Pinch, punch start of the month: the best art and design-related shows to haul ass to in April

The Easter Bunny’s been and gone, the fools have fooled you, so now it’s time to crack on with more cultural pursuits. The help you along with your journey towards bettering yourself, getting inspiration or just having something interesting to say when people ask how your weekend was, we’ve drawn together a few top tips on the exhibitions and shows we think you should pop down to.

Conceptual Art in Britain 1964 – 1979
Tate Britain, London, 12 April – 29 August 2016

A new show looks back at the beginnings of conceptual art in Britain, a movement which changed the way we look and think about art today. Featured artists include Michael Craig-Martin, Susan Hiller, Richard Long, as well as others, the show explores game-changing works of art that ultimately concerned themselves with ideas rather than appearances. 



Paul Klee: The Irony at Work
Pompidou Centre, Paris, 6 April – 1 August 2016

The Pompidou Centre brings together nearly 250 of Paul Klee’s works for a major retrospective looking at irony and satire in his painting, sculptures and drawings.

Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones
Saatchi Gallery, London, 5 April – 4 September 2016

They just keep on going, and unlike most other bands that turn into a cabaret act of themselves, Mick, Keith, Ronnie and Charlie remain relevant after all these years. Spread over nine rooms this new exhibition includes work by the likes of Andy Warhol, Shepard Fairey and Alexander McQueen as well as artefacts and photography that document the long career of the seminal band.

Catherine Leutenegger: Kodak City
Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, 1 April – 5 June 2016

Swiss photographer Catherine Leutenegger charts the decline of the Kodak company and the city of Rochester where it was founded in 1888. The series documents the disappearance of a key company in America’s industrial heritage in an objective and entrancing project.

Flatpack Film Festival
Birmingham, 19-24 April 2016

Spanning various venues in Birmingham, Flatpack Film Festival comprises a week of screenings, performances, installations and happenings. Highlights include an Optical Sound programme with live scores and AV accompaniments to classic films.

Robert Crumb: Art & Beauty
David Zwirner London, April 14 – June 4, 2016

Focusing on the famed illustrator’s Art & Beauty series, this exhibition will also feature new works and demonstrates how Crumb’s aesthetic shaped that of cartoons and punk subcultures in the 20th Century. Expect disgust, eroticism and political disillusionment.

Undressed: A brief history of Underwear
V&A, 16 April 2016 – 12 March 2017

A show to get your knickers in a twist over, this exhibition will address the practicalities of underwear and its role in the wardrobe, as well as highlighting its sexual and sensual appeal. The show will also touch upon the role of designers and inventors in developing comfortable underwear.

Henri Cartier-Bresson: Paris
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, 23 April 2016 – 29 August 2016

This show at the University of East Anglia presents 83 images captured between 1929 and 1985 in Paris, delineating how Cartier-Bresson’s arresting images shaped 20th Century photography and defined the art of shooting the streets.

Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection
Whitney Museum of American Art, 27 April 2016 – 12 Feburary 2017

Drawn entirely from the Whitney’s collection, more than a hundred works will be on show to reveal how artists have reinvented portraiture during the last 60 years. Bringing iconic works together with lesser-known examples and recent acquisitions, the exhibition hopes to raise questions about who we are and how we perceive and commemorate others.