As we approach the end of 2025, we’re taking a chance to look back on a fantastic year of art. Here, we’re sharing an insight into the photographers and artists who were part of Aesthetica Magazine this year, from stunning portraiture to striking landscapes. Together, their works trace a vivid narrative of contemporary image-making, revealing the ideas and influences that continue to shape our visual world.
The final issue of the year featured an interview with the inimitable Brooke DiDonato, marking the release of her debut monograph. We chatted all things surrealism and how images can subvert the everyday. We also sit down with Andoni Beristain, whose poignant publication, now available from Sentana Books, is dedicated to the artist’s late mother. It is a powerful ode to love, loss and remembrance. Then, we travelled US Route 1 with Anastasia Samoylova. Her show, Atlantic Coast at Norton Museum of Art, traces the signs and symbols that define a nation in flux. There is magical photography from Cig Harvey, multilayered landscapes by Ingrid Weyland and Marco Wilm’s architectural street photography.
Inside A Wider Lens, the October / November issue, we spoke with Lumen Prize finalist Lachlan Turczan about crafting atmospheric installation art that plays with water, light and perception. Meanwhile, ScanLAB presented a brand new way of seeing the Sonoran Desert, using 3D scanning techniques. There was also coverage of the major Brigitte Kowanz retrospective at Albertina Museum. In photography, there was abstraction and glitches from Tommy Goguely, meditative treescapes by Albarran Cabrera, and Cristina Spagnolo’s art history-inspired portraiture. We navigated brooding after-dark interiors with Satin Panyigay, and learned about plant life in the world’s highest peaks courtesy of Marine Lanier.
In August and September, we spoke to Kazuaki Koseki, shortlisted for Earth Photo 2025, about his awe-inspiring images of fireflies, taken in Japan’s night forests. There was also a deep dive into environmentally-attuned architecture with Patrick Bingham-Hall, ahead of the publication of his book The Iconic Tropical House. Notably, we launched the Aesthetica Art Prize Shortlist 2025. Readers discovered landscape photography from Terri Loewenthal, painterly portraiture by Ashley Chappell and the neon-noir cityscapes of Neil Kryszak. Plus, Agnieszka Ostrowska took us on travels into the wild, and Debora Lombardi showed us plants like never before. On the cover was the highly saturated world of Sanja Marusic.
In our June / July issue, we connected with Squidsoup about how the collective brings large-scale immersive installations to life. Curator Bogomir Doringer spoke about the latest multi-sensory show from NXT Museum, and Felicity Hammond revealed the machinations behind contemporary image-making via the Variations project, which is travelling from Format Festival to The Photographers’ Gallery and beyond. The issue also featured Alexej Sachov’s underwater imagery, as well as food photography from Anne Hoerter. There were depictions of nature by Diane Hemingway, and lightscapes by Reuben Wu. Chou Ching-hui contributed hyperreal staged scenes, and we celebrated the portraiture of Fares Micue.
Issue 124: Evolution of an Idea
In Evolution of an Idea, we caught up with Sarah Meyohas about mirror images and systems of value as part of Desert X. There’s an interview with Thirza Schaap, who makes still life sculpture from plastic collected on beaches. Her work was part of Saatchi Gallery’s hugely popular Flora exhibition. The issue also shone a light on Cantor Art’s Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene show, and the hyperreal work of Inka & Niclas. The Last Words went to FOMU Antwerp, about the extraordinary Lee Miller display. We also featured key exhibitions happening worldwide, as well as inspiring photography from Bevil Templeton-Smith, Han Yang, Adam Gibbs, Maria Svarbova and Claudio Dellosa.
We opened the year with Collective Energy, where we spoke with Gleeson Paulino about capturing the beauty of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest as part of PhotoVogue festival. The issue dives into the landmark Ryoji Ikeda exhibition High Museum of Art, which became one of the most popular audiovisual spectacle of the entire year. Plus, Carré d’Art celebrated late Lithuanian pioneer Aleksandra Kasuba – who paved the way for the hugely popular installation art as we know it today. Readers discovered key exhibitions happening worldwide, as well as inspiring abstract, conceptual, nature, and portrait photography from Sandra Bartocha, Greg White, Heather Evans Smith, Martin Leveque, Steph O’Connor and Tamara Dean.
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