Faces appear from a crown of palm leaves. Bodies collide and make shapes. Butterflies scatter in minimal portraits. This is work by Ren Hang.

Ghana-born British filmmaker John Akomfrah’s ‘Vertigo Sea’ looks at humanity’s complex relationship with water throughout history.

A flock of arms reaches out from the side of the frame like blades of grass. Elia Pellegrini’s photographs ask audiences to stop, pause, consider.

Michael Wolf was a chronicler of life in cities. Across a career of over 40 years, he photographed expansive buildings from Paris to Hong Kong.

The climate crisis, community and the nature of reality are examined in these shows – recommended picks for the end of November.

The urban landscape is the focus of ‘Street. Life. Photography.’ at Kunst Haus Wien. The show charts the evolution of the genre since 1930.

Truth, myth and the spaces in-between. A new show at The Civic, Barnsley, explores the way the North of England is depicted and constructed.

Melbourne-based photographer Tom Blachford returns with ‘Centro Verso’. The series turns the city into an impossible, neon-bathed dystopia.

“To make a long story short, I’m not a very organised person.” So opens Bruce Gilden’s new monograph – New York negatives from 40 years ago.

A neon pink ladder rises towards the sky. Mysterious fog spreads across a river. Giant clouds hover above a crowd. Lumiere festival returns.

Physics, shamanism, artificial intelligence and astrology are listed among Haroon Mirza’s inspirations. A new show examines waveforms.

The shortlist for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2020 is announced. Four artists interpret and respond to key global questions.

Seminal female artists, powerful social themes and the next generation of talent come together in this weekend’s top international exhibitions.

Tom Baker offers a playful glimpse at the shifting role of materials. Taking the role of the alchemist, he attempts to purify and transform the elements.

In the 1930s, the US was struggling through the Great Depression. The Art Institute of Chicago explore the era’s artwork and photography.

Magnum Streetwise, a new Thames & Hudson volume, features more than 300 examples of street photography pulled from the archives.

Aesthetica selects top art and photography publications for November. These books look at activism, belonging and pre-digital visual culture.

Art exhibitions are constantly evolving. The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition offers a new approach to curation, featuring 450 small works.

A new book chronicles the evolution of building, from the pyramids of ancient Egypt to the most contemporary sustainable constructions.

Dora Maar’s photographs are icons of surrealism. They play with the unusual, creating uncanny combinations of objects, textures and forms.

For its eighth cycle, the Prix Pictet award in photography and sustainability turns its lens on the theme of “hope.” 12 artists respond.

The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition returns to Mall Galleries, London, this month. Aesthetica speaks to artist Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf.

Aesthetica selects must-see shows for early November. Each exhibition reflects the human condition in today’s changing world.

Referencing the famous 15th century painter Hieronymus Bosch, ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ is based around the metaphor of the garden.

Miami-based Anastasia Samoylova’s FloodZone is a series responding to the problem of rising sea levels. It is an account on the climatic knife-edge.

A rainbow of geometric shapes obscures the faces of Julie Cockburn’s found photographs. Bright colours transform vintage studio portraits.

Tom Spach’s book is aesthetically compelling, leaving readers to re-assess their emotions about intertwining concrete and plantlike.

The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, which showcases both emerging and established artists, returns to Mall Galleries, London, this November.

The passage of time – from Ancient Greece to the present – is the inspiration behind surrealist artworks from Turkish artist Uğur Çakı.

Groundbreaking photography. Expansive natural landscapes. Cultural exploration. Top shows use the lens to ask key questions about identity.

People in the UK check their smartphones every 12 minutes. There is an inability to switch off. This new state of being is explored at Somerset House.

The new publication ‘Model City Pyongyang’ is a photographic journey through the architecture of North Korea’s ‘model’ utopia.

Paris Photo returns to the historic Grand Palais in November. The 23rd edition surveys compelling photography over nearly two centuries,

Aperture and Dawoud Bey collaborate on a new workshop publication that distils approaches, teachings and insights about photography.

Long before setting the cornerstone of any new building, Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao studies the geographical and social landscape.

Sound installation, street photography and visionary design. Recommended shows move from 20th century history to future civilisations.

Bloomberg New Contemporaries returns for 2019, highlighting the next generation of contemporary visual artists in an expansive show.

Junya Ishigami turns fairytales into reality. For the 2019 Serpentine Pavilion, he has created a sloping slate canopy that emerges organically.

Korean-born artist Nam June Paik originated the phrase ‘electronic superhighway.’ Tate’s new show opens at a time when screens are everywhere.

The Walled City of Kowloon in Hong Kong was demolished in 1994. Greg Girard and Ian Lambot captured the locale, which existed for 50 years.

The permanence of masonry – withstanding natural disasters, fires and floods – is only part of the story. Stone could be the material of the future.

The sea serves as an eloquent reminder of just how vast and profound nature can be. Four photographers respond to MKdW’s collection.

Eric Cheng is a documenter of urban landscapes. Through pastel filters and neon glow, he captures the wash of lights and colours within the city.

Recommended shows for mid-October highlight the Bauhaus centenary, emerging female artists and contemporary practice across Asia.

Step into Alfredo Jaar’s ‘The Garden of Good and Evil’ and you’ll get a jolt. Dreamy visions suddenly give way to a concealed steel cell, and another.

Aesthetica selects new publications for October. Photography, architecture, fashion and art come together in a printed celebration of culture.

“We have to see humanity as one.” Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most recognised contemporary voices. A new show opens in the USA.

Lina Benouhoud’s works – documenting real-life locations – feature subtle changes in perspective on contemporary buildings and still lifes.

Montréal-based Anne-Marie Giroux seeks to create a correlation between body, material and movement, “drifting” from shape to colour with fluidity.

Interlinked arms. Tense bodily postures. An anonymous embrace. These are the scenes described by Polish artist Joanna Piotrowska.