December brings an art-filled end to the year, from iconic photography to innovative exhibitions.
December brings one last wave of art with innovative exhibitions. From photography to visual poetry, this month invites us to enjoy and be part of the creativity before saying goodbye to 2024.
World Press Photo: a showcase that transcends borders
The CCCB in Barcelona is back once again this year to present the World Press Photo exhibition. This twentieth edition brings together 24 visual projects that encapsulate the most transcendental issues of current affairs. Through striking photographs and multimedia productions, the exhibition not only celebrates photojournalism, but also invites us to reflect on conflicts, the climate crisis, migration and the social challenges we face. Honourable mentions from the six regions of the competition stand out among the entries, along with the Photo of the Year: a poignant image of a Palestinian woman embracing her niece who died after an Israeli attack.
Dada Paul Rakotazandriny, a man with dementia who was treated like a madman until his daughter realised his illness. Editorial Credit: Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO.
With moving portraits, such as those of an Israeli and a Palestinian woman in places of tragedy, the exhibition connects us to the many faces of the human condition. Beyond the war stories, the exhibition also explores stories of resilience and conservation, such as Jaime Rojo’s reportage on the struggle to save monarch butterflies. In addition to the photographs, the event features guided tours and activities with experts, and opens a space for thoughtful dialogue about global realities through the power of the image.
When will it take place? 8 November to 15 December 2024.
Where? Carrer de Montalegre, 5, Barcelona
Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday from 11.00h to 20.00h. Fridays from 11.00h to 21.00h. Saturdays from 10.00h to 21.00h. Sundays and public holidays from 10.00h to 20.00h.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
James Turrell and the Dance of Light and Perception
Almine Rech Gallery has opened the exhibition James Turrell: Path Taken, where light is transformed into an intimate, sensory experience that guides us on a journey of introspection. At the heart of the exhibition is a new work from his iconic Glassworks series. Here, light is not just a visual effect, but something that seems to have a life of its own. This rectangular installation uses LED technology to gradually change colour over the course of an hour, enveloping the space in a choreography of seemingly breathing hues. The experience plays with our perception, and the light challenges our relationship to time, space and consciousness.
James Turrell’s Sun and Moon Space, 2006 . Editorial credit: Almine Rech.
Turrell uses light, not only as a visual medium, but as a gateway to imaginative worlds. The walls are filled with tones that flow to the rhythm of an electronic composition, and little by little, you are immersed in a trance where reason leaves room for the imagination. The artist turns light into something tangible, almost physical, that you can feel, not just see. Thus, Path Taken is a space to disconnect and let yourself go, to explore what is inside you while the light plays at transforming your inner and outer world.
When does it take place? From 14 October to 21 December 2024.
Where: 18 Avenue Matignon, Paris, France.
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm.
Bridging Continents in the Strait of Gibraltar
The exhibition Francis Alÿs: The Gibraltar Projects transforms the Strait of Gibraltar into a space charged with symbolism, exploring the physical and symbolic boundaries that separate continents and cultures. Through paintings, drawings, sculptures and videos, Alÿs presents a poetic narrative that challenges the meaning of the words border, freedom and human connection. The centrepiece of the project is a public action that took place between Tangier and Tarifa, showing two rows of children attempting to unite their worlds with boats made of shoes, as the waves wash them back to shore. This visual metaphor reflects the human effort to overcome barriers that we create ourselves.
Interior of The Gibraltar Projects installation. Editorial Credit: David Zwirner.
Alÿs’ work combines imagination with social critique and questions the possibility of bridging political and cultural divides. The different pieces on display reveal both the dreams and failures of this quest, with drawings, paintings and videos documenting the reality of the action. The representation of children is an element that makes us reflect on the challenges that we set for ourselves and that mark us on a global level, those innocent little ones who are born pure, but who are stained by political barriers, and the artist invites us to reflect on this.
When will the exhibition take place? 7 November – 18 December 2024
Where? 525 W 19th St, New York, United States
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
The Gothic Quarter shines with Drap-Art Festival
The Drap-Art Festival returns to Barcelona for its 28th edition to transform the Gothic Quarter into a stage for sustainable art and creativity. With a route that takes in galleries, emblematic buildings and squares, this cultural event always invites us to rediscover forgotten objects, reconverted into works full of meaning. Proposals such as Andrea Verbel Vanegas’ striking costume, created with recycled materials, or Errol Sari’s delicate pieces, which reuse urban waste, highlight the capacity of art to address sustainability from unique perspectives. All this, in an environment that is free and accessible to everyone.
Image of the inauguration of Drap Art. Editorial credit: Consuelo Bautista.
In addition, the outdoor activities, under the Drap-Art Outdoors programme, promise immersive experiences in iconic locations in the Gothic Quarter. Among them, the concerts in Plaça del Rey, or the Artistic Recycling market in Plaça Real stand out as meeting points for artists, neighbours and visitors. For one month, the festival not only celebrates the richness of urban and sustainable art, but also fosters a dialogue between creativity, environmental awareness and community.
When does it take place? 21 November to 21 December 2024.
Where: Gothic Quarter, Barcelona.
Timetable: The programme of activities can be consulted on the website
The imagination of Brossa and Madoz transforms everyday life
The artists Chema Madoz and Joan Brossa come together in the exhibition Juegos Reunidos (Games Reunited) to rediscover the everyday through visual and conceptual poetry. Bringing together for the first time photographs and poems by both artists, the exhibition offers a dialogue full of wit and surprise. Through their pieces, objects defy their own nature: a shoe becomes a pipe, a wheel loses its roundness, and the familiar becomes strange. This game of defamiliarisation removes the common utility of objects and gives them a symbolic power.
The exhibition is presented as a game where pieces are broken and reconstructed to create new contexts. Editorial credit: Prats Nogueras Blanchard.
Throughout the exhibition, the works of Brossa and Madoz create a parallel universe where the rules of chance and logic coexist. Black and white photographs and objects in urns create new connections, and impossible landscapes and absurd tools to be deciphered are born. Each piece on display invites us to immerse ourselves in an unknown universe to find the meaning of each element. Although both artists are from different periods, they share a common goal: to seek the limits of language and explore the power of the imagination.
When will it take place? From 28 November 2024 to 25 January 2025.
Where? C/ de Méndez Núñez, 14, Barcelona.
Opening times: Tuesday to Friday from 11.00h to 19.00h. Saturday from 11.00h to 14.00h.
Music for light and poetry for the senses
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery presents the exhibition Olafur Eliasson: Your psychoacoustic light ensemble, and invites us on a sensory journey where light, sound and colour intertwine in a unique spectacle. The installation transforms sound waves into flashes of light that dance in a dark room, appearing and disappearing in harmony with vibrations. The luminous circles react to sound as if they were alive, allowing us to see the music and hear the light. This curious dialogue between the senses blurs the boundaries of the perceptible, and offers us an unusual experience.
The play of light in the installation Olafur Eliasson: Your psychoacoustic light ensemble. Editorial credit: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.
On the first floor of the gallery, the artist celebrates the poetry of colour with works that come to life. Large watercolours unfold the mythical rainbow that emerges from the paper as if it were an ephemeral luminous landscape, enveloping the environment in soft tones. On the other side, a suspended sculpture made of polyhedrons reflects and mixes primary colours in a kaleidoscope that keeps changing, transforming each movement into a new discovery. Olafur Eliasson allows us to experience new sensations of seeing and feeling, transforming our perception of our surroundings.
When will the exhibition take place? 23 November 2024 to 8 February 2025.
Where: 521 W 21st, New York, USA.
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Lindbergh’s gaze in the Dior world
The Galerie Dior becomes a captivating journey through the world of Peter Lindbergh, a photographer who captured the essence of femininity with a unique gaze. Each room reveals a dialogue between the Maison’s iconic creations and Lindbergh’s visual narrative, an encounter that transforms the fabrics into palpable emotions. From the visionary strokes of Christian Dior to the contemporary proposals of Maria Grazia Chiuri, the photographs convey not only style, but stories full of strength, subtlety and a beauty that transcends time.
Interior of the exhibition dedicated to the photographer Lindbergh. Editorial credit: Adrien Dirand.
The tour includes ten themed spaces that immerse us in legendary photographic series and unpublished works, revealing the connection between Dior and Lindbergh. These include images from magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, as well as an exclusive gem: the series captured on the streets of New York in 2018, on display for the first time. The show is a tribute to the art of looking, feeling, and turning fashion into visual poetry. Definitive proof of how Lindbergh and Dior weaved together a narrative that continues to inspire with its authenticity and elegance.
When? Until 4 May 2025.
Where: 11 Rue François 1er, Paris, France.
Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday from 11.00h to 19.00h.
Irving Penn and his artistic vision in A Coruña
The MOP Centre presents the exhibition Irving Penn: Centennial as a tribute to one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. With 175 selected pieces, the exhibition covers more than six decades of creativity, from iconic portraits of characters such as Audrey Hepburn or Pablo Picasso, to images charged with sensitivity that capture life in Cusco or Dahomey. Irving Penn transformed the everyday into extraordinary elements: cigarette butts, worn backgrounds or simple flowers with which he played to explore transience and ephemerality.
De izq. a dcha.: Picture of self, Cuzco, 1948 y After-Dinner Games, Nueva York, 1947. Crédito editorial: The Irving Penn Foundation y Condé Nast respectivamente.
The exhibition combines technical rigour and artistic vision, showing a balance between stylistic perfection and emotional depth. His weathered backdrop, used for decades, acts as a symbol of his minimalist approach and his ability to focus attention on the essential. Whether in his couture portraits for Vogue, his innovative nudes or his still lifes constructed from disposable objects, Penn challenged the viewer to find poetry in the unexpected. This retrospective celebrates his creativity and invites us to reflect on how art can transform our perception of reality.
When will it be on? 23 November 2024 to 1 May 2025.
Where: Muelle de Batería s/n, A Coruña, Galicia.
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday from 10.00h to 20.00h. Friday from 10.00h to 21.00h. Saturday and Sunday from 11.00h to 21.00h.
Rani Bruchstein opens her new gallery in Barcelona
Rani Bruchstein takes a new step in her career with the opening of her new gallery in the heart of Barcelona. The name of the space, Rani Bruchstein Art Gallery & Studio, reflects his concept, as in addition to exhibiting his works, visitors can get a closer look at the studio where the artist brings his creations to life. The walls of the gallery already display collections such as Celine, Barcelona Vibes, Inner Time and Inside Out, and Rani is grateful to be based in Barcelona, at 174 Paris Street, as the name reminds him of the air of the French capital.
Rani Bruchstein with her work Cubism Emotions, 2021. Editorial credit: Elad David.
A journey from Modernisme to the secrets of Freemasonry
The essence of Els 4 gats is brought to the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya by Eveli Torent. The Catalan artist connected Catalan Modernisme with worlds as diverse as Paris, New York and Freemasonry. From his beginnings at Els 4 Gats, where he shared experiences with figures such as Picasso, to his work as an illustrator for internationally prestigious publications, the exhibition takes us on a journey through his life and artistic career. Each stage of his life reveals new facets of his creativity, including his peculiar summer residence in Ibiza, a museum in itself, which reflects his adventurous spirit and his love of history.
One of Evelí Torent’s works, La Rambla de Barcelona. 1903-1906. Editorial credit: Weisman & Michel Collection MNAC.
The exhibition also explores the artist’s connection with Freemasonry, and reveals how this link marked his artistic and social outlook. Works, portraits and emblematic objects are intertwined in this exhibition that revives the memory of a restless and multifaceted artist. Beyond paying tribute to his legacy, Eveli Torent. Between Els Quatre Gats and Freemasonry is an invitation to delve into a vibrant era through the eyes of a man who left his mark on the art and culture of his time.
When will it take place? From 18 October 2024 to 16 February 2025.
Where? Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc, s/n, Sants-Montjuïc, Barcelona
Timetable: Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00h to 18.00h. Sunday from 10.00h to 15.00h
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
The universe of Guo Pei at M+
The exhibition Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination in Hong Kong immerses visitors in a world where fashion and art come together. Divided into five themes, the exhibition features more than forty couture pieces that reflect the meticulous work of Guo Pei’s Rose Studio atelier in Beijing. From 2015‘s Garden of Soul collection, reflecting stories and nature, to 2018’s Elysium, crowned by the stunning Golden Dream Boat. The outfits are accompanied by contemporary artworks from the M+ collection, thus, the dresses dialogue with them, and weave stories between fashion and culture.
The interior of the exhibition where we see how the artworks intermingle with the pieces. Editorial credit: M+, Hong Kong.
The exhibition also highlights iconic Guo Pei milestones, such as the iconic Yellow Queen, which Rihanna wore to the 2015 Met Gala, and the Magnificent Gold, his first couture masterpiece. These pieces are not only fashion treasures, but also testaments to his ability to reinterpret tradition. With an approach that combines deep cultural references and boundless imagination, Fashioning Imagination celebrates not only Guo’s career, but also his transformative impact on fashion and contemporary art.
When will it take place? 21 September 2024 to 6 April 2025.
Where? West Kowloon Cultural District, 38 Museum Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Hours: Tuesday to Thursday and weekends from 10am to 6pm. Fridays from 10am to 10pm.
An introspective journey with Abramovic at the Moco Museum London
The Moco Museum London opens its doors to Healing Frequency, a revolutionary new proposal by Marina Abramović, who turns art into a journey towards personal introspection. The exhibition presents 12 pieces from her iconic series Transitory Objects for Human Use, including a previously unseen work, where beds, chairs and benches covered in glass invite us to detach from the outside world and connect with ourselves. Throughout the exhibition, Abramović transforms everyday objects into portals to reflection, fusing physical art with spirituality, and the visitor becomes an interacting actor.
One of the works installed in the exhibition Transitory Objects for Human Use. Editorial credit: Joe Kramm. Courtesy of Marina Abramovic Archives and HAAD.
Marina Abramović has decades of professional experience, and combines her expertise in performance art with ancestral rituals and spiritual traditions from around the world. Each of her works bridges the tangible and the intangible, and invites the audience to connect with the experience by being part of it. As in the Transforming Energy exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Healing Frequency becomes an impulse towards self-knowledge.
When will it take place? From 11 September 2024.
Where: 1-4 Marble Arch, London, UK.
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 9.00am to 7.00pm. Friday and Saturday from 9.00am to 9.00pm.
A century of catwalks that changed fashion
London welcomes Vogue: Inventing the Runway, an immersive exhibition celebrating more than a century of catwalk shows that shaped fashion history. From 13 November, the Lightroom takes us on a sensory journey, narrated by Cate Blanchett, that connects the haute couture of the early 20th century with the media spectacles of the present. The experience reveals animations, immersive sound design and a soundtrack that blends classical and pop music to reflect the creative universe that transforms the catwalk.
The interior of Vogue’s immersive experience. Editorial credit: Condé Nast, Justin Sutcliffe.
Featuring iconic pieces from houses such as Dior, Chanel, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga, this experience explores how fashion shows have evolved into avant-garde artistic expressions. Through different thematic chapters, the exhibition relives iconic moments and highlights the legacy of Vogue as a pillar in the history of fashion. A must-see event to discover the past, present and future of style in an immersive experience.
When will it take place? 13 November 2024 to 26 April 2025.
Where: 12, Lewis Cubitt Square, London, UK.
Opening times: Monday to Sunday 10.00am to 8.00pm
