Anne Imhof, the German artist known for her large-scale, immersive performance pieces, returned to New York after nearly ten years with Doom: House of Hope, her largest show to date. Curated by Klaus Biesenbach and running for a week at The Park Avenue Armory, Doom brought together a cast of nearly sixty actors, dancers, and musicians into a three-hour marathon performance loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Here, however, the story was told in reverse—beginning with the doomed lovers’ suicide and culminating with their first encounter—set not in Verona but in an unplaceable dreamscape of American youth.
Julian Schnabel at Pace Gallery, all images by Hannah Zhang for Art Observed
The 21st edition of ZonaMACO, Latin America’s foremost art fair, opened Wednesday to a distinctly energized atmosphere, marking what many participants noted as the strongest opening day in recent years. The fair’s yearly evolution reflects Mexico City’s solidified position as a vital node in contemporary art’s global circulation, with significant sales and institutional presence marking the first day. Surrounding the fair, satellite events filled the city with activity, from exhibition openings to performances and parties.
The National Portrait Gallery has curated an exceptional collection of Francis Bacon’s works from the 1950s onwards, featuring sitters such as Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, and a roster of Bacon’s close friends. Francis Bacon: Human Presence showcases over 55 portraits, alongside letters and photographs sourced from private collections and Bacon’s Soho studio. The exhibition, on display from October 10th to January 19th 2025, offers a profound reflection of Bacon’s artistic ecosystem, charting the evolution of this enigmatic artist. Curated by Rosie Broadley, the exhibition presents a comprehensive exploration of Bacon’s intricate relationships and his distinctive approach to portraiture.
Anish Kapoor, untitled work from 2000 at Axel Vervoordt via Art Observed
There was a pensive, yet hopeful, mood to Frieze 2024 that mirrored Eva Langret’s vision for reflection, progression and inclusion and it showed itself the works of the artists it showcased, both inside and beyond the tent. Zanele Muholi’s, ‘Bambatha I’ (2023) sculptural piece showed the artist in the body of a serpentine creature, which turned out to be a metaphor for her battles with fibroids and gender dysphoria. Similarly Divine Southgate-Smith at Nicoletti, explored how human recollections encourage our understanding of time, space and empowerment. Joining her in this beyond the tent was Juliana Cerqueira Leite with her three sculptures, ‘Shovel’, ‘Button’ and ‘Sand’ (2024) which focused on universal, physical gestures.
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Armand Doré, Nude, Smoking and Reclining (c. 1860-65)
The French Exit group show brought to life by the curatorial eye of Mattias Vendelmans invites a dialogue between artists and their muses, considering just what happens when one skips the farewell in search of something more enticing after dark. How does the basic notion of privacy and vulnerability continue to pique our curiosity? Spanning works from oil paintings and sculptures to pen and paper, from Baudelairean Paris to the suburbs of 1930s Stockholm, an ongoing exploration of organic tenderness and bestiality in human nature unfolds.
“To approach this new chapter differently, instead of viewing it as a carte blanche, we embraced the challenge of considering the many existing peripheral elements while exploring the centre as a void,” begins Minsuk Cho: this year’s chosen designer of the annual Serpentine Pavilion. With a background in hospitality, commercial and visual art projects across South Korea, Mass Studio’s founder brings a layered understanding of human interaction with one’s environment to this year’s installation.
Art Basel, the premier international art fair, returned to its namesake city of Basel, Switzerland, from June 13 to June 16, 2024. Known as the cornerstone of the global art calendar, Art Basel in Basel once again brought together the best of the contemporary art world, featuring an unparalleled array of galleries, artworks, and immersive experiences.
