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 Ralph Saltzman Prize: an annual barometer of design ingenuity

Above

The Ralph Saltzman Prize 2024

Design Museum
1 February – 15 April 2024

London-based designer Attua Aparicio has scooped the Design Museum’s coveted Ralph Saltzman Prize 2024 for her ingenious confections of clay and borosilicate glass waste – a byproduct of scientific glass making. See her glistening furniture, vessels and lighting at the Design Museum.

The prize is an annual barometer of emerging design talent, awarded to mark the legacy of Ralph Saltzman, a design innovator who founded Designtex. Spanish-born winner Aparicio is a multidisciplinary artist whose work blurs the boundaries between design, craft and art with an inventive and playful spirit. The borosilicate glass gives a delicious lustre to her delightfully lumpen vases and towering furniture. Experience their charm at the Design Museum until 15 April.

Viewing Sculptures with a mind of their own at the Hayward Gallery

The Wick Culture - EJ Hill. A Subsequent Offering, 2017. Courtesy the artist.

Above EJ Hill. A Subsequent Offering, 2017. Courtesy the artist.

The Wick Culture - Franz West. Epiphany on Chairs, 2011. Photo: Michaela Obermair/Atelier Franz West © Archiv Franz West, © Estate Franz West.

Above Franz West. Epiphany on Chairs, 2011. Photo: Michaela Obermair/Atelier Franz West © Archiv Franz West, © Estate Franz West.

The Wick Culture - Lynda Benglis. Power Tower, 2019. White tombasil bronze. 228.6 x 179.4 x 172.2 cm
© Lynda Benglis. Courtesy the artist, Pace Gallery and Thomas Dane Gallery. Photo: Davin Lavikka/Pace Gallery.

Above Lynda Benglis. Power Tower, 2019. White tombasil bronze. 228.6 x 179.4 x 172.2 cm © Lynda Benglis. Courtesy the artist, Pace Gallery and Thomas Dane Gallery. Photo: Davin Lavikka/Pace Gallery.

The Wick Culture - Jean-Luc Moulène. Méduse (Paris, 2018), 2018. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Greta Meert.

Above Jean-Luc Moulène. Méduse (Paris, 2018), 2018. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Greta Meert.

The Wick Culture - Tara Donovan, Untitled (Mylar), 2011/2018. Mylar and hot glue. Dimensions Variable. Installation view, MCA Denver. Photo: Christopher Burke. Courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery.

Above Tara Donovan, Untitled (Mylar), 2011/2018. Mylar and hot glue. Dimensions Variable. Installation view, MCA Denver. Photo: Christopher Burke. Courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery.

The Wick Culture - Holly Hendry, ‘Homeostasis’, 2014. Galvanised steel ducting, meranti wood, cushions, fan, air.
Installed at Courtyard C, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2014). Copyright Holly Hendry. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York.

Above Holly Hendry, ‘Homeostasis’, 2014. Galvanised steel ducting, meranti wood, cushions, fan, air. Installed at Courtyard C, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2014). Copyright Holly Hendry. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York.

The Wick Culture - Matthew Ronay. Brontes, Strops, and Arges, 2023. Basswood, dye, primer, plastic, steel. 28.25 x 19.5 x 7.25

Above Matthew Ronay. Brontes, Strops, and Arges, 2023. Basswood, dye, primer, plastic, steel. 28.25 x 19.5 x 7.25″ / 71.8 x 49.5 x 18.4cm © Matthew Ronay. Courtesy the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo: Matthew Ronay.

The Wick Culture - Teresa Solar Abboud. Tunnel Boring Machine, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Travesía Cuatro. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Long-term loan of Fundación Museo Reina Sofía, 2022 (Donation of TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary). Photo by Fernando Sendra.

Above Teresa Solar Abboud. Tunnel Boring Machine, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Travesía Cuatro. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Long-term loan of Fundación Museo Reina Sofía, 2022 (Donation of TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary). Photo by Fernando Sendra.

Above EJ Hill. A Subsequent Offering, 2017. Courtesy the artist.

Above Franz West. Epiphany on Chairs, 2011. Photo: Michaela Obermair/Atelier Franz West © Archiv Franz West, © Estate Franz West.

Above Lynda Benglis. Power Tower, 2019. White tombasil bronze. 228.6 x 179.4 x 172.2 cm © Lynda Benglis. Courtesy the artist, Pace Gallery and Thomas Dane Gallery. Photo: Davin Lavikka/Pace Gallery.

Above Jean-Luc Moulène. Méduse (Paris, 2018), 2018. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Greta Meert.

Above Tara Donovan, Untitled (Mylar), 2011/2018. Mylar and hot glue. Dimensions Variable. Installation view, MCA Denver. Photo: Christopher Burke. Courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery.

When Forms Come Alive: sixty years of restless sculpture

Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London SE1
7 February — 6 May 2024

The sculptures in When forms come alive seem to defy gravity, burst from the walls, sprawl and multiply, making a journey around the Hayward Gallery full of surprises. Taking cues from human gestures, organic growth and the flow of molten metal, the artists delight in ambiguity and the physical art experience.

The exhibition opens with sculptures from the 1960s and 70s by post-minimalists, such as Lynda Benglis and Senga Nengudi. Along the way you’ll find the wobbly wonders of Franz West and Olaf Brzeski, a neon rollercoaster-like structure by EJ Hill and the kinetic works of Drift. When forms come alive majors on movement and tactility as an antidote to art in the digital realm. Put away your phones to fully immerse yourself in the show – though there’ll be plenty of instagram fodder if you can’t resist.

Viewing The inner workings of Douglas Gordon’s brain at Gagosian