The Kunsthaus Zürich is staging a retrospective featuring large-format paintings and woodcuts by Franz Gertsch – one of Switzerland’s leading contemporary artists. The exhibition, entitled ‘Seasons’, brings together in the large exhibition gallery his works from the period between 1983 and 2011, culminating in the recently finished ‘Four Seasons Cycle’. Gertsch rose to international fame in the 1970s with his hyper-realist paintings, yet his outstanding reputation stems equally from his woodcuts, unique both technically and in format.

From June 17 to October 2, 2011, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) will present The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, the first international exhibition devoted to the celebrated French couturier. Gaultier launched his first prêt-à-porter collection in 1976 and founded his own couture house in 1997. Dubbed fashion's enfant terrible by the press from the time of his first runway shows in the 1970s, Jean Paul Gaultier is indisputably one of the most important fashion designers of recent decades.

The Museum Folkwang is dedicating a first European retrospective to the American photographer Joel Sternfeld (*1944, New York) from 16 July 2011, with around 130 works from over three decades. Entitled Joel Sternfeld – Color Photographs since 1970 eleven projects in total are being shown. One emphasis comes with 60 photographs from his never before published early work, which extends from 1969 to the late 1970s. Sternfeld’s gaze has always been directed at his home country of America, with its particularities, its people and its own landscapes.

Ukrainian-born Boris Mikhailov is one of the leading photographers from the former Soviet Union. For over 30 years, he has explored the position of the individual within the historical mechanisms of public ideology, touching on such subjects as Ukraine under Soviet rule, the living conditions in post-communist Eastern Europe, and the fallen ideals of the Soviet Union. Although deeply rooted in a historical context, Mikhailov’s work also incorporates profoundly engaging and personal narratives of humor, lust, vulnerability, aging, and death.

This display presents work by Beijing based artist Ai Weiwei, one of the most prominent artists working in China today. Featuring a selection of ceramic works, photographs and video this is a rare opportunity to view some of the most iconic works in the field of Chinese contemporary art.

This display explores photographs that make reference to themselves, other media and texts, and demonstrates how such Postmodernist approaches to photography have persisted for over 30 years. Spanning the mid-1970s to the present day, it shows work by some of the most influential artists associated with Postmodernism, such as Cindy Sherman and Richard Prince, alongside more recent work by Ann Hardy, David Shrigley, Clare Strand and others.

Bedford Lemere & Co. was the leading architectural photography company of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In business from the 1870s until the 1940s Bedford Lemere and his son Harry Bedford Lemere pioneered professional architectural photography and set the standards for others to follow.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Fagus Factory and its nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Bauhaus Archive is presenting the exhibition "Focusing the Modern: The Fagus Factory photographed by Albert Renger-Patzsch" from June 22 to August 29, 2011. Renger-Patzsch was a protagonist of New Objectivity. His photographs of the building complex designed in 1911 by Walter Gropius in collaboration with Adolf Meyer, which were produced for advertising purposes, have had a strong influence on its image and reception.

Made in Brunel showcases the brightest creations from Brunel University’s globally renowned School of Engineering and Design. This generation’s emerging talent present an outstanding array of technological, sustainable, humanistic and virtual innovation. This year Made in Brunel represents the journey that our students undertake and the story behind the creations on show in June at Bargehouse. To witness the start of some of these journeys see the Exhibitors page and find out what our projects are all about.

The Venice Biennale, which has its offices in Ca' Giustinian (San Marco, 1364/A), has for over a century been one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. Ever since its foundation in 1895, it has been in the avant-garde, promoting new artistic trends and organising international events in contemporary arts.