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Opening and Closing in July

A very eclectic mix of shows this month, and we're starting with an exhibition that's not art at all, but of vital interest to everyone. The Science Museum is investigating the Future of Food , looking at new advances in growing, making, cooking and eating it. On from July 24 to January 4, it's free, though you need to book. Oh, and you get to see this 3,500-year-old sourdough loaf..... At the Lowry in Salford, they're offering a double bill of Quentin Blake and Me & Modern Life: The LS Lowry Collection . The show about Blake, who's written or illustrated more than 500 books, looks aimed at a family audience, while the Lowry exhibition includes borrowed works, marking the Salford arts centre's 25th anniversary. On from July 19 to January 4, and entry is again free, though you need to book a timeslot.  Another anniversary this year is the 250th of the birth of Jane Austen; among the exhibitions around the country is one in Winchester, the city where she died ...
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Opening and Closing in April

It's one of art's most famous images, though probably not the version you're most familiar with. A black-and-white lithograph of The Scream will be on show at the British Museum in London from April 11 to July 21 as part of Edvard Munch: Love and Angst. The exhibition will focus on the Norwegian Expressionist's prints, with nearly 50 from the Munch Museum in Oslo and a total of 83 artworks on display. Two key sections of the show demonstrate his passion for women, and his fear of them, the museum says.
The next show at the National Gallery is of new work by Irish-born Sean Scully. Sea Star's abstract stripes and chequerboards with their thickly applied paint are inspired by JMW Turner's seascape The Evening Star. April 13 to August 11, and admission is free.

At the British Library, a new exhibition looks at Writing: Making Your Mark across 5,000 years and seven continents. More than 100 objects range from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs through the first printed edition of The Canterbury Tales to James Joyce's annotated copy of Ulysses. The show runs from April 26 to August 27.
It's the 50th anniversary this year of man's first Moon landing, and the Watts Gallery in Compton, near Guildford, is taking the opportunity to explore 19th-century depictions of the Moon. Moonscapes features pictures by the likes of William Holman Hunt, John Atkinson Grimshaw and GF Watts himself. In orbit over Surrey from April 2 to June 23.

And if you complete half an orbit round London on the M25 from Compton, you'll get to the Henry Moore Studios in Perry Green in Hertfordshire, which reopen on April 3 for the summer. This year's special exhibition is Henry Moore Drawings: The Art of Seeing, the biggest show of his drawings in more than four decades, complementing the sculptures scattered round the gardens of Moore's former home. On until October 27.

The Leopold Museum in Vienna is presenting a huge Oskar Kokoschka retrospective devoted to one of the most prominent artists of the 20th century. The show has already been on at the Kunsthaus in Zurich and features 250 works, some of which have rarely or never been exhibited. April 6 to July 8.

Last chance to see....

If you're in Oslo, the Munch Museum is showing The Swan Princess until April 21: a rare chance to view late 19th-century Russian paintings from Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery in the West alongside works by Munch and other Nordic artists. Some of it we liked a lot; and some we didn't.

Back in London, you have until April 22 to enjoy John Ruskin: The Power of Seeing at Two Temple Place. It's a really good (and free) show about the visionary Victorian art critic, and the venue is a stunning exhibit in its own right.

The current exhibition at London's Queen's Gallery, Russia, Royalty and Romanovs, closes on April 28. The show looks at the relationships between Britain and Russia and their royal families; an interesting history lesson, but the artworks aren't as enthralling as those the Royal Collection generally offers. 

Images

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1895, Private Collection, Norway. Photo: Thomas Widerberg
Schoolchild’s homework in Greek on a wax tablet, Egypt, 2nd century AD. (c) British Library
Oskar Kokoschka, Self-Portrait, One Hand Touching the Face, 1918-19. (c) Leopold Museum, Vienna

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