7 Must-See Exhibitions Around the World This Winter

An installation view of the Gio Ponti exhibition. Photo: Musacchio & Ianniello/Courtesy of Fondazione MAXXI

1. Gio Ponti: Amare L’Architettura
MAXXI, Rome
Through April 26, 2020
Forty years after Gio Ponti’s death, the venerable Italian architect continues to awe and inspire. This showcase of rare archive materials, models, photographs, books, magazine, and objects permits the exploration of an icon of design whose prolific six-decade career includes such notable creations as the Pirelli Tower in Milan and the beloved Superleggera chair for Cassina.

Claude Monet, Landscape in Ile Saint-Martin (Paysage dans l’île Saint-Martin), 1881. Photo: Private Collection

2. “Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature”
Denver Art Museum
Through February 2, 2020
Claude Monet’s ongoing relationship with the outdoors is at the heart of this major exhibit in Denver, where the French master’s extensive travels—spanning the rugged Normandy coast to the vibrant Mediterranean—are beautifully depicted in more than 120 paintings. It is the largest exhibition in the U.S. of Monet’s work in over two decades.

Barbara Hepworth carving a work at the Palais de Danse, 1961. Photo: Rosemary Mathews, Courtesy of The Hepworth photograph collection

3. “Barbara Hepworth”
Musée Rodin, Paris
Through March 22, 2020

The legacy of two great sculptors come together when the former home of Auguste Rodin mounts an exhibition of work by the trailblazing British artist. Inspired by the natural world and the duality of solids and voids, she worked blocks of wood and molded plaster by hand to create organic shapes of haunting beauty. This first monographic survey of Barbara Hepworth’s work also includes a re-creation of her studio environment.

The Lowrider Convention in Los Angeles. Photo: Nathanael Turner

4. “Cars: Accelerating the Modern World”
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Through April 19, 2020

This fascinating historical exposition looks at the auto’s role not only in the design world but also in our everyday lives. Fifteen cars will be on display along with rare archival materials and objects. Highlights include the first automobile ever made, Karl Benz’s 1886 Patent-Motorwagen No 3., as well as a prototype for a flying car and the visually arresting Firebird 1 concept car from 1953.

Recommended: A Dazzling Design Exhibition for All the Senses Opens at the Dallas Art Museum

Alexander Calder, Composition, 1966. Photo: Fabrice Lindor

5. The Fabric of Modernity: Matisse, Lurçat, Miró . . . and the French Tapestry
Kunsthalle Munich
December 6—March 8, 2020
Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Le Corbusier, Joan Miró, and Sonia Delaunay may be best known for their paintings and sculpture, but this group show reveals their extensive work in elaborate weavings. In the period after World War I, the artists collaborated with the esteemed Gobelins Manufactory in Paris to fabricate vibrant, large-scale woven works using age-old techniques with an utterly modern approach.

Kehinde Wiley, Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005. Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Museum

6. Jacques-Louis David Meets Kehinde Wiley
Brooklyn Museum, New York
January 24–May 10, 2020
Kehinde Wiley’s captivating portraits riff on traditional conventions of the art form by inserting black contemporary figures into a white-dominated version of art history. This winter, his exultant Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps (2005) from the museum’s collection will be displayed alongside the original: Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801), marking the first time the 19th-century masterpiece has been on view in New York.

Li Qing, Tetris Window• Asiatic Society, 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Li Qing Studio

7. “Li Qing: Rear Windows”
Prada Rong Zhai, Shanghai
Through January 19, 2020
Prada’s meticulously restored 1918 residence in Shanghai has been transformed into an immersive art experience by Chinese artist Li Qing. Curated by the venerable Jérôme Sans, the installation comprises recent and specially commissioned new works that are inspired by the iconic 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name.