Oct
3

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Matisse at War—Art in Nazi Occupied France: Book Review

Category: DailyArt Magazine

The post Matisse at War—Art in Nazi Occupied France: Book Review appeared first on DailyArt Magazine.

Oct
2

By

arquitectura-G embeds blue concrete core with spiraling staircase in portuguese residence

Category: Design Boom

Arquitectura-G embeds blue concrete core in Portuguese house

 

In Sintra, Portugal, Arquitectura-G completes House II, the latest intervention within a long-abandoned quinta de recreio, a rural estate historically devoted to agriculture and leisure. The project forms part of an ongoing sequence of works by the studio’s team, which seeks to conserve and rehabilitate the site’s buildings and reactivate the broader territory.

 

Strict regulations limited any change to the building’s external profile, facades, or roof, so Arquitectura-G responded by hollowing out the existing interior, retaining only the perimeter walls, and inserting a new structural body of blue-pigmented concrete. Rising from the basement cellar, this inserted core incorporates a helical staircase and extends upward to form the slabs of the upper levels. It culminates beneath a skylight on the first floor, where daylight streams into the central void and organizes the surrounding rooms.

all images by Maxime Delvaux, unless stated otherwise

 

 

historic wine cellar reinterpreted as a self-sufficient dwelling

 

Envisioned as a self-sufficient landscape of vineyards, orchards, forests, gardens, and livestock, the Barcelona-based team of Arquitectura-G transforms this estate under the principles of permaculture, an approach to design that works with natural ecosystems to create sustainable, regenerative, and resilient ways of living

 

The building itself, once a hybrid structure combining a wine cellar with living quarters for workers and servants, stood for decades as a fragmented volume of interlinked spaces stitched together by multiple staircases. The architects reinterpret this mixed typology into a single dwelling that preserves the memory of its dual past.

 

The blue concrete spine organizes the residence. On the ground floor, an open-plan arrangement of kitchen, dining, and living areas gathers around the staircase. Bedrooms occupy the upper level at both ends of the plan, while a secondary lounge occupies the skylit heart of the house, transforming what had been a utilitarian and subdivided structure into a unified domestic space in Portugal. 

Arquitectura-G completes House II in Portugal

the project forms part of an ongoing sequence of works by the studio’s team

this inserted core incorporates a helical staircase and extends upward to form the slabs of the upper levels

the staircase culminates beneath a skylight on the first floor

daylight streams into the central void and organizes the surrounding rooms

Arquitectura-G’s response to the strict regulations

the team hollows out the existing interior

the blue concrete spine organizes the residence

bedrooms occupy the upper level at both ends of the plan

transforming what had been a utilitarian and subdivided structure

bathroom marble mirrors the core color of the home in soft blue hues

baby blue tones are combined with butter yellow finishes

the bathroom becomes a canvas of blue

 

 

project info:

 

name: House II

architect: Arquitectura-G | @arquitecturag

location: Sintra, Portugal

 

lead designers: Jonathan Arnabat, Jordi Ayala-Bril, Aitor Fuentes, Igor Urdampilleta

project team: João Salsa

structural engineering: Gepectrofa

building services engineering: GPIC / Campo d’Agua / GET / Amplitude Acoustics 

project management: Gonçalo Bonniz / gbarquitectos

photographer: Maxime Delvaux | @maxdelv

process photographer: Francisco Ascensão | @francisco.ascensao

The post arquitectura-G embeds blue concrete core with spiraling staircase in portuguese residence appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Oct
2

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DEVIATION: Artist Sven Sauer’s Incredible Kinetic Light Installation Brings a Message of Hope

Category: Core77

Visual Atelier 8 is an online platform that seeks to expose the general public to talented creatives. They presented this dazzling DEVIATION installation, created by Berlin-based artist Sven Sauer:

The piece is a direct comment on the divided state of today’s world.

“The installation stretches across the room like a carpet of glass fragments, woven from shards collected worldwide. Broken glass often feels ominous: shattered windows before earthquakes, shards from riots, or jagged borders meant to keep people out. Today, it can seem as though shards are everywhere, and humanity doesn’t always appear in the best light.”

“Based on texts by historian @RutgerBregman, DEVIATION reveals another truth: in times of crisis, people tend to move closer together, and acts of kindness grow. Negativity may be louder, but history shows cooperation prevails. From certain angles, the processed shards catch light and divide it a hundredfold, turning fragments of destruction into reflections of hope.”

Above is a condensed version of Sauer’s statement. The full copy is below, as well as credit to all of the parties that helped bring this installation to light, no pun intended.

Oct
2

By

Loop chair concept brings together minimalism and comfort

Category: YankoDesign

If you’re searching for a concept that blends artful design with functional vision, the LOOP Chair by Dntigrco Graphics is sure to catch your eye. Presented as a design concept on Behance, this striking chair explores the possibilities of seating for the modern home or office, combining minimalist style with ergonomic thinking.

The LOOP Chair concept impresses with its bold, angular frame that feels both dynamic and airy. The designer set out to create a continuous, flowing form, imagining a seat that almost “loops” around the sitter. This unique vision means the chair isn’t just a functional object, but a sculptural experience. The proposed frame, envisioned in walnut wood veneer with options for ash, oak, or black-stained finishes, serves as both a structural support and an artistic centerpiece. Its geometry is the result of careful sketching and creative exploration, balancing soft curves for comfort with sharp angles for a modern, architectural feel.

Designer Name: Dntigrco Graphics

The LOOP Chair concept stands out for its ability to suggest motion even while stationary. Its sculptural frame creates an intriguing play of light and shadow, making it a visual highlight in any room. Whether imagined in a contemporary office, a stylish lounge, or a refined living space, the chair’s form is designed to spark conversation and admiration.

Comfort is central to the chair’s conceptual design. The seat and backrest are imagined with high-density foam, wrapped in either premium fabric or leather upholstery available in a range of colors. This approach ensures that the concept delivers not only visual appeal but also a vision for supportive comfort from every angle. The upholstery options allow for further customization, so the chair could be tailored to complement a variety of interior styles.

Every aspect of the LOOP Chair has been thoughtfully detailed in its concept stage. The base is pictured as CNC-milled wood with a matte finish for durability and elegance, while anti-slip rubber pads are integrated into the feet for floor protection and stability. These features ensure that, if realized, the LOOP Chair would be as practical as it is beautiful.

Ultimately, the LOOP Chair is more than just an idea for furniture. It’s a harmonious exploration of minimalist design, ergonomic comfort, and customizable elegance. For design enthusiasts, collectors, or anyone interested in the future of interior design, it offers a fresh perspective on what seating can be.

The post Loop chair concept brings together minimalism and comfort first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
2

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Roll Walker brings dignified ageing with assistive device

Category: YankoDesign

Roll Walker by UNI-UM is turning heads in the world of assistive devices with a fresh take on what it means to age safely and stylishly at home. In South Korea, where more than 74 percent of injuries among older adults happen indoors, falls remain a serious concern. Yet, many seniors are reluctant to use traditional walking aids, often seeing them as a symbol of frailty or dependence. The Roll Walker project sets out to change this narrative, offering seniors a product that blends seamlessly into their home and lifestyle.

Unlike conventional walkers, Roll Walker isn’t just a piece of medical equipment. Its thoughtful design allows it to serve as a chair, table, or cart, making it an everyday companion rather than an awkward necessity. UNI-UM took inspiration from the warm, inviting wooden materials commonly found in Korean homes. The result is a simple, elegant design that feels more like a piece of furniture than a clinical device. This approach helps users feel at ease, letting them maintain their dignity and independence as they go about their daily routines.

Designer Name: UNI-UM

The social impact of Roll Walker goes far beyond its looks. By presenting the walker as a lifestyle item, UNI-UM is helping to reshape how people of all ages view ageing and mobility aids. Instead of being seen as a sign of weakness, the walker becomes a tool for living well and staying active. This subtle but important shift in perception can help reduce the stigma around using assistive devices, making it easier for seniors to embrace products that keep them safe.

The development of Roll Walker was a collaborative effort from the very beginning. The design team conducted field interviews, organized pilot programs in local welfare centers, and sought advice from experts in elder care. This feedback informed every aspect of the product. Now, with all the groundwork completed, UNI-UM is ready to bring Roll Walker to a wider market through CAD-based mass production.

One of the most exciting features of Roll Walker is its modularity. The basic design can be adapted to different cultures and living environments, making it a scalable solution for ageing populations around the world. As societies everywhere grapple with the challenges of supporting older adults, innovations like Roll Walker offer a path forward that prioritizes safety, dignity, and social inclusion.

Roll Walker is more than just a mobility aid. It’s a statement about the value of dignified ageing and the role that good design can play in creating a more inclusive future. By changing the way we think about assistive devices, UNI-UM’s Roll Walker is helping to build a society where everyone, regardless of age, can feel confident and at home.

The post Roll Walker brings dignified ageing with assistive device first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
2

By

Design Postcard: Paris, Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2G

Category: Core77

Let’s be honest: when travelling, nobody is looking forward to the time at the gate, waiting to board. Airports also rarely tell a story unique to the place they’re at, often being purely pragmatic, frequently pretty soulless spaces, sometimes not even offering a decent place to sit for everyone.

We were expecting just that for a 4-hour layover in Paris on a trip from South America to Germany, and even considered rushing into Paris or paying for a lounge. A delay and Charles de Gaulle’s vast and confusing layout had us head to the gate at Terminal 2G straight away, and we were pleasantly surprised with possibly one of the most thoughtfully designed airport spaces we’ve ever encountered.

The airport

Charles de Gaulle itself is a bit of a user experience nightmare: signage isn’t exactly clear, and you sometimes have to take long bus rides from one sub-terminal to the next. However, upon entering the – from the outside rather drab – Terminal 2G, you find yourself in a delightful ode to Parisian design history and flair.

A grand entrance with terazzo floors. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Frescos by Studio CHZON. Photo by Anki Delfmann

The escalator and stairs to the gates are the first sign of a waiting area that differs from the norm: custom floors, handrails, frescos and lamps lead the traveler upstairs into a space celebrating quintessentially French 20th century furniture and decorative arts.

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Recharging

Spaces to recharge. Photo by Anki Delfmann

The 1,300 sqm area designed by studio CHZON combines solutions for every traveler’s most urgent functional needs (sitting, lounging or lying down comfortably, charging your devices) with the emotional benefits of feeling like you’re still in Paris, enjoying carefully designed spaces inspired by the 1960s and 1970s, and thus extending your experience of place up until you board your flight.

Celebrating Paris

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

The centerpiece of the space is a monumental white sculpture by Jean-Marie and Marthe Simonnet made of glass-resin composites, resembling a bench under trees. An arch structure of the same material is a nod to the monuments of Paris, and a fountain surrounded by the unmistakable green metal chairs of the Jardin du Luxembourg completes the landmarks in the waiting area.

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Waiting

Surrounding these, lingerers can choose from various arrangements of sofas and chairs, covered in leather or bespoke textile featuring an airplane pattern, and reclining seats – designed by the Italian architect and furniture designer Osvaldo Borsani.

Seating by Osvaldo Borsani. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Seating by Osvaldo Borsani. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Seating by Osvaldo Borsani. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Playing

Solid wood tables add an element of play with inlay work that creates boards for chess, checkers, and other popular games to pass the waiting time.

Photo by Anki Delfmann

Custom-designed lamps and recycling bins made from airplane trolleys complete this experience, which unexpectedly turns often dead space and time into something unique, interesting and entertaining.

Photo by Anki Delfmann

Photo by Anki Delfmann

See a video of the experience

Watch the Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2G Design Postcard to get a more immersive feeling of the space.

Oct
2

By

Fidlock’s Nifty Variety of Magnetic Buckles

Category: Core77

In the mid-2000s, Joachim Fiedler was a professional cellist in Germany. A tinkerer by nature, he found himself frustrated by the bow holders inside the lid of a cello case: They were fiddly and required two hands to open, whereas Fiedler wanted to do it one-handed. He thus prototyped and refined a magnetic bow holder. Pressing against a latch released the bow.

Despite having played with the Berlin Philharmonic and having toured the world with different orchestras, Fiedler became obsessed with magnetic connections rather than music. In 2007, he hung up the bow and started Fidlock, a company that makes magnetic buckles for bags, helmets, tents, clothes and more.

For some examples of the actions, this SNAP pops open at the pull of a strap:

This 3-point JUNIOR is for baby carriages:

This magnetic ratcheting WINCH is for bags and outdoor gear:

This COINTRAP is for bike helmets, and is designed to be easy to use in cold weather, when one is wearing gloves:

You can see more of Fidlock’s offerings here.

Oct
2

By

The Nomad Collection: Sleek Power Strips with Plug-In Lamps

Category: Core77

These Nomad Block power strips were designed by Swedish design studio Form Us With Love.

No fragile plastic here: The shells are cast out of 100% recycled aluminum.

They can also be pared with Nomad Lamps, which plug directly into the sockets.

There’s also a Nomad Strip variant, designed to be flush-mounted.

The Nomad Collection was designed in collaboration with Forming Function, a Swedish manufacturer of designey technical accessories.

“Electricity and charging are among the most used and indispensable products in our daily lives, both at home and at work,” the company writes. “Yet, they have long been the most overlooked when it comes to design, sustainability, and holistic system solutions. At Forming Function, we believe there’s no reason to hide electricity and charging. Instead, we aim to make them a beautiful, integrated part of interior design.”

Oct
2

By

This Sleep Lamp Tackles Digital Sleep Disruption

Category: YankoDesign

Thomas Heatherwick has turned his attention from grand architectural gestures to the intimate space of the bedroom, collaborating with British lighting brand Tala on Wake, a sleep light designed to combat our screen-obsessed bedtime habits. The partnership between Heatherwick Studio and Tala represents a three-year journey into the intersection of design, wellness, and technology. The result is a bedside lamp that functions as both functional lighting and a circadian sleep aid, crafted from hand-glazed ceramic and pressed glass with an undulating form that mimics natural sunrise and sunset patterns.

“Sleep is a fragile thing – we need to treat it as a precious commodity,” Heatherwick explains, speaking at Tala’s Rivington Street store during the London Design Festival launch. His concern extends beyond the obvious screen time issues. “Even when you don’t pick them up, if they’re in sight, your brain is still spending time on them.” Stuart Wood from Heatherwick Studio emphasizes the universal nature of the problem: “We all know what it feels like to have a bad night’s sleep.” This shared experience drove the team’s commitment to creating a solution that prioritizes both form and function.

Designer: Thomas Heatherwick for Tala

The Wake light emerges from this philosophy as a deliberate counterpoint to the sterile aesthetic of most smart home devices. Heatherwick’s design approach focused on creating something that belonged naturally in domestic spaces. “It was about trying to make something that felt more like it belonged in your home, rather than something that looks like a micro spaceship that’s landed ready to go in a landfill site tomorrow.” Wake’s ceramic base and pressed glass shade create a warm, sun-like glow that transforms throughout the day, with a tactile dial that maintains physical interaction in an increasingly digital bedroom environment.

The lamp’s organic form houses sophisticated technology. Programmable light and sound sequences gradually adjust throughout the evening and morning, supporting natural sleep and wake patterns without harsh blue light emissions. Users control the device through an app or smart home integration, allowing the light to turn on and off gradually to reinforce circadian rhythms. The technical sophistication represents Tala’s most ambitious product to date, requiring extensive development to balance aesthetic appeal with functional performance.

For Tala, founded in 2015 by Josh Ward, Max Wood, and William Symington, Wake represents an evolution beyond individual bulbs toward comprehensive lighting solutions. The brand built its reputation championing the emotional quality of light, making the sleep wellness market a natural progression. The brief to Heatherwick Studio was deceptively straightforward: create something tactile and beautiful that helps people reclaim bedtime from their phones. The collaboration targets the rapidly expanding $600 billion global sleep market, where wellness technology increasingly intersects with thoughtful design.

The launch coincided with Tala’s immersive “Sunset Room” installation at London Design Festival, where visitors experienced the connection between light and health in a controlled environment. The presentation reinforced the product’s positioning as wellness technology disguised as a beautiful design object. The collaboration signals broader design industry recognition that wellness technology requires more thoughtful aesthetic consideration. As our relationships with digital devices become increasingly complex, products like Wake suggest a path forward where technology serves human needs without sacrificing the sensory richness of physical objects.

The post This Sleep Lamp Tackles Digital Sleep Disruption first appeared on Yanko Design.

Oct
2

By

designboom radar: exhibitions to see around the world this october

Category: Design Boom

october exhibitions from DESIGNBOOM RADAR

 

October brings a new set of exhibitions that open conversations across art, design, and architecture, with museums and galleries presenting projects that look back through history and forward into the future. Among them are Virgil Abloh: The Codes at the Grand Palais in Paris, and Dream Rooms at M+ in Hong Kong. The aptly-timed show, Ghosts: On the Trail of the Supernatural opens in Switzerland, and the Museum of Wisconsin Art debuts a survey of Frank Lloyd Wright’s furniture practice. Meanwhile in Kyoto, teamLab unveils its first permanent Biovortex installation.

 

Some of the exhibitions highlighted in earlier radars and our dedicated event guide remain on view, giving designboom readers more time to encounter them in their travels. On the whole, the broad list of exhibitions shows the range of themes taken by both designers and galleries across the world. 

 

 

virgil Abloh: The Codes

 

The Virgil Abloh Archive, in partnership with Nike, announces Virgil Abloh: The Codes, the first major European exhibition dedicated to the late designer’s work. Opening on September 30, 2025 — Abloh’s birthday — and running through October 9th at the Grand Palais in Paris, the show draws from the 20,000-object Virgil Abloh Archive to chart nearly two decades of his multidisciplinary practice.

 

Curated by Chloe Sultan and Mahfuz Sultan, the exhibition expands on the 2022 edition of The Codes, presenting hundreds of objects, prototypes, sketches, and images alongside pieces from Abloh’s personal collections and library. The installation traces the ‘codes’ that defined his approach to apparel, footwear, architecture, music, and beyond, while spotlighting the collaborations and collective spirit that shaped his influential career.

 

name: The Codes
artist: Virgil Abloh
gallery: Grand Palais
location: Paris, France
dates: September 30th – October 9th, 2025

image courtesy of Grand Palais

 

 

Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design

 

Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design highlights the architect’s overlooked contributions to furniture, presenting forty chairs alongside drawings and photographs that chart his evolution from Prairie School to Taliesin West. The show emphasizes how Wright used his homes and studios as laboratories, experimenting with form, materials, and the role of furniture in 20th century domestic life.

 

In addition to historic pieces, the show debuts newly fabricated works based on Wright’s unrealized designs, created from archival sources and exhibited for the first time. Produced in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Taliesin Institute, these reconstructions are framed as explorations of Wright’s process and philosophy, offering a deeper view of his design legacy.

 

name: Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design
designer: Frank Lloyd Wright
gallery: Museum of Wisconsin Art
location: Wisconsin, USA
dates: October 4th, 2025 – January 5th, 2026

image courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ

 

 

teamlab: Biovortex

 

teamLab will debut Biovortex Kyoto on October 7th, 2025, establishing its first permanent museum in the city and the collective’s largest venue in Japan. Set just east of Kyoto Station, the 10,000-square-meter space is designed as a fully immersive environment where the art responds to the presence of each visitor.

 

More than fifty works will unfold across multiple floors, combining new commissions with well-known installations such as the Forest of Resonating Lamps and the soap bubble-formed Massless Amorphous Sculpture. Each work reacts to movement and sound to generate an experience that is never the same twice. The exhibition emphasizes the idea that the artwork exists in the interaction between people and space, and with shifting light, color, and form to shape a fluid landscape.

 

name: teamLab: Biovortex
artist: teamLab
location: Kyoto, Japan
dates: October 7th, 2025 (permanent)

image © teamLab

 

 

leandro erlich

 

Amos Rex in Helsinki presents the first Finnish exhibition of Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich, known for immersive works that subvert everyday experience. Born in Buenos Aires in 1973, Erlich has built an international reputation for creating large-scale installations that invite audiences to question the reliability of perception and the stability of familiar environments.

 

The exhibition includes signature pieces that transform ordinary settings into disorienting encounters: a climbable Helsinki facade, a classroom which seems to be abandoned to ghosts, and an elevator lobby without a destination. Erlich overturns physical logic and visual certainty, and stages situations that are playful and unsettling.

 

name: Leandro Erlich
artist: Leandro Erlich
gallery: Amos Rex
location: Helsinki, Finland
dates: October 8th, 2025 – April 6th, 2026

Leandro Erlich, Bâtiment, 2004, courtesy of Leandro Erlich Studio 2004, France, Nuit Blanche, Paris

 

 

Ronan Bouroullec – Inchiostri

 

Ronan Bouroullec — Inchiostri presents a new series of Murano glass vases created in collaboration with Maestro Simone Cenedese. Each piece is composed of four distinct elements — blocks of cast glass, a blown glass tube, and a shallow dish — arranged in shifting combinations of size, thickness, height, and color. From a near-infinite range of possibilities, Bouroullec has selected twenty compositions that continue his long-standing interest in modularity, balance, and the reversibility of assemblage.

 

The works sit between sculpture and vessel, their layered transparencies and unpolished surfaces emphasizing color, light, and depth. With Inchiostri, Bouroullec extends a career-long exploration of form and function, highlighting how simple elements can be joined, reconfigured, and reimagined to probe questions of utility, fragility, and transformation.

 

name: Ronan Bouroullec — Inchiostri
artist: Ronan Bouroullec
gallery: Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art Gallery
location: Venice, Italy
dates: September 13th – October 30th, 2025

Ronan Bouroullec x Giorgio mastinu, image © Giorgio Mastinu

 

 

Robert Rauschenberg Guggenheim

 

This exhibition marks the centenary of Robert Rauschenberg with a focused presentation of key works from the Guggenheim’s collection, alongside significant loans from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Together, they trace the artist’s experimental approach to materials and media, underscoring his role as a pivotal figure in shaping the trajectory of contemporary art. The selection situates Rauschenberg’s work within a broader global tribute, celebrating a practice defined by risk, invention, and cross-disciplinary exchange.

 

At the center of the exhibition is Barge (1962–63), a 32-foot-long silkscreen painting executed largely in a single day. The largest in a series of roughly 80 works created between 1962 and 1964, Barge exemplifies Rauschenberg’s embrace of scale, immediacy, and image-based experimentation. The work returns to New York for the first time in nearly twenty-five years.

 

name: Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can’t Be Stopped
artist: Robert Rauschenberg
gallery: Guggenheim New York
location: New York, USA
dates: October 10th, 2025 – May 3rd, 2026

Robert Rauschenberg, Yellow Body (1968) © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation/licensed by VAGA, New York, NY/ARS, New York

 

 

Diagrams by AMO/OMA

 

Diagrams: An Exhibition by AMO/OMA at the Fondazione Prada in Venice brings together more than 300 works, ranging from medieval manuscripts to contemporary digital media. Installed across the ground and first floors of the Palazzo Ca’ Corner della Regina, the exhibition assembles documents, publications, images, and videos that trace the diagram as both a historical tool and a contemporary mode of communication.

 

Organized thematically, the display situates diagrams within pressing global contexts while also highlighting their long and varied lineage. By presenting material that spans centuries and cultures, the show demonstrates the capacity of the diagram to bridge disciplines and eras, showing how visual systems continue to shape design and collective understanding.

 

name: Diagrams: An Exhibition by AMO/OMA
architect: AMO/OMA
gallery: Fondazione Prada
location: Venice, Italy
dates: until November 24th, 2025

image by Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of Fondazione Prada

 

Precious Okoyomon – it’s important to have ur fangs out at the end of the world

 

Precious Okoyomon creates large-scale sculptural environments that confront the ways racial histories are inscribed in the natural world. Working with organic materials, their practice foregrounds cycles of rot, decay, and rebirth as both subject and process, challenging cultural denials of decomposition while emphasizing nature’s resilience in the face of human-made crises. The installations serve as a reminder of violence and a celebration of survival, urging audiences to recognize the stakes of neglecting ecological and social entanglements.

 

Born in London in 1993 and based in Brooklyn, Okoyomon approaches their work as an ongoing experiment in ‘unthinking’ invisibility, using living matter to generate forms that adapt and resist permanence. Through this perspective, their practice asks viewers to listen closely to the natural world while considering the consequences of failing to act.

 

name: Precious Okoyomon – it’s important to have ur fangs out at the end of the world
artist: Precious Okoyomon
gallery: Mendes Wood DM
location: Paris, France
dates: October 20th, 2025 – December 6th, 2025

image courtesy of Mendes Wood DM

 

 

Lucas Samaras – Master of the Uncanny

 

Pace Gallery and The Intermission present a survey of Lucas Samaras in Piraeus, marking the artist’s first solo exhibition in Greece in two decades. Bringing together works from the 1960s through the 2010s, the exhibition highlights the breadth of Samaras’s practice, spanning sculpture, painting, photography, digital media, and wearable art, while also celebrating his nearly sixty-year relationship with Pace, which has represented him exclusively since 1965.

 

Born in Kastoria in 1936 and immigrating to the United States in 1948, Samaras became a central figure in New York’s postwar avant-garde, shaped by his early involvement in the Happenings. The exhibition features Auto Polaroids, Photo-Transformations, Mosaic Paintings, Reconstructions, pastels, and jewelry, alongside sculptures from the Box series and other transformed objects. Together, these works illustrate his lifelong exploration of selfhood and transformation.

 

name: Lucas Samaras – Master of the Uncanny
artist: Lucas Samaras
gallery: Pace Gallery and The Intermission
location: Piraeus, Greece
dates: until December 20th, 2025

image courtesy of Pace Gallery

 

 

dream rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s–Now

 

Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s–Now traces the overlooked history of immersive environments through the work of pioneering women artists across multiple generations and continents. Featuring full-scale reconstructions developed with experts and the artists themselves, the exhibition restores works that were often destroyed after their initial presentation, foregrounding women’s contributions to a form central to contemporary art.

 

Originally conceived by Haus der Kunst München in 2023, the exhibition arrives at M+ Hong Kong with an expanded focus that includes environments by Asian women artists. By revisiting these landmark works and situating them within a global perspective, Dream Rooms both recovers a vital history and demonstrates how immersive practice continues to shape the future of visual art.

 

name: Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s–Now
museum: M+
location: M+ Hong Kong
dates: until January 18th, 2026

Aleksandra Kasuba: Spectral Passage, 1975, image by Agostino Osio, courtesy of M+

 

 

Yayoi Kusama

 

Fondation Beyeler is set to present the first major retrospective of Yayoi Kusama in Switzerland, tracing more than seventy years of her practice. Organized in collaboration with Kusama’s studio, the exhibition spans early drawings and lesser-known works through to her best-known installations and mirror rooms. New productions will stand alongside works that have never before been displayed in Europe, and one of her celebrated Infinity Mirror Rooms will feature in the presentation.

 

The show will emphasize the multiplicity of her media — painting, sculpture, installation, collage, fashion, performance, and literature — and the persistence of her signature visual vocabulary, including polka dots, repetition, and infinite environments.

 

Following its run in Switzerland, the show will continue on to Museum Ludwig in Cologne and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

 

name: Yayoi Kusama
artist: Yayoi Kusama
gallery: Beyeler Foundation
location: Riehen, Switzerland
dates: October 12th, 2025 – January 25th, 2026

image courtesy of Fondation Beyeler

 

 

Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well

 

Pirelli HangarBicocca presents This Will Not End Well, the first exhibition devoted to Nan Goldin’s work as a filmmaker, uniting her most extensive body of slideshows ever shown together with new works and a specially commissioned sound installation. Installed in a series of architecturally distinct structures designed by Hala Wardé, the exhibition unfolds as a symbolic village, each building conceived in dialogue with a specific piece. While the title carries a note of foreboding, it also captures Goldin’s characteristic blend of candor, humor, and resilience, affirming the life force that animates her art.

 

The retrospective offers an immersive journey through Goldin’s four decades of practice, from intimate portraits of friends and communities to explorations of trauma and ecstasy. Her use of the slideshow format remains at the heart of her work and combines photography, film, and performance. In Milan, these installations come together on an unprecedented scale.

 

name: Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well
artist: Nan Goldin
gallery: Pirelli HangarBicocca
location: Milan, Italy
dates: October 11th, 2025 – February 15th, 2026

Nan Goldin, The Other Side (1994-2019). image courtesy of Pirelli HangarBicocca

 

Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show

 

Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show at the Vitra Design Museum traces the evolution of the fashion show from exclusive Parisian salons of the early 1900s to today’s global multimedia spectacles. Bringing together original garments, films, photographs, stage sets, and archival invitations, the exhibition examines how the catwalk became a site where fashion, architecture, choreography, sound, and scenography merge into a cultural performance. 

 

Organized in four chapters, the exhibition emphasizes the role of models, designers, and collaborators in shaping new narratives — whether through the rise of the supermodel, the deconstruction of fashion’s formats, or performances engaging directly with politics and identity. The exhibition positions the fashion show as a Gesamtkunstwerk, or ‘total work of art,’ and demonstrates how this short-lived format continues to serve as a stage for storytelling.

 

name: Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show
gallery: Vitra Design Museum
location: Weil am Rhein, Germany
dates: October 8th, 2025 – February 15th, 2026

image courtesy of Vitra Design Museum

 

 

yoko ono: Music of the mind

 

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind at the MCA offers one of the most extensive surveys of the artist’s career ever presented in the United States, tracing over seven decades of work across performance, film, music, installation, and participatory art. Featuring more than 200 pieces, the exhibition highlights Ono’s pioneering role in conceptual art and her lasting influence on contemporary practice, from her 1960s involvement with Fluxus and landmark works such as Cut Piece (1964) to ongoing projects like Wish Tree (1996–present).

 

The exhibition underscores Ono’s ability to merge poetic instruction, humor, and activism into art that demands audience engagement. Early films like Fly (1970–71) and Film No.4 (Bottoms) (1966–67) will show alongside collaborative projects with John Cage, Ornette Coleman, and John Lennon. Meanwhile, interactive installations such as My Mommy is Beautiful (2004) and public works like Imagine Peace (2003) and Peace is Power (2017) reflect her dreams of peace and collective imagination.

 

name: Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind
artist: Yoko Ono
gallery: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
location: Chicago, USA
dates: October 18th, 2025 – February 22nd, 2026

image © Yoko Ono. photo © Oliver Cowling, courtesy of Tate

 

 

Erwin Olaf – Freedom

 

Erwin Olaf – Freedom is the first museum retrospective since the Dutch artist’s passing two years ago, offering a comprehensive view of his multifaceted career. The exhibition traces his evolution from candid black-and-white reportages of the early 1980s, centered on social movements and LGBTQ+ rights, to his staged studio photography, where themes of diversity, identity, and freedom remained central. Alongside iconic series, visitors encounter Olaf’s lesser-known works, including videos, sculptures, commercial campaigns, and archival material that illuminate the scope of his creative process.

 

The presentation culminates with his most recent series, each addressing pressing social and cultural themes through Olaf’s precise lens. The exhibition concludes with his final, unfinished video For Life, a meditation on mortality symbolized through recurring motifs of flowers in bloom and decay. 

 

name: Erwin Olaf – Freedom
artist: Erwin Olaf
museum: Stedelijk Museum
location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
dates: October 11th, 2025 – March 1st, 2026

Erwin Olaf, Ice Cream Parlour from Rain, 2004. image courtesy of Stedelijk Museum

 

 

Ghosts: On the trail of the supernatural

 

The Kunstmuseum Basel’s Ghosts: On the Trail of the Supernatural explores the enduring presence of ghosts in Western visual culture. With over 160 works spanning 250 years, the exhibition focuses on the 19th century as a pivotal moment when spiritualism, psychology, and new technologies like Pepper’s Ghost converged to fuel fascination with apparitions despite the era’s emphasis on science and rationality.

 

Positioning ghosts as mediators between life and death, visibility and invisibility, the exhibition highlights their persistent role across art, literature, theater, and film. By tracing how these figures have shaped imagination and belief from Romanticism to the present, Ghosts reveals why spirits remain powerful symbols in both cultural history and contemporary consciousness.

 

name: Ghosts: On the trail of the supernatural
gallery: Kunstmuseum Basel
location: Basel, Switzerland
dates: until March 8th, 2026

image courtesy of Kunstmuseum Basel

 

 

Marie Antoinette Style

 

London’s V&A South Kensington presents Marie Antoinette Style, an exhibition that examines of one of history’s most recognizable figures. Bringing together over 250 years of design, fashion, film, and art, the show explores how the queen’s image has been continually reinterpreted, from 18th-century court dress to contemporary cultural references.

 

Framed by her youth, elegance, and demise, Marie Antoinette emerges as a style icon as well as a complex symbol of power and excess. The exhibition traces her lasting influence across centuries and shows how her persona continues to shape visual culture today.

 

name: Marie Antoinette Style
museum: V&A South Kensington
location: London, UK
dates: until March 22nd, 2026

image © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

 

 

exposition générale

 

The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain is entering a new chapter with its move to a landmark building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. Rising on the historic Place du Palais-Royal in Paris, this new home marks a decisive moment in the foundation’s history, reinforcing its commitment to artistic creation and public dialogue. To inaugurate the space, the Fondation presents Exposition Générale, running from October 20th, 2025, to August 23rd, 2026.

 

Gathering nearly six hundred works by more than one hundred artists, Exposition Générale retraces the foundation’s identity from its beginnings in 1984 to today. Shaped by four decades of exhibitions, the show spans art, architecture, technology, and science, offering a portrait of a collection built through curatorial dialogue. Its title, drawn from the historic Expositions Générales once held at the Grands Magasins du Louvre, connects the foundation’s mission to a broader lineage of cultural exchange and experimentation in the heart of Paris.

 

name: Exposition Générale
gallery: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
location: Paris, France
dates: October 25th, 2025 – August 23rd, 2026

photo © Luc Boegly

 

 

From the Functional to the Fabulous: 600 Years of Decorative Design

 

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts presents a newly reimagined installation of its renowned decorative arts and design collection, one of the largest in North America. Spanning two levels of the pavilion designed by Fred David Lebensold, the display brings together collection highlights, recent acquisitions, and objects shown for the first time in a space that emphasizes history and innovation together.

 

Occupying nearly 2,000 square meters, the installation features over 800 works by more than 400 designers, artists, and artisans. Silverware, ceramics, furniture, jewelry, textiles, glass, and industrial design objects reflect the scope of the collection. In Montreal, visitors will witness a near-complete overview of craft and design practices across cultures and centuries.

 

name: From the Functional to the Fabulous: 600 Years of Decorative Design
gallery: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
location: Montreal, Canada
dates: September 13th – ongoing

installation view, image courtesy of MMFA

The post designboom radar: exhibitions to see around the world this october appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

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