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 Lubaina Himid

Lubaina Himid is one of Britain’s most influential living artists — from her pivotal role in the British Black arts movement of the 1980s to winning the Turner Prize in 2017. Now she’s enjoying her largest solo show to date at Tate Modern.

Spanning four decades, this landmark exhibition focuses on the breath and diversity of Himid’s practice, while also exploring her continued interest in audience participation. ‘I have always thought of my work as starting when people get to see it,’ Himid says. ‘For me nothing starts until then.’

There are over 50 works on display, from early installations including the well-known A Fashionable Marriage (1984) to new paintings created during lockdown. A major highlight is Blue Grid Test (2020), created by Himid in collaboration with artist Magda Stawarska-Beavan. Displayed in the UK for the first time, this 25-metre-long painting features 64 patterns from all over the world, each painted a different shade of blue.

‘Patterns occur when I am talking to myself and trying to make visual the music, the sound, the noise and the poetry which underpins all of my work,’ Himid says. Compelling and uplifting, this exhibition is not to be missed.

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Dates
25 November 2021 — 03 July 2022
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Viewing Candida Höfer: Libraries, museums and a theatre

Drink in the mesmerising charm of Candida Höfer at Ben Brown Fine Arts. The photographer’s eighth solo show at the London gallery includes a selection of spectacular photographs of empty libraries, museums and a theatre across Europe. Devoid of human figures, these sumptuous spaces assume an eerie monumentality, prompting the viewer to consider the essence and history of a space in isolation.

Höfer favours compositional symmetry, a relatively high vantage point and a vibrant sense of colour, as is evident in the works on display here. Also apparent is her technical perfection and highly conceptual approach, likely honed under the tutelage of German conceptual artists and photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher.

Among the star exhibits is Villa Borghese Roma I 2012, which depicts a series of sculptures that were first owned by Galleria Borghese, sold to French collectors, and then loaned by the Louvre to the Galleria. Also featured in the show are two engrossing works from Höfer’s Louvre series, taken when the museum was closed to the public.

There is something intriguing about seeing familiar spaces in unfamiliar ways. Which is perhaps why Höfer’s work draws you in so deeply.

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Dates
22 November 2021 — 28 January 2022
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Viewing Art Basel Miami Beach

Art Basel Miami Beach is back for its first in-person event since 2019 — yep, that’s when Maurizo Cattelan’s duct-taped banana sold for a whopping $120,000 — and from 30 November-4 December the city will be buzzing with new shows, satellite fairs, preview events, dinners, parties and more parties.

At the fair you’ll find 253 of the world’s leading modern and contemporary galleries showcasing the very best paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, video and digital art on the market. Among the blue-chip booths, Pace presents Block Universe, a new NFT created by DRIFT artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta as part of their collaboration with the DJ and digital art pioneer Don Diablo. Hauser & Wirth, meanwhile, brings works by artists based in the United States including Rita Ackerman, Larry Bell, Nicole Eisenman, Christina Quarles, and Henry Taylor. Over at White Cube, look out for works by David Hockney, Isamu Noguchi and Mark Bradford.

Once you’ve explored the fair’s main section, head to Positions, which is dedicated to young galleries showcasing ambitious solo presentations by emerging artists. Also worthy of note is Meridians, the fair’s platform for large-scale projects curated by Magalí Arriola, director of Museo Tamayo in Mexico City. Look online for more detail on Conversations, the fair’s accompanying programme of talks and events.

There are plenty of satellite fairs to check out too: among the highlights are Design Miami, Art Miami and its sister fair, Context Art Miami. For emerging and mid-career artists, look to NADA, dedicated to new voices in contemporary art; Pinta, the leading fair for Latin American and Hispanic artists; and Untitled Art, featuring an ambitious new sector, Nest, to support emerging galleries, collectives and non-profits.

Other Miami Art Week must-sees include the multi-disciplinary art project DAISIES at The Standard and Es Devlin’s Five Echoes, a multisensory sculptural installation surrounded by a fleeting forest of over 1000 trees, plants and shrubs, conceived in collaboration with Chanel to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its iconic Chanel N°5 scent.

When it comes to museums and galleries, make a beeline for the Rubell in Allapattah, which is presenting works from three of its recent artists-in-residence: Otis Kwame, Kye Quaicoe and Kennedy Yanko. Superblue’s Miami outpost is showing immersive installations by James Turrell, Es Devlin and teamLab, while Wynwood Walls is set to unveil 13 new installations. Enjoy the art but be sure you save time for some sun, sea and sand. Oh, and poolside cocktails!

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Dates
30 November 2021 — 04 December 2021
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