This year’s must-see shows range from a Nordic Pavilion exploring transgender spaces to a compelling Lebanese project confronting the realities of ecocide Frieze returns to The Shed in May with more than 65 of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries and the acclaimed Focus section led by Lumi Tan Placed diagonally between Le SHED’s slender iron columns (the space is owned and run by a small group of artists and curators) are five large tree trunk sections (‘Anagnorisis’ Twelve more were placed outside on the grass in the nearby city of Rouen for a three-day music festival with the bark removed and the wood sliced into dozens of regular sheets Between each sheet are slim slats that allow air to pass through a heavily forested country that produces 20 percent of Africa’s raw wood exports  – then cut down a port in Normandy 150 kilometres from Le SHED The top foliage is deemed worthless; the trunks are sliced by machine in Caen and the wood left to dry ready to use for furniture or window frames The flat-cut ends of each trunk have been painted in either red or green depending on whether the wood is iroko or sipo (a type of mahogany) these ready-mades nod to 20th-century minimalism Donald Judd sought to stake out the autonomy of the object with his stack works every material arrives laden with its own specific history its own participation in complex industrial processes and networks of global commerce and transportation with their own rippling effects and causes – economic It is to these that Baghriche’s work is so precisely attuned On opposite walls is the ‘Atlas series’ (2015) nine large-scale photographs that seemingly depict brightly-coloured geodes their insides carefully painted to appear like semi-precious stones and sold by the side of the road in Morocco Each image takes the same form: the geode is shown right up close and held in the right hand of the anonymous artist/seller All are cropped tight – a dirty thumbnail or the edge of a sleeve the only hints of human individuality The bright jewel-tones of the geodes stand out dramatically from the crumbling red brick of Le SHED’s walls – their peeling jade paint another anonymous trace of art beyond the sphere of art The exhibition culminates with ‘Imperfections’ (2010) eight small frames seem to house delicate drawings On each is a hastily-drawn circle in black pen The panes are faulty off-cuts from industrial glass-making: within each circle is the tiny flaw in the glass that renders these sections worthless draws our attention instantly to the flaw – in the factory to question the very systems by which worth is defined a flaw in a piece of glass shows up the flaws of an entire system Notre-Dame de Bondeville; photograph: Samir Ramdani Tom Jeffreys is a writer based in Edinburgh He is the author of two books: The White Birch: A Russian Reflection (Little 2021) and Signal Failure: London to Birmingham The selection includes an unmissable overview of Nil Yalter’s work and Laurence Sturla’s enigmatic topological sculptures  A new play by Gillian Solvo highlights the lives of those who survived the devastating fire A show at Alison Jacques highlights the artist’s technical prowess and use of colour but lacks critical discussion of her processes the artist embraces a material language of ritualism and transformation Tom Jeffreys speaks with the festival director ahead of her first edition in charge of the programme reaffirms the Malagasy artist as the star of the show the artist’s first solo UK institutional show is imbued with latent dread Tom Jeffreys interviews the exhibition’s co-curator about the significance of staging an exhibition in wartime and the message it sends to Ukrainians and the world celebrates ecologically minded contemporary art that is joyful and sensual how individual artists and artist institutions are responding to the demands of the climate crisis This year’s edition focuses on historical relations of resistance and liberation which survive beyond the archive the artist’s readymade sculptures prompt a strange empathy between viewer and object A new book by Ian Penman grapples with the filmmaker’s gargantuan appetites impossible productivity and heartbreaking melancholy is stripped down to its bare bones to reveal the play’s central spirit © FRIEZE 2025 Cookie Settings | Do Not Sell My Personal Information South Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer is showing signs of technical recovery after recent regulatory issues Last month the US FDA flagged potential contamination risks at Aspen’s Gqeberha-based eye drop production line raising questions about quality control at one of its three sterile manufacturing units Aspen suspended eye drop manufacturing and is cooperating with the US regulators but said the issue is non-material to group earnings While the FDA warning may raise short term reputational concerns the export value of the affected product is small and Aspen is focusing on its broader portfolio – particularly injectable manufacturing at its Notre-Dame-de-Bondeville site in France Technically the Aspen share price on the JSE is trying to reverse after hitting support at R151.15 just above the 50% Fib at R162.07 and the 50-period EMA at R159.72 – key levels attracting fresh demand This is a medium term trade for a quality South African stock with strong institutional backing Look for a volume backed breakout to confirm Aspen CEO Stephen Saad is the second largest individual shareholder so management is aligned with investor interests.The group’s total market cap is R73 billion and insiders own around R12 billion of shares So the alignment between corporate leadership and shareholder value continues to give confidence in the share’s long term outlook insider alignment and improving price action on the JSE Aspen Pharmacare shares are poised to break out – if it can get above R166.91 The regulatory overhang from the FDA warning is still there but the low material impact and Aspen’s swift response has eased investor nerves For investors looking for JSE recovery plays Aspen may be the turnaround stock for Q2 2025 ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " the works on display are often just the tip of the iceberg The greater part of the collections is usually hidden away To bring these works into the spotlight, each year the Réunion des Musées Métropolitains de Rouen presents “Le temps des collections“ A cycle of exhibitions during which works are brought out of storage. The 2024 edition explores the symbolism of rivers but above all – and from time immemorial – a source of inspiration for artists. Here’s a closer look at some of the exhibitions on show in Rouen over the weekend This article was produced in collaboration with the Réunion des Musées Métropolitains de Rouen born of the merger of the Musée des Antiquités and the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle invites you to step into the shoes of an explorer with a particularly immersive exhibition pushing back curtains to discover faraway lands ears and nostrils in this sensory installation designed for young and old alike Beauvoisine Museum 198 rue Beauvoisine it’s also an inexhaustible source of energy. The Corderie Vallois industrial museum is no stranger to this as it is housed in a former rope factory that was (and still is!) powered by water the museum looks back at the inventions that tamed water and harnessed its energy; the industrial development of Rouen thanks to water; and the hydroelectric dams that make water France’s leading renewable energy source Corderie Vallois Museum 185 route de Dieppe If ceramics is an art that leaves you cold you’ll certainly change your mind when you visit the Musée de la Céramique in Rouen you’ll discover the full range of this delicate art form For Le temps des collections, the museum is presenting a royal tea service acquired in 2018 that celebrates the banks of the Seine and Normandy. Made by the Sèvres factory at the request of Louis Philippe this service is a masterpiece depicting several perspectives of Rouen such as this sphere depicting sea creatures or this Chinese porcelain are on display in the heart of the collection Other museums in the RMM network present exhibitions on the theme of the River: the Fabrique des savoirs takes you on a voyage against the current; Corneille’s birthplace looks at water in the playwright’s work; the Flaubert museum explores the links between the writer and the river while the Musée des Beaux-Arts highlights Le Cours de la Seine Exhibition venues in Rouen :Musée des Beaux ArtsMuseum of CeramicsBeauvoisine MuseumKnowledge FactoryCorderie Vallois Industrial MuseumMusée CorneilleFlaubert Museum Opening hours :Until June 2, 2024 See museum opening times Website :musees-rouen-normandie.fr Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.  Learn more recevez le meilleur de Culturez-vous dans votre boite mail The Borg couple’s story is captivating and their passion contagious This is quite something for these two doctors who have devoted their lives to the circus Because there are passions so devouring that they take over your whole life that the circus would take him to the four corners of the world that together they would build one of the world’s finest collections of circus arts But what is the point of putting together such a collection if it cannot be seen Jeanne-Yvonne and Gérard Borg are happy to lend their exceptional collection to exhibitions and it is their collection that is being honored in the museums of the Rouen agglomeration The 9th edition of the “Time of Collections” celebrates the circus and the acrobats thanks to loans from major institutions but especially thanks to the Borg collection Article produced in partnership with the Réunion des Musées Métropolitains de Rouen It’s impossible to come to Rouen without visiting its Fine Arts Museum especially since its permanent collections are free The museum also offers temporary exhibitions that have never disappointed me The current exhibition “Cirque et saltimbanques Dare to cross the small tent that welcomes you for a dive into the history of the modern circus This exhibition is a show that begins with posters announcing the arrival of the circus in the city and continues by presenting the tradition of the equestrian circus the architecture of circuses (whether they are solid or demountable) the tamers and animals and finally the circus in art with several modern works Also to be seen at the Musée des Beaux Arts is an exhibition devoted to the Fiedländer printing house which was renowned in its day for advertising the circus and acrobatic troupes as well as photographs of the American circus between the two world wars Rouen Museum of Fine ArtsEvery day except TuesdaysEsplanade Marcel-Duchamp, Rouenmbarouen.fr A few steps away from the Fine Arts Museum the Natural History Museum honors Japan by exhibiting prints from the Edo and Meiji periods It offers a vision of the circus quite different from the one presented in the neighboring museum only a flyer to be thrown away after the show ensuring its role as a transmitter of knowledge and techniques presents the method of making a print with wooden matrices and confronts the works with naturalized animals that can be found in some posters A surprising and original exhibition that will also charm the young public Beauvoisine MuseumsEvery day except Mondays198 rue Beauvoisine, Rouenmuseumderouen.fr The fascinating Musée de la Corderie Vallois which showcases a superb local industrial heritage presents the exhibition “En habits de lumière”: costumes models and accessories that recall the history of the circus from the 1960s to the 1980s all the actors of the circus are highlighted in this exhibition Industrial Museum of the Vallois Rope FactoryEvery day except Monday morning185 route de Dieppe, Notre-Dame-de-Bondevillecorderievallois.fr was a buffalo hunter who created “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” between 1882 and 1912 This show was a resounding success and was performed all over the world The arrival of a Buffalo Bill show was always an event: the camp was huge and impressive posters announced the arrival of the show The exhibition at the Fabrique des Savoirs retraces the arrival in France of this western acrobat press articles… give a glimpse of what this huge show was like The Knowledge FactoryEvery day except MondaysElbeuf-sur-Seinelafabriquedessavoirs.fr Illustration at the top of the article: Edmond Huez Borg collectionArticle realized in partnership with the Réunion des Musées Métropolitains de Rouen recevez le meilleur de Culturez-vous dans votre boite mail !