Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/730395
74 culturedmag.com Utopia, according to a few international designers, might include a '70s-styled Smart City, DayGlo urban wi-fi pods or even a fully functioning wish machine. These futuristic visions and more abound at Somerset House for the inaugural London Design Biennale, where 35 different countries convene under the theme Utopia by Design and ponder its possibilities. A theory-driven companion to the annual London Design Festival, this new biennale is less a showcase of housewares than an exploration of solutions—to sustainability, migration, urban life and a better future. September 7-27. LONDONDESIGNBIENNALE.COM Chelsea gallery Alexander and Bonin returns to its roots with a new 7,000-square-foot space in TriBeCa. Opening October 15 with three inaugural shows—Ree Morton in the main gallery upstairs, Willie Doherty in the video gallery and Mark Morrisroe downstairs—the space was designed by Bade Stageberg Cox, whose other art-centric projects include the Art Cave at the private residence of Norman and Norah Stone in Napa and the renovation of the National Academy Museum + School in New York City. alexanderandbonin.com Yasuhiro Suzuki's Blinking Leaves, 2003 Helen Frankenthaler was a titan amongst the postwar Abstract Expressionists. A pioneer credited with the move towards Color Field paintings, Frankenthaler is one of the few female artists who received recognition in her time. This fall, Gagosian Gallery Beverly Hills looks at the icon with a show titled "Line Into Color, Color Into Line: Helen Frankenthaler, Paintings, 1962–1987." The walk down memory lane begins September 16th. GAGOSIAN.COM Helen Frankenthaler's Blue Bellows, 1976 PHOTO BY ROB MCKEEVER, COURTESY GAGOSIAN GALLERY © 2016 HELEN FRANKENTHALER FOUNDATION, INC./ ARS; KATSUHIRO ICHIKAWA, SPIRAL/WACOAL ART CENTRE; JOERG LOHSE Ree Morton's For Kate, 1976