In the midst of a busy season, we’ve selected five exhibitions that offer a welcome change of pace. Spanning Europe and Asia, they invite viewers to reflect on themes of ecology, endurance, history — or simply the passage of time. From retrospectives of Marina Abramović to new work by John Akomfrah, this list is a testament to the power of art to help us slow down, engage with key issues and enjoy the present moment.
Monira Al Qadiri: Chameleon
Arken, Ishøj | Until 6 April
“Oil is everywhere: in your phone and your cosmetics, in the fuel tank of a jet, in the children’s plastic lunch box, in your new shoes − even in your chewing gum. Petrochemicals, converted from oil, saturate our contemporary life through global industry, transportation and heating. What will a future without this peculiar liquid, drawn from deep within the Earth’s crust, be like?” This the big question posed by Monira Al Qadiri’s (b. 1983) Chameleon. The artist was raised in Kuwait, a country that, in just one generation, saw its primary industry shift from pearl fishing to oil extraction. In this show, Al Qadiri plays with humour and scale to ask questions about resource extraction – transforming petrochemical molecules into monumental structures, for example, or shrinking a colossal oil refinery to the size of a miniature model.
Roppongi Crossing: What Passes Is Time. We Are Eternal.
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo | 3 December – 29 March
Mori Art Museum’s Roppongi Crossing exhibition series launched in 2004. Since then, it has returned every three years to provide a snapshot of Japan’s contemporary art scene. This year’s programme responds to the the overarching theme of “time”, encompassing a range of approaches including community projects, crafts, painting, sculpture, video and zines. It includes acclaimed immersive installations by A.A. Murakami, a duo known for producing innovative sensory installations that employ ethereal materials such as fog, plasma and bubbles. Elsewhere, Kuwata Takuro presents colourful, large-scale ceramic works; Hosoi Miyu launches a new sound piece; and Oki Junko shows embroidery that resembles abstract paintings.
John Akomfrah: Listening All Night To The Rain
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid | Until 8 February
John Akomfrah (b. 1957) is recognised for his immersive multi-channel film installations, which explore major issues including racial injustice, colonial legacies, diasporic identities, migration and climate change. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza is showcasing a new exhibition, commissioned for the British Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale. Listening All Night To The Rain takes its title from an 11th century poem by Chinese writer Su Dongpo, written during his political exile, in which the author reflects on the transitory nature of life. The display gives voice to individuals representing the British diaspora, layering archival material and adopting a non-linear view of time that connects different places and periods. Here, Akomfrah focuses in on the power of sound – encouraging audiences to listen as a form of activism.
Marina Abramović
Galleri F 15, Moss, Norway | Until 1 February
Marina Abramović (b. 1946) is the world’s best-known performance artist. Over the past five decades, she has consistently redefined the boundaries of contemporary art through her fearless engagement with pain and vulnerability. This exhibition “brings together key works from various phases of Abramović’s career and revolves around themes such as endurance, nature, energy and mortality,” says Lise Pennington, who is Director at Galleri F 15 and one of the curators of the show. The presentation includes Abramović’s early collaborations with Ulay, as well as works made following her landmark performance The Artist is Present at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 2010. This exhibition is an opportunity to experience the breadth of Abramović’s practice, and a chance to come face-to-face with a pioneering creative force.
Act 2/3: Col Tempo (With Time)
rhinoceros gallery, Rome | Until 14 January
In an era saturated with instant images and fleeting information, it’s important to find a moment to slow down. Running concurrently with Mori Art Museum’s Roppongi Crossing is Col Tempo – another exhibition devoted to chronology. It is the second chapter of a trilogy developed by Rome’s rhinoceros gallery in collaboration with Paris-based gallery Bigaignon, bringing together artists who treat time as both subject and material. Highlights include Thomas Paquet, who traces the passage of an entire year using the cyanotype process – an early photographic technique. Elsewhere, Olivier Ratsi’s vivid red light work Frame Destruct charts the gradual implosion of a geometric form, transforming an entire room with vivid hues.
Words: Eleanor Sutherland
Image Credits:
1. Olivier Ratsi. Frame Destruct. © Simon d’Exea
2. Monira Al Qadiri, Gastromancer, 2023. Photo: Anders Sune Berg
3. A.A.Murakami, New Spring, 2017. Aluminum, robotics, bubble, fog, and scent. 700 x 700 x 700 cm. Installation view: Studio Swine x COS, New Spring, Salone del Mobile 2017, Milan.
4. Listening All Night To The Rain [Escuchando toda la noche la lluvia], John Akomfrah, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2025. Image: TBA21 | Maru Serrano.
5. Marina Abramović, The Current, Performance for video, 1 hour, Brazil , 2017. © Marina Abramović Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives.
6. Olivier Ratsi. Frame Destruct. © Simon d’Exea
