In 2025, there will be extraordinary art exhibitions that promise to captivate audiences around the world. From the glamorous world of Dolce & Gabbana at the Grand Palais to the profound works of Anselm Kiefer at the Van Gogh Museum, the lineup showcases the best the art world has to offer. 7 Best Art Exhibitions in 2025: From Dolce & Gabbana to Anselm Kiefer explores these must-see events that celebrate creativity and address historical legacies and contemporary themes.

From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce & Gabbana

10 Jan – 31 Mar 2025

Grand Palais, Paris

The Grand Palais presents From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce & Gabbana, an exhibition celebrating the iconic Italian fashion house through over 200 creations by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Curated by Florence Müller, the show explores the designers’ unconventional approach to luxury, blending humour, irreverence, and rich Italian heritage. Featuring works of art like Anh Duong’s self-portraits in Dolce & Gabbana designs, and showcasing collaborations with artisans such as Barovier & Toso and Salvatore Sapienza, the exhibition delves into the duo’s inspirations from Italian art, architecture, and craft traditions.

For more, visit here.

Anselm Kiefer: Where Have All the Flowers Gone

7 Mar – 9 Jun 2025

Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Anselm Kiefer: Where Have All the Flowers Gone brings together the works of Anselm Kiefer and Vincent van Gogh across two Amsterdam venues: the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum. The exhibition explores Kiefer’s deep connection to Van Gogh, featuring new works inspired by the Dutch artist, including The Starry Night (2019). At the Van Gogh Museum, Kiefer’s drawings retracing Van Gogh’s travels are showcased alongside corresponding paintings. The Stedelijk displays a comprehensive collection of Kiefer’s works, including films and notable paintings, culminating in a 24-meter installation. The exhibition reflects Kiefer’s response to Van Gogh’s compositions and his broader artistic development.

For more, visit here.

Ruth Asawa: A Retrospective

5 Apr – 2 Sep 2025

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Ruth Asawa: A Retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art celebrates the groundbreaking Modernist artist’s life and work. Known for her intricate wire sculptures and advocacy for accessible art, Asawa’s career spanned multiple disciplines, from sculpture to domestic design. The exhibition showcases her innovative approach to materials, daily sketches, and activism, including her co-founding of the Alvarado School Arts Workshop. Following its San Francisco run, the retrospective will travel to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Bilbao, and the Fondation Beyeler near Basel in 2026.

For more, visit here.

Rindon Johnson: Best Synthetic Answer

21 Sep 2024 – 6 Apr 2025

Shanghai, China

Rockbund Art Museum presents Best Synthetic Answer, an experimental solo exhibition by Rindon Johnson. Spanning seven months, it explores the Pacific Ocean’s vastness, addressing themes of borders, ecocide, and exploitation. The centrepiece, Best Synthetic Answer #1: Crossing…, follows a real-time journey of the artist’s avatar swimming from San Francisco to Shanghai, powered by AI and weather data. Featuring 18 new works across five floors, the exhibition interrogates autonomy, waste, and temporality. Curated by X Zhu-Nowell, it invites audiences to rethink the Pacific as a space where the artificial and real converge.

For more, visit here.

Nolan Oswald Dennis: Zeitz MOCAA

8 Oct 2024 – 25 May 2025

Cape Town, South Africa

Zeitz MOCAA presents UNDERSTUDIES, the first major South African museum solo exhibition by Johannesburg-based artist Nolan Oswald Dennis. Running from 8 October 2024 to 25 May 2025, the exhibition showcases Dennis’s para-disciplinary approach, reimagining artworks as models, diagrams, and simulations rather than traditional forms.

Exploring themes of decolonisation, landlessness, and liberation, UNDERSTUDIES features works like Black Liberation Zodiac and Xenolith (Letsema), a soil column co-created with museum staff. These pieces challenge systems of knowledge and authority, offering new ways to understand our connection to land, time, and the cosmos. Curated by Thato Mogotsi, the exhibition highlights Dennis’s innovative practice within African and global contexts.

For more, visit here.

Mark Leckey: 3 Songs from the Liver

21 Nov 2024 – 15 Feb 2025

Gladstone Gallery, New York

Mark Leckey’s 3 Songs from the Liver is on view at Gladstone Gallery, New York, from November 21, 2024, to February 15, 2025. This exhibition presents three concise musical works inspired by the liver, historically regarded as a site for mental imagery. Featuring pieces like Carry Me into The Wilderness (2022), the show delves into themes of memory, subconscious exploration, and the intersection of technology and popular culture. Leckey’s innovative practice, which has been showcased at prestigious institutions such as Tate Britain and MoMA PS1, continues to examine the influence of media and technology on collective consciousness.

For more, visit here.

24 August – 23 March 2025

South Africa

The Johannesburg Art Gallery, in collaboration with Goodman Gallery, presents Umkhondo: Going Deeper, the first solo exhibition by Lindokuhle Sobekwa, following his 2023 FNB Art Prize Award. This powerful exhibition brings together two interconnected bodies of work, I Carry Her Photo with Me and Ezilalini (The Country), showcasing Sobekwa’s decade-long exploration of memory, loss, and belonging.

Through a lens-based practice, Sobekwa delves into personal histories and societal issues, confronting the lingering scars of apartheid and colonialism. His work unearths the fragmentation and poverty still shaping South African identities, offering a poignant reflection on the complexities of absence and resilience.

For more, visit here.

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