Welcome to This Week in Culture, a weekly agenda of show openings and events in major cities across the globe. From galleries to institutions and one-of-a-kind happenings, our ongoing survey highlights the best of contemporary culture, for those willing to make the journey.
New York
“girlgirlgirl” by Grace Carney
Where: PPOW Gallery
When: January 26 - February 24
Why It’s Worth a Look: Carney's latest exhibition features paintings that navigate the intricate dynamics of family, friendships, relationships, and self-discovery, rendered in a blend of abstraction and figurative suggestion. Drawing inspiration from Baroque and Renaissance art, Carney’s canvases use vibrant colors to delve into the themes of maternal love and dependency.
Know Before You Go: “I am interested in the history of the painting … the life of the painting," says the artist of the work featured in her first New York solo exhibition.
“Just Jacuzzi” by Sylvie Fleury
Where: Company Gallery
When: January 24 - March 2
Why It’s Worth a Look: “Just Jacuzzi” features two immersive installations. Upstairs, a runway is surrounded by 23 square paintings, each hung on a single screw by models who sauntered down the catwalk before the show's opening. The second installation is centered around a towering rocket ship ready for launch. A nearby Jacuzzi bubbles alongside a video of sputtering mud and misting essential oil diffusers.
Know Before You Go: The works on view continue Fleury's ongoing critique of the fashion industry, just in time for the arrival of fashion month. Underneath the surface of her eccentric installations lie the false promises levied by brands intent on selling individuality for a price.
“Flower Spa: Solidarity Outside In” by Red Canary Song
Where: Storefront for Art and Architecture
When: January 20 - February 17
Why It’s Worth a Look: For Red Canary Song—a collective comprised of migrant massage workers, sex workers, and allies of the Asian diaspora—massage parlors serve as homes as well as sites of resistance. The key work in this latest exhibition is a newly released documentary entitled Fly in Power, charting the collective's work combatting racism, patriarchy, and capitalism.
Know Before You Go: Red Canary Song's exhibition is intended to function as a gathering space for community organizing, celebration, and networking across nearby boroughs.
"Unfolding" by Simon Hantaï
Where: Timothy Taylor
When: January 25 - March 2
Why It’s Worth a Look: This exhibition, curated by Molly Warnock, highlights 10 works spanning more than two decades of the late artist's practice. As viewers move through the pieces, the evolution of Hantaï's distinctive methods becomes apparent, starting with a 1958 work where he scraped pigment off of a painted canvas.
Know Before You Go: The artist was known for his pliage method, in which he painted knotted, crumpled, and folded canvases before unfurling them into their final form.
“A Worm's Eye View from a Bird's Beak” by Raven Chacon
Where: Swiss Institute
When: January 25 - April 14
Why It’s Worth a Look: This exhibition, featuring pieces from the last 25 years and a newly commissioned installation, explores the intersection of the past, present, and future through the convergence of sound, video, and sculpture. A highlight is the sound installation Still Life No. 3 (2015), which weaves together several coexisting Navajo creation myths, challenging Western ideals of linear progress and history.
Know Before You Go: “A Worm’s Eye View from a Bird’s Beak” is the artist’s first major institutional solo exhibition. As a 2023 MacArthur Fellow and the first Native American artist to receive the Pulitzer Prize for music, Chacon’s multidisciplinary works tackle Indigenous sovereignty and histories, as well as environmental justice.
“Conveyor" by Mary Helena Clark
Where: Bridget Donahue
When: January 25 - March 23
Why It’s Worth a Look: “Conveyor” explores the blurred boundaries between humans and the animals that surround us. On view are a two-channel video, six photographs, and a series of motorized sculptures. The work is the latest from an artist known for challenging traditional modes of storytelling and narrative.
Know Before You Go: The New York-based artist has appeared in exhibitions across the United States and internationally, including presentations at institutions including the Whitney Museum and National Gallery, as well as festivals like Sundance.
“Fashion Forward”
Where: “B” Dry Goods
When: January 25 - March 30
Why It’s Worth a Look: “Fashion Forward” explores the crossover between fashion and the visual arts, featuring paintings and drawings by designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Balmain, Hubert de Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld, and Christian Dior, to name a few. Clothing and accessories worn or advertised by cultural figures such as Josephine Baker, David Hockney, and Paul Newman provide a counterpoint to these works.
Know Before You Go: Among the many iconic pieces featured are an original sketch of Givenchy’s “little black dress” worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Marie Antoinette's royal traveling trunk.
Los Angeles
“Photographic Memory” by Jose Dávila
Where: Sean Kelly Gallery
When: January 20 - March 9
Why It’s Worth a Look: Dávila’s cut-out works, inspired by the Mexican folk-art tradition of papel picado, here reference Richard Prince’s solo exhibition at LACMA in 2018. The reinterpretation of Prince's work challenges the porous boundaries of influence and originality, weaving both homage and critique into the narrative.
Know Before You Go: Prince had his own practice of lifting work from others, scaling it up, and reframing it. Dávila here flips the idea onto Prince himself. Pieces from the artist's "Untitled (Cowboy)" series have had their central figures removed, playing with empty space and absence.
London
Condo London 2024
Where: 50 Galleries across 23 spaces in London
When: January 20 - February 17
Why It’s Worth a Look: Launched in 2016, Condo returns to London for the first time since 2020 after iterations in international art cities like New York and São Paulo. The innovative initiative creates a city-wide exhibition of work wherein galleries collaborate on shows, challenge traditional gallery models, and highlight experimental work. Some of this year's participants include Emalin, Sadie Coles HQ, Public Gallery, and Rodeo.
Know Before You Go: The event, founded by London-based gallerist Vanessa Carlos, takes its name from a "condominium," or shared living space.
