Corridor reviews contemporary art and design exhibitions across Europe

A 36-metre printed curtain hangs across the nave of the Christ-Koenig church in Bochum.

Twelve Churches

Manifesta 16, This is not a church, reviewed from three days in the Ruhr. The art succeeds where it proposes a use for the building and blurs where it behaves like an exhibition.

By Emilio Carrara · Manifesta 16 Ruhr, The Ruhr

Pale lavender aluminium sculptures on polished steel armatures spanning the Messeplatz fountain in Basel.

Only One Basel

Art Basel 2026 reviewed from the fair floor. The Only One Basel campaign read against the fair itself: a 35-million-dollar Picasso, the Basel Exclusive experiment, Hockney's death, and a prize that quietly vanished.

By Olga Smirnova · Messe Basel, Basel

Facade of the German pavilion covered with a printed mosaic of a graffitied East Berlin housing block.

No Lions This Year

The Giardini at the opening of the Venice Biennale 2026, reviewed. With no prizes to compete for, the pavilions dropped the act, and the ones that stayed with me made history the size of a room.

By Katya Pranitskaya · Giardini della Biennale, Venice

Next Month · 2026

October

Fair season proper. London mid-month, Paris the week after, and photography's bicentenary running underneath both.

Read the issue →

Circular canvas enclosure with projected faces of crowds inside the Arsenale's Corderie.

The Lower Frequencies

Koyo Kouoh's posthumous In Minor Keys, reviewed from the pre-opening. A strike at the gates, a resigned jury, and an exhibition that answers noise by refusing to make any.

By Katya Pranitskaya · Arsenale, Venice

Render of OMA's Salone Contract masterplan: a large oval LED dome over a circular stage in a Fiera Milano Rho hall, with visitors gathered around.

Salone Beyond the Chair

Something is quietly changing at Salone del Mobile. The fair still looks like a showcase of objects, but increasingly it behaves like a platform for systems.

By Emilio Carrara · Salone del Mobile. Milano, Milan

More reviews

Installation view of Salone Raritas at the 64th Salone del Mobile, designed by Formafantasma.

On Salone Raritas, the new collectible-design sector at the 64th Salone del Mobile, curated by Annalisa Rosso with booth architecture by Formafantasma. Twenty-five galleries, one long corridor, and a tonal shift.

By Katya Pranitskaya · Pavilions 9-11, Fiera Milano Rho, Milan

A Week That Refuses to Resolve

Milan Design Week 2026 in progress. Serotonin in Brera, Gucci and Louis Vuitton installations, Miu Miu’s Literary Club, and a city that forces you to decide what counts.

By Emilio Carrara · Milan

Villa Beaulieu

Nomad St. Moritz 2026 at Villa Beaulieu, the renovated former Klinik Gut. A review of the fair's ninth Swiss edition, its softer register, and the galleries that made it work.

By Katya Pranitskaya · Villa Beaulieu, St. Moritz, St. Moritz

Make. Believe.

Design Miami 2025's 21st edition, curated by Glenn Adamson around the theme Make. Believe. A Nakashima bench, a Harry Nuriev scenography for Kohler, and a Seoul studio's debut.

By Emilio Carrara · Design Miami tent, Miami Beach, Miami Beach

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, 23rd edition.

Christmas Came Early

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, reviewed. A Warhol Muhammad Ali at $18m, a $5.5m Richter in the first hour, and the first fair in two years that genuinely moved.

By Katya Pranitskaya · Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach

Takashi Murakami's eight-metre inflatable octopus for Louis Vuitton, installed at the Grand Palais during Art Basel Paris 2025.

An Eight-Metre Octopus in Front of the Eiffel

Takashi Murakami's eight-metre octopus on the Champ-de-Mars, a Louis Vuitton commission for Art Basel Paris 2025's public programme, reviewed. On handbags, public sculpture, and a return to large-scale work.

By Emilio Carrara · Champ-de-Mars, Paris