Our top picks of exhibitions together with cultural spaces and places, both online and in the real world.

All, Art, Auctions, Exhibitions, Travel & Hospitality, Initiatives

Viewing The Face Magazine at The National Portrait Gallery

The Wick Culture - Voici Paris, by Stéphane Sednaoui, styled by Babeth Dijan, June 1988. Photo courtesy of Stéphane Sednaoui

Above Voici Paris, by Stéphane Sednaoui, styled by Babeth Dijan, June 1988. Photo courtesy of Stéphane Sednaoui

The Wick Culture - Global Warming TV, photographed and styled by Inez & Vinoodh, September 1994. Photo courtesy of Inez & Vinoodh and The Ravestijn

Above Global Warming TV, photographed and styled by Inez & Vinoodh, September 1994. Photo courtesy of Inez & Vinoodh and The Ravestijn

The Wick Culture - Face Off, by David Sims, January 1988. Photo courtesy of David Sims

Above Face Off, by David Sims, January 1988. Photo courtesy of David Sims

Above Voici Paris, by Stéphane Sednaoui, styled by Babeth Dijan, June 1988. Photo courtesy of Stéphane Sednaoui

Above Global Warming TV, photographed and styled by Inez & Vinoodh, September 1994. Photo courtesy of Inez & Vinoodh and The Ravestijn

Above Face Off, by David Sims, January 1988. Photo courtesy of David Sims

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift

National Portrait Gallery
20 February – 18 May 2025

The Face was a cult British magazine adored by many, published monthly between 1980 and 2004, and revived in 2019. The magazine reached cult status during its original run, known for a groundbreaking mix of fashion, music, photography and forward-thinking approach to culture.

The Face has been celebrated in exhibitions before but this new survey at The National Portrait Gallery is the most significant exploration of the publication’s position in British culture to date, bringing together more than 200 images shot for the magazine’s pages, many of them now iconic.

This exhibition is a soaring journey through the publication’s remarkable, innovative approach and a witness to how and why The Face became such an influence and arbiter of British culture at the time. Look out for photographs by the likes of Corinne Day, David Sims, Elaine Constantine and Sheila Rock, who all helped define The Face, and British visual culture with it.

Viewing Theaster Gates at White Cube

The Wick Culture - Theaster Gates, 1965, Malcolm in Winter A Translation Exercise. Photo courtesy of White Cube, Ollie Hammick.

Above Theaster Gates, 1965, Malcolm in Winter A Translation Exercise. Photo courtesy of White Cube, Ollie Hammick.

Theaster Gates: 1965: Malcolm in Winter: A Translation Exercise

White Cube Bermondsey
7 February – 6 April 2025

Known for his transformative work that blends sculpture, architectural interventions, installation, and performance, Theaster Gates has once again turned the gallery space into a forum for dialogue and a site for memory — one that challenges our understanding of history or place.

To mark the centenary of Malcom X’s birth and the 60th anniversary of his assassination, ‘1965: Malcolm in the Winter: A Translation Exercise’ is inspired by the archive of late Japanese journalist Ei Nagata and his partner Haruhi Ishitani – both students of Black American history, both were present at Malcom X’s assassination on 21 February 1965. Through a series of architectural interventions, large-scale installations, archival works and new film works, Gates engages with Japanese philosophy and craftsmanship, and their inherent concepts of care and preservation.

Gates has been visiting Japan continuously over two decades, since going there to train as a potter aged 25. But he became interested in Ishitani and Nagata more recently – having met Ishitani, now 87, during the run of his exhibition at Tokyo’s Mori Museum in 2024. Ishitani and Nagata had translated Malcom X’s speeches to Japanese – and Ishitani sold the archive to Gates, which now serves as the premise and pivot of this White Cube exhibition.

Viewing Wolfgang Tillmans at Christie’s London

The Wick Culture - Wolfgang Tillmans, Kate Sitting, 1996. Photo courtesy of Christie's Images LTD.

Above Wolfgang Tillmans, Kate Sitting, 1996. Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD.

The Wick Culture - Wolfgang Tillmans, JAL, 1997. Photo courtesy of Christie's Images LTD.

Above Wolfgang Tillmans, JAL, 1997. Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD.

The Wick Culture - Wolfgang Tillmans, Summer still-life, 1995. Photo courtesy of Christie's Images LTD.

Above Wolfgang Tillmans, Summer still-life, 1995. Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD.

Above Wolfgang Tillmans, Kate Sitting, 1996. Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD.

Above Wolfgang Tillmans, JAL, 1997. Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD.

Above Wolfgang Tillmans, Summer still-life, 1995. Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD.

Wolfgang Tillmans: The Way We Look

Christie’s London
12 – 21 February, 2024

Hotfoot it down to Christie’s London to see a beautiful collection of fifteen photographs by German photography giant Wolfgang Tillmans, all coming to the market for the first time from a well-established private collection. This is an exclusive chance to preview the works ahead of going up for auction during Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary sale, opening online for bids from 26 February with a live auction on 6 March.

The Way We Look includes an iconic Tillmans studio portrait of Kate Moss wearing a red dress – Kate sitting – estimated at 12 – 18,000 GBP. Other works – all from the 1990s, one of Tillmans’ most prolific and important periods – move between the artist’s observations of social political transformations of the decade, and his inimate, apparently desultory still life scenes, to early experiments with camera-less photography and abstraction that became increasingly important in his later oeuvre.

We’re intrigued to see what these reach at auction later this month. Meanwhile, this is a chance to get a rare and concise insight into the Turner-Prize winning artist’s world and ongoing, intertwined interests. As the artist once said: “within me it is all one continuum. I’m not just drifting around, taking a picture here and there. Each type of work is carefully considered in its own right. On the other hand, the great advantage is my liberty to do all these things.”