Utopian architecture, transformative design, virtuosity of lacquer, or even waltzes of atoms: Acumen lists the most noteworthy exhibitions of the summer.
United States – New York
“The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower”
Located in Tokyo's Ginza district from 1972 to 2022 (the year of its demolition), the Nakagin Capsule Tower is one of those buildings that has left its mark on architectural history. Conceived as housing for traveling businessmen, the building comprised two concrete towers, from which 140 furnished capsules were suspended. This project by Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007) embodied one of the rare achievements of the Metabolism movement. Born in the 1960s, this movement advocated for architecture capable of adapting, developing, and transforming itself through "metabolic cycles." In the case of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, the capsules were intended to be replaced every twenty-five to thirty-five years to meet evolving needs, while leaving the structure intact. A vision that was never realized. The MoMA exhibition will present capsule A1305 until July 12, 2026, alongside more than forty pieces, in order to illustrate the uses and evolutions of the building.
MoMA
11 West 53 Street, Manhattan, New York
Until July 12, 2026
France paris
“Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. clinamen »
clinamen. This is the name of the immersive artwork installed in the Rotunda of the Bourse de Commerce, created by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. This immense blue basin, 18 meters in diameter, filled with water, seems to echo the silhouette of the building designed by Tadao Ando. It houses a multitude of porcelain bowls. Thanks to a gentle current, these bowls dance in a random choreography, producing sounds. From this ballet emerges a profoundly soothing and meditative melody. This composition, or kaolin waltz, draws inspiration from Epicurean physics, which refers to the unpredictable trajectory of atoms. Thus, "each moment spent in the installation is unique, offering a constantly renewed sensory and temporal experience."
Trade Exchange – Pinault Collection
2, rue de Viarmes, Paris 1er
Until September 21, 2025
Circular medium-density fiberboard platform, hydraulic system, white porcelain containers
Courtesy of the artist, Paula Cooper Gallery (New York), Galerie Xippas (Paris), Galerie Mario Mazzoli (Berlin)
© Adagp, Paris, 2025
Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris, 2025.
© Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Niney and Marca Architects, Pierre-Antoine Gatier agency.
Photo: Nicolas Brasseur
France – Toulon
The Transformist Apartment by Harry Nuriev
Transformism is a constant in the work of Harry Nuriev. President of the jury for Design Parade Toulon 2025, the designer and interior architect has taken over a space in the former bishopric of Toulon, simply named The Transformist Apartment. Here, objects change function, acquiring a new materiality. T-shirts dress a bed, cutlery adorns mirrors, pens become lampshades, a nasty piece of adhesive tape drapes a bench, while a stack of ovens is given a new life as a storage space. An impressive rotunda, entirely clad in black and adorned with cables, completes this singular ensemble, which perfectly embodies its philosophy, "invented to describe the continuous evolution of objects and their meaning."
Former bishopric
69, Cours Lafayette, Toulon
Until 1er November 2025
England – London
“Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting”
Of the Young British Artists, the general public knows Damien Hirst, but what about Jenny Saville? A major figure in the group, the artist is having her largest museum exhibition in the UK, at the National Portrait Gallery. On display are 45 works that revisit her long career, which began in the late 1990s. Her trademark? A renewed figurative style, embodied by portraits recognizable by their thick layers of paint. And for those who know her work intimately, this retrospective will highlight new pieces being shown for the first time.
National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place, London
Until September 7, 2025
Japan – Tokyo
“Celine Maki-e”
Established in Japan since 1970, Celine was bound to be present at the Osaka World Expo. Inside the French pavilion, designed by Thomas Coldefy and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, visitors could admire, until May 11th, a sublime installation paying homage to lacquer. This traditional Japanese craft can be expressed through several methods, including Maki-e, a technique used to reinterpret the luxury brand's logo. This experience continues in Celine boutiques in Tokyo this summer. The traveling extension will showcase lacquer art pieces as well as handbags. Triumph specially designed for the World's Fair.
Celine boutiques, Tokyo
the 1er as of August 31, 2025: Tokyo Omotesando store
From September 15 to October 5, 2025: Tokyo Ginza Six store
From November 15th to December 14th, 2025: Tokyo Azabudai store
