Art Shows In May 2025 For Minimalist Art Lovers

The days are getting warmer and summer is just around the corner, bringing with it a remarkable selection of exhibitions presenting minimalist art – especially in Belgium this month.

But let’s start in New Canaan, about 50 miles northeast of New York City, where ARDEN + WHITE presents German artist Kim Bartelt’s first solo exhibition in the US. In London, Nuria Maria captures light and time in abstract depictions of nature, while Frank Gerritz presents his minimalist works in Brussels. Also in Belgium, the CAI Gallery in Harelbeke is presenting Maya Makino’s monochrome indigo works for the first time, while De Brock Gallery in Knokke is showing expressive and abstract paintings by Jason Martin. In Rome, Asger Dybvad Larsen explores material transformations at Rolando Anselmi, and finally, Lisson Gallery in New York provides a fascinating insight into a decisive phase of Carmen Herrera’s oeuvre with works from her Paris years that have rarely been shown before.

These are my favorites for this month. If you want to explore all shows, click here.

In New Canaan, about 50 miles northeast of New York City, ARDEN + WHITE GALLERY presents Rooms, Berlin-based artist Kim Bartelt’s first solo exhibition in the United States. The exhibition features new works in which Bartelt explores the quiet nuances of space, structure and materiality through the layering of paper on canvas. Architectural influences characterize the reduced compositions, in which abstract elements such as windows, thresholds, and partitions become meditative explorations of presence and absence. Bartelt’s finely balanced, minimalist works open up poetic reflections on presence, memory and the perception of space.

More information here.

The QG Gallery in Brussels presents the exhibition “High End and Above” by Frank Gerritz, his first solo exhibition in Belgium. Born in Hamburg in 1964, the sculptor works with industrial materials such as cast iron and oil paint on anodized aluminium. Gerritz’s works, which oscillate between sculpture and painting, are characterized by precision, proportional systems and geometric compositions. The exhibition emphasizes the sculptural aspects of his work, in which material and space play decisive roles. Gerritz is known for his monochrome works, which are characterized by strong contrasts and a monumental spatial effect.

More information here.

Also in Belgium, but in Knokke, De Brock Gallery presents the fourth solo exhibition with Jason Martin (born 1970, Jersey, UK). Martin, who lives in London and Comporta, explores the fundamentals of painting in his works. His works range from dynamic, expressive compositions to reduced abstractions in subtle color gradations. The focus is always on the painterly process and the expressive gesture.

More information here.

Galerie Rolando Anselmi in Rome is presenting the solo exhibition “Ship of Theseus” by Danish artist Asger Dybvad Larsen until the end of May. To mark the tenth anniversary of the collaboration, Larsen’s sixth solo exhibition will show selected works from the past decade as well as new works created especially for this presentation. The starting point is the philosophical paradox of Theseus’ ship (does an object whose parts are gradually replaced remain the same?), which Larsen uses to explore processual transformations of material and identity.

More information here.

Lisson Gallery presents with “Carmen Herrera: The Paris Years, 1948-1953”, the most comprehensive exhibition of works by the artist from her Parisian creative phase to date. The show sheds light on Herrera’s decisive stylistic shift from gestural painting to precise geometric abstraction. The exhibition documents Herrera’s artistic development in the context of the Parisian avant-garde and her contribution to international painting in the post-war period.

More information here.

The second solo show by Dutch artist Nuria Maria can be seen at the Cadogan Gallery in London until May 24. Inspired by the hilly landscape of Limburg, Maria explores a contemporary interpretation of impressionism in her paintings. Through abstract depictions of nature and light, the artist captures the fleeting and ephemeral nature of moments and makes them tangible on canvas. Central to her work is the combination of light, time and emotion, which merge in her paintings to create a subtle, poetic homage to transience.

More information here.

In Harelbeke, Belgium, the first solo exhibition by Japanese artist Maya Makino will be on show at the CAI Gallery throughout the summer. The exhibition features nine small-scale indigo dye paintings on wooden panels, exploring themes of memory, perception, and the interplay between vividness and ambiguity. Makino employs traditional gesso (gofun) and indigo dye to evoke sensory memories and the transformation of recollections over time, with works from her Night and Rain series highlighting subtle textures and atmospheric depth.

More information here.

See all exhibitions here