What's on at Europe's Museums

Brit Pop Art

Galleria Civica, Modena, Italy

Although Pop Art became internationally famous through its American form, it actually has its roots in 1950s England. The exhibition at the Galleria Civica brings together the work of 18 artists, including founders Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton and Peter Blake who paid bold tribute to wrestlers and Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe and Kim Novak. At the start of the sixties, the movement was joined by a group of students from London's Royal College of Art, including Allen Jones, Peter Phillips and David Hockney. The show, which brings together more than 60 paintings, sculptures and designs from the Royal College and the Louisiana Museum near Copenhagen, provides a glimpse of the images that defined the swinging London of the 1960s.

"Pop Art UK: British Pop Art 1956-1972" runs through July 4. The museum is open from Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10.30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Made in the USA

Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid

American art is on show in the Spanish capital, including pop art from across the Atlantic and abstract works by influential painters such as Willem de Kooning or Mark Rothko. 'An American Odyssey' is a thoroughly modern exhibition, with more than 100 pieces of work from 87 different artists, whose pictures and sculptures demonstrate the search for the contemporary in art. Jackson Pollock's spirited mazes of color hang next to neo-Dada collages and Richard Estes' neo-realistic street views.

"An American Odyssey" runs to May 30 and is open from Tuesday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kirchner Exclusive

Kupferstichkabinett - Museum of Prints and Drawings, Berlin

Berlin's Kupferstichkabinett has devoted an entire exhibition to one of the most significant members of the "Die Brücke" Expressionist movement, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The gallery is exhibiting a wide range of sketches, drawings, lithographs, postcards, sculptures and illustrations which show the artist's development ranging from early works from his stay in Dresden, his years in Berlin and his later works from Switzerland. The pièce de résistance is a previously unpublished sketchbook containing some 200 drawings and watercolors.

"Ernst Ludwig Kirchner" runs from April 30 through August 29. The museum is open from Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Collages and Reliefs: Schwitters meets Arp

Basel Art Museum

From May through to August, the Kunstmuseum Basel will be mounting a major exhibition dedicated to the work of Hans Arp and Kurt Schwitters. In a collection of some 140 collages, reliefs, sculptures and assemblages from private and museum collections, it offers the first opportunity to see these two influential modern artists in direct dialog. The exhibition includes both major works and works never before accessible to the public. Included in the show are Schwitters' collages and "Merz" assemblages from 1918-25, the wood reliefs produced in collaboration with Arp in 1923 as well as later paintings and sculptures. Arp's work includes Dada reliefs and geometrical collages, sculptures from the 1920s and plastic forms from the post-war period.

"Schwitters Arp" runs from May 1 through August 22 and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Photographic Pioneers

Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris

L'Institut de France is a treasure chest of the photographic image due to the fact that its collection reaches back to the very earliest days of the form. Since the invention of the daguerreotype on August 19, 1839, the institute has collected some 40,000 pictures. From shots of the Egyptian temple complex in Abu Simbel to examples of medical progress, the photos show how each of the pioneers, from Le Gray to the Bisson brothers, created their own personal style. Among the rarities is a negative by Hippolyte Bayardaus from 1839.

"Photography in the Collections of L'Institut de France" runs until 27 June and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Monday.