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7 Art Exhibitions You Must Visit in January Across the Globe

January 2025 brings a global celebration of art, with exhibitions that immerse visitors in stories, emotions, and histories from across the world. From the vibrant streets of Dhaka, where the colourful rickshaw art of Bangladesh takes centre stage, to the poignant and powerful works of Kingsley Gunatillake in Sri Lanka, each show offers something truly unique.

Step into Alice Neel’s intimate portraits of New York’s queer scene, where her raw, unapologetic lens captures the complexities of identity, or explore John Divola’s breathtaking fusion of photography and artificial intelligence, blending decay with digital surrealism. Meanwhile, John Fernandes’ masterful figurative realism transports you into the depths of human emotion and form. Whether it’s the sculptures of contemporary masters in New Delhi or the innovative performances in Singapore, these exhibitions promise to captivate, challenge, and inspire—offering an unmissable journey through art that spans continents and cultures.

Kingsley Gunatillake: Maara

Date: 23 Jan–13 Feb 2025

Location: Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo

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Renowned Sri Lankan artist Kingsley Gunatillake has spent over three decades blending painting, sculpture, and drawing across various artistic traditions. Known for his striking abstract works and innovative ‘book art’ sculptures, Gunatillake’s upcoming solo exhibition, Maara, will feature new paintings and sculptures that delve into the complex history of Sri Lanka. His book art pieces, which incorporate found objects and altered books, explore the emotional and political toll of the country’s civil war. Through intricate layering and symbolic use of materials like bullet casings, protest imagery, and scorched pages, Gunatillake conveys the human and political costs of Sri Lanka’s turbulent history. This show will be his first at Saskia Fernando Gallery since 2020.

For more visit here

Rickshaw Artistry: A World Heritage

Date: 10 Jan–24 Jan 2025

Location: Alliance Française de Dhaka, Gulshan Brunch, Dhaka

Rickshaw Artistry

Description: A celebration of the unique and vibrant rickshaw art of Bangladesh, this exhibition by Nobo Kumar Bhadra explores the rich visual culture of this folk art form, which adorns the colourful rickshaws that traverse Dhaka’s streets. With over 30 years of experience, Bhadra’s works draw inspiration from myths, folklore, pastoral scenes, and Bollywood, reimagining them in the bold, dynamic style of rickshaw painting. His exhibition will feature everything from traditional, brightly-coloured rickshaw pieces to delicate pencil drawings, offering a fresh interpretation of a beloved art form. This exhibition continues Bhadra’s mission to establish rickshaw painting as a globally recognized folk art.

For more, visit here

Alice Neel in the Queer World

Date: 30 Jan–8 Mar 2025

Location: Victoria Miro, London

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Alice Neel’s portraits have long been celebrated for their intimate, raw portrayal of her subjects. This exhibition, curated by Hilton Als, will focus on Neel’s portraits of queer individuals in New York, created between the 1950s and the early 1980s. The show will highlight her unflinching exploration of gender, sexuality, and identity through figures from New York’s queer scene. Among the featured works are portraits of an unnamed ballet dancer, poised in a black leotard, and Annie Sprinkle, the artist and performer, who embraced her body with unapologetic sensuality.

Neel’s works are marked by their empathetic gaze and an understanding of the complexities of human nature, capturing joy and connectedness in a way that transcends the mere act of portraiture.

For more, visit here

The Forces of Imagination

Date: Until 31 January 2025

Location: Chawla Art Gallery, Square One Mall, Saket, New Delhi

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Description: The Forces of Imagination brings together a powerful group of sculptors who express the constantly evolving nature of contemporary art through their works. Featuring renowned artists like Neeraj Gupta, Tapas Sarkar, and Vibhor Sogani, this exhibition showcases pieces created from a diverse range of materials including bronze, wood, marble, and stainless steel. Each sculpture tells a unique story, drawing on themes of identity, culture, and innovation. From abstract forms to lifelike representations, the exhibition offers a thought-provoking exploration of the sculptural medium.

For more, visit here

John Divola: The Ghost in the Machine

Date: 9 Jan–22 Feb 2025

Location: Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York

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Description: Over a career spanning five decades, California-based photographer John Divola has pushed the boundaries of the photographic medium, blending it with painting, performance, and more recently, artificial intelligence. The Ghost in the Machine presents two major series: Blue with Exceptions (2019–2024) and Vandalism (1973–1975). Divola’s work often explores the intersection of photography with decay, memory, and history, particularly through his photographs of abandoned spaces like the George Air Force Base. Blue with Exceptions introduces AI-generated imagery, offering an eerie juxtaposition of decaying military structures and idealized, digital images of birds. By blending the tangible with the virtual, Divola invites viewers to reflect on the fragility of both physical and digital worlds.

For more, visit here

TAF Symposium: Soul Song of a New Organisation

Date: 14 January 2025

Location: Tanoto Art Foundation, Singapore

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Description: The Tanoto Art Foundation’s inaugural symposium, Soul Song of a New Organisation, will kick off Singapore Art Week with a day of lectures, performances, and discussions. The symposium will bring together key figures from the Southeast Asian art scene, including art historian Joan Kee, performance artists Melati Suryodarmo and Chang Yuchen, and curator Joselina Cruz. The event will focus on the foundation’s mission to foster creative collaboration across diverse art forms and geographies while exploring new ways of thinking about the role of art organizations in the contemporary world. The event promises to be an exciting opening act for a week of dynamic art events in Singapore.

For more, visit here

Veritas: An Odyssey of Brush and Soul by John Fernandes

Date: Until 19 January 2025

Location: Vesavar Art Gallery, MG Pune Central, East Street, Pune

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Veritas is a tribute to the late John Fernandes, a master of figurative realism whose works are renowned for their emotional depth and technical precision. This exhibition, held at Vesavar Art Gallery, showcases a wide array of his paintings, including many nudes and semi-nudes that have not been displayed publicly before. Fernandes was known for his ability to capture the human form with sensitivity and intricacy, portraying emotions and movements with a timeless quality. The exhibition honours Fernandes’ legacy as one of India’s most respected painters, offering a rare opportunity to experience his masterpieces up close.

For more, visit here

To see the best art exhibitions around the world in 2025, visit here.

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