Contemporary Art Shows in March 2024 For Minimalist Art Lovers

Winter is finally coming to an end and March offers art lovers a huge selection of exhibitions around the world. From an impressive show by Robert Ryman at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, which reassesses his important role in art history since 1981, to the most comprehensive retrospective of Constantin Brâncuși at the Centre Pompidou. At the same time, Galerie Nordenhake in Berlin offers unique insights into the creative world of Emma Bernhard and David Zwirner Gallery in Los Angeles presents two exhibitions of works by New York Avant-garde artists like Donald Judd and John McCracken.

In Milan, Cadogan Gallery is showing new works by Nuria Maria, while the Lisson Gallery in Beijing is exhibiting Sean Scully’s latest experiments with abstraction. And at the Hitonoto Gallery in Kanazawa, introspective works by emerging artist Alexandra Yan Wong can be seen for the first time.

Exhibitions by the artists Mark Rothko in Paris and Lee Ufan in Berlin can be seen until April.

Nuria Maria. Tulle Tänne
Milan, Cadogan Gallery, 27 February – 30 March 2024

Cadogan Gallery announces a collaboration with Dutch artist Nuria Maria with this exhibition. The show, which includes a collection of new works from the past year, offers an insight into Nuria’s impressionistic paintings, which vary in color and composition. The Finnish title “Tule tänne”, which means “to come here”, reflects the inspiration from the landscapes and hills of the artist’s homeland as well as Wales, where she has spent the last six months.

More information: https://www.aesence.com/nuria-maria-tulle-tanne-at-cadogan-milan/

Nuria Maria, AUGUST, 2024, Acrylic on linen, 160 x 130 cm © The Artist
Nuria Maria, AUGUST, 2024, Acrylic on linen, 160 x 130 cm © The Artist
Nuria Maria, SEPTEMBER WEATHER II, 2023, Acrylic on linen, 160 x 130 cm © The Artist
Nuria Maria, SEPTEMBER WEATHER II, 2023, Acrylic on linen, 160 x 130 cm © The Artist

The exhibition “Le regard en acte” at the Musée de l’Orangerie offers the first comprehensive presentation of the works of American artist Robert Ryman in France since 1981. The exhibition highlights the importance of Ryman’s work for the history of art and offers a profound reflection on painting itself, inviting visitors to discover the pure beauty and depth in the apparent simplicity of his works.

It invites us to see Ryman not merely as a proponent of minimalism, but to appreciate him as a painter who explores the essence of painting by focusing on its fundamental elements such as surface, boundaries, space, light, and duration. We will be there to cover the exhibition.

More information here: https://www.aesence.com/robert-ryman-the-act-of-looking-in-paris/


Constantin Brâncuși
Paris, Centre Pompidou, 27. March – 01 July 2024

The Centre Pompidou is presenting the largest exhibition to date in honor of the sculptor Constantin Brâncuși before it closes for renovation work in summer 2025. This comprehensive retrospective will include around 200 of his sculptures as well as photographs, drawings, films, archive materials, tools, and pieces of furniture from his studio. The exhibition was created on the occasion of the transfer of Brâncuși’s complete studio as part of the renovation work and offers a unique opportunity to experience the work of this important 20th century artist from a new perspective. We will be there to cover the exhibition.

More information: https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/program/calendar/event/mb7ZAkc


Flavin, Judd, Kawara, LeWitt, Palermo, Ryman, Sandback, Serra
Los Angeles, David Zwirner, 28 February — 30 March 2024

David Zwirner presents a group exhibition in Los Angeles featuring key figures of the 1960s and 1970s New York avant-garde such as Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, On Kawara, Sol LeWitt, Palermo, Robert Ryman, Fred Sandback and Richard Serra. With their minimalist, post-minimalist, abstract and conceptual approaches, these artists created an artistic vocabulary that continues to have an impact today. Parallel to this, the gallery is showing an exhibition of John McCracken’s works, which focuses on the influences of New York art of this era on the West Coast of America (see more information below).

More information: https://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibitions/2024/flavin-judd-kawara-lewitt-palermo-ryman-sandback-serra


Alexandra Yan Wong
Kanazawa, Hitonoto Gallery, 23 February – 11 March 2024

The exhibition at Hitonoto Gallery presents works by London-based artist Alexandra Yan Wong, whose work is characterized by a profound interest in materiality, the psychology of perception and aesthetics. In her works, Alexandra Yan Wong explores the relationship between external reality and the inner world of experience. Drawing on personal memories and emotions, she uses various materials to create complex forms and surfaces whose arrangement and manipulation emphasize the narrative and tactile quality of her art. This exhibition is the first opportunity to see her work in Japan.

More information: https://hitonoto.com/alexandra-yan-wong

Alexandra Yan Wong, Untitled, 2024, 120 x 100cm © The Artist
Alexandra Yan Wong, Untitled, 2024, 120 x 100cm © The Artist
Alexandra Yan Wong, Untitled (Grey & Black), 2024, 42 x 52cm © The Artist
Alexandra Yan Wong, Untitled (Grey & Black), 2024, 42 x 52cm © The Artist

Emma Bernhard “Do with me”
Berlin, Galerie Nordenhake, 16 March – 13 April 2024

From March 16, Galerie Nordenhake in Berlin presents a solo exhibition by Swedish artist Emma Bernhard. Her paintings are characterized by dynamic strokes of color and unobtrusive simplicity, while her sculptures explore the concept of perception and the attribution of meaning to materials in different contexts. Bernhard imbues her works with a philosophical depth and is fascinated by materiality and the tension between movement and stillness.

More information: https://nordenhake.com/exhibitions/2024/emma-bernhard


Sean Scully. Wall of Light Land
Beijing, Lisson Gallery, 18 November – 13 April 2024

In Beijing, Lisson Gallery presents works by Sean Scully that follow on from his earlier “Wall of Light” and “Landline” series, while incorporating new small stone sculptures. His paintings and sculptures demonstrate Scully’s ongoing commitment to abstraction, taking elements from earlier works and reinterpreting them. The exhibition illustrates Scully’s ability to play with color and form, as well as his penchant for geometric structures, which he translates into his sculptures.

More information: https://www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/sean-scully-wall-of-light-land


John McCracken
Los Angeles, David Zwirner, 28 February – 30 March, 2024

As mentioned above, David Zwirner is presenting an exhibition of sculptures by American artist John McCracken in Los Angeles on the occasion of his 90th birthday. The works on view reflect McCracken’s five-decade-long exploration of minimalist abstraction, color modulation and surface texture.

Known for his use of plywood, fiberglass and pigmented resin, his pieces left a significant impact on West Coast art, particularly in the context of the emerging minimalist movement. The exhibition emphasizes the phenomenological aspects of his sculptures, which invite experiences of transcendence and anchoring as they interact with the viewer and the surrounding space.

More information: https://www.aesence.com/john-mccracken-at-david-zwirner-in-los-angeles/

Aesence is an independent art and design publication dedicated to minimalist aesthetics. Founded out of a deep appreciation and fascination, Aesence aims to promote awareness and appreciation of minimalism in art and design.