY Arts Magazine, Lori Earley is celebrated for her ethereal portraits of femme fatales. Reflecting a distorted reality, Earley’s subjects are characterised by elongated figures, exaggerated eyes, Victorianesque couture and textured backgrounds.

Mystery and melancholy combine with an intense colour palette in Earley’s latest exhibition at London’s Opera Gallery. Already highly sought after by art collectors, Laments and Lullabies is Earley’s most ambitious and evocative collection to date. An intuitive painter, Earley’s stylised portraits depict a rare artistic finesse, extraordinary eye for detail and raw human emotion.

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