Summer's Art and Design Radar

Credit Su Meng-Hung (Unlimited)

Art fairs wrapped up, temperatures continue to soar, and the city of Basel shifts gear to full summer celebration — so naturally, thoughts drift towards holiday escapes. Still, it feels right to take a moment to reflect on the art, energy, and connections sparked during June’s vibrant art circuit.

To begin, the gorgeous image leading this post is a close-up from Su Meng-Hung’s alluring installation at Art Basel’s Unlimited — Desolate Landscape on the Golden Screens, which I simply loved. I also want to give a special mention to this year’s Photo Basel — Light Works, for example, presented a striking selection of iconic photographic pieces, including Mark Arbeit’s Christian Lacroix (1993), and Tony Potts’ evocative Boat Girl (1985). In fact, the sheer abundance of remarkable works meant that, as visitors, we were thoroughly spoilt.

The spirit of creative richeness was mirrored by the numbers — the 55th year of Art Basel for instance welcomed an impressive 88,000 visitors and featured 289 leading galleries — if you missed the highlights, you can catch up in my recent summary in the News section. Of course, those figures reflect Art Basel alone — it would be fascinating to tally the combined footfall across all the parallel fairs and special events. Perhaps next year 😊.

Credit: Tony Potts 'Boat Girl'

Athough the energy has shifted from the full-throttle fair season, there’s no summer slowdown here — runway castings across Europe are on our heels ahead of the autumn’s heady Fashion Week calendar. There's also some truly intriguing exhibition openings to explore throughout July and August if you’re nearby. Here’s what's caught my eye:

• Appellations and Speculations on Drawing by Meleko Mokgosi unfolds across both of Stevenson Gallery’s Cape Town and Johannesburg locations.

• Ruairiadh O’Connell, Anna Paterson, and Neal Tait come together in a dynamic group show at Lungley Gallery, London, running from Friday, 4 July to 9 August.

• Sperling Gallery, Munich, presents Dear Reality, an exhibition exploring the porous boundaries between the tangible and the imagined. Featured artists include ASMA, Jose Bonell, Michele Cesaratto, Veronika Hilger, Isaac Lythgoe, and Isabel Nuño de Buen.

• Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt presents Raise the Roof by Nevin Aladağ, on view from 29 June 2025 to 1 February 2026 at the Ausstellungsgebäude, Sabaisplatz, Darmstadt Germany. The exhibition unfolds across sculptural, sonic, and spatial gestures.

  
  

Oh, and just a reminder — if you haven’t yet read my exclusive interview with the insightful Lee Cavaliere, it’s the perfect time to dive in. You’ll find it here

Stay tuned!

© Copyright Hazel Clarke 2025