We still have a few weeks until the new year, but the 2025 arts calendar is already filling up fast. A new object-based exhibition at MoMA explores the innovative nature of design, while George Condo’s latest pastel show at Hauser & Wirth focuses on the artist’s improvisational approach to drawing. There’s also Antonio Santín at Marc Straus, Barkley L. Hendricks at Jack Shainman Gallery, and Todd Gray at Lehmann Maupin New York—and you aren’t going to want to miss even one of them. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t fret. We’re keeping track of all the must-see art shows in the U.S. and abroad. So whether you want to visit a show that’s popping up in your neighborhood, or plan to take in some culture while traveling, think of this guide as your well-informed pal that will keep you up-to-date on the can’t-miss art shows throughout the year.
Milton Glaser. I ♥ NY concept sketch. 1976.
Courtesy of the NYS Dept. of Economic Development
Design as a catalyst for progress is the theme of the new object-focused show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, running from January 26 to October 18. Furniture, electronics, symbols, and more pieces from the 1930s until today (mostly from MoMA’s own collection) will be on display in Pirouette: Turning Points in Design to highlight both design’s innovative nature and how some objects have had to adapt to keep up with change. “Design can help us steer the course in positive directions by making us aware of, and helping us correct, negative behaviors,” says Paola Antonelli, senior curator for the Department of Architecture and Design at the museum. “It can also invent novel behaviors that embody new goals, sustainability, and justice among them.” Well-known inventions like Apple’s Macintosh computer, the Sony Walkman, and Spanx will highlight revolutionary ideas that became commonplace objects. Other creations, meanwhile, tell the story of a more niche influence. By looking at the background, context, and impact of each object, Pirouette will highlight their designers as the change-makers they have always been.
Todd Gray at Lehmann Maupin New York
Los Angeles and Akwidaa, Ghana-based artist Todd Gray is preparing for his solo exhibition at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery, to be displayed from January 23 to March 22. There, Gray’s photo sculptures will be on show, juxtaposing common settings of opulence and power in the Western world with historically Black spaces. For the first time, Gray will be using images from his own photography archive dating back to the early 2000s, some of which feature music icons including Al Green and Iggy Pop. Alongside those are images taken during Gray’s fellowship at the American Academy in Rome in 2023. Together, they create visual puzzles that explore the idea of “post-colonial” by placing the realities of the world today within the context of the past.
George Condo at Hauser & Wirth and Sprüth Magers
George Condo, The Redhead, 2024.
Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth; Photograph by Matt Grubb
George Condo’s new exhibit, titled Pastels, will be split across two galleries: Hauser & Wirth’s SoHo location and Sprüth Magers on the Upper East Side. This two-part show centered around the evasive nature of consciousness will offer an exclusive look at Condo’s creative process as well as highlight his improvised approach to art. Through abstract, fragmented work, Condo explores the human psyche, depicting various states of being with the impulsive use of gesso, application of color, and gestural strokes, all without the customary preparation. Pastels will be on display at Sprüth Magers from January 15 to March 1, and at Hauser & Wirth from January 29 to April 12.
Antonio Santín at Marc Straus
Antonio Santín, Momo, 2024.
Photograph by Martina Scala
Marc Straus’s recently opened Tribeca gallery will be home to the newest pieces from Madrid-based artist Antonio Santín in a show running from January 10 to March 1. Known for his trompe l’oeil paintings of ornate rugs, Santín’s work is referred to as “deceptive abstraction,” tricking and amazing the eye all at once. While previously, the artist would look to real rugs for inspiration, he now creates from his imagination, dreaming up the weaves and braids as he applies thousands of tiny strokes to the canvas with the help of a pneumatic compressor. Slowly, the “fabric” appears in front of him, and a Renaissance-era shading technique creates the folds in order to bring the art to life. The involved process means Santín can only produce one or two new pieces a year, making a show of his new work all the more exciting.
Barkley L. Hendricks at Jack Shainman Gallery
Barkley L. Hendricks, Untitled, 1971.
Courtesy of the Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Visual art, music, and the philosophical exploration of the cosmos and the future come together in Barkley L. Hendricks’s new show at Jack Shainman Gallery. Inspired by (and named after) the 1972 film by jazz composer and Afrofuturist Sun Ra, Space is the Place, the exhibition—much like the film—uses the hallmarks of Afrofuturism to explore modern Black identity. Hendricks’s works on paper employ cosmic and celestial imagery to elevate the human experience and reframe it beyond earthly struggles. Much of the work in the exhibition is from the ’70s, a politically tumultuous time in America, but also an era of exploration and advancement, especially in the world of science. These two themes of the decade converge in Hedricks’s craft, creating a dialogue that is then placed in the context of the universe, adding an otherworldly element to the otherwise grounded, unflinching story. Space is the Place will be on display at the Jack Shainman Gallery from January 9 to February 22.
