Seven in a Week
The best exhibitions of the week by Joël Riff
Inspired by his dedication and insatiable curiosity, we’re launching a new feature: Seven in a Week. The idea is simple – and a little bit addictive: see as much as you can in a week, then choose the seven exhibitions that stand out. For this very first edition, Riff takes the lead, selecting seven shows that all connect in different ways to Claudine Monchaussé’s current exhibition at La Verrière, the Brussels art space of Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, where Riff is curator.
1. Claudine Monchaussé: Sourdre
1. Claudine Monchaussé: Sourdre
Sculptor Claudine Monchaussé (b. 1936) presents works from more than half a century of artistic practice. Her oeuvre, both consistent and layered, demonstrates how geometric forms can link the universal with the mystical. At the age of 89, she has been invited by Joël Riff for a so-called solo augmenté, an exhibition format that allows the public to experience an artist’s work in dialogue with that of other creators. Sourdre lets Monchaussé’s work literally rise from, and resonate with, other approaches to material.
On view from 11 to 28 September.
2. My Onion Canvases are Ballet ____________ The other canvases are also Ballet
DS Galerie presents for the first time the work of American painter Peter Marcasiano (1921–1984), who spent the last fifteen years of his life in Paris. His understated paintings, often devoted to simple motifs such as onions, fish, and flowers, remained unseen in his apartment after his death. By placing his work in dialogue with contemporary artists such as Victor Gogly, Maude Maris, Hamish Pearch, Victor Pueyo, Maxime Testu, Milène Sanchez, Nils Vandevenne, and Zohreh Zavareh, it takes on a new dimension and becomes part of a vibrant network.
On view from 4 September to 4 October 2025.
3. Trésor
3. Trésor
Marie Talbot (1806–c.1860) was part of a family of craftsmen who worked as potters and marchand potiers in the 19th century in the commune of Henrichemont, in central France. Following the success of last year’s exhibition devoted to Talbot, the Musée de La Borne is presenting this year, in collaboration with Trésor, a selection of masterpieces from its collections alongside recent acquisitions.
On view until 11 November 2025.
4. Le genre idéal
MAC VAL celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a new presentation of its collection that questions the concept of genres. The categories of the hierarchy of genres—with history painting at the top, followed by portrait, genre scene, landscape, and still life—have played a defining role in art history. Director Nicolas Surlapierre writes: ‘In modern times, the hierarchy of genres was no longer determined by the authoritarian ambitions of the Academy. Modern and contemporary artists resisted almost everything that the Beaux-Arts system and academic painting had transmitted, yet they did not entirely break with such classifications. At times, they transformed them, for example by integrating still lifes into genre scenes, or portraits into landscapes. The subject remained a guiding value, often excluding works without a clear subject; even performance was sometimes considered a genre scene, a portrait, or a self-portrait.’
On view until 2026.
5. Magical Realism
5. Magical Realism
Magical Realism explores how magic and reality intertwine, creating space for new ideas in a world of monocultures, precarious lives, and climate change. The exhibition features paintings, video, sound, and installations that explore different worlds: from cosmic systems to scientific laboratories, from bodies of water and bacterial skins to geological processes and the sounds of a sinking city.
On view until 28 September 2025.
6. Breathing Sea Water
Breathing Sea Water presents work by Sissel Johansen and Damien Fragnon, two artists who explore the interplay of chance and control. Johansen’s textile works focus on the body, revealing hidden forces and undercurrents, while Fragnon turns to the non-human life around us, using ceramics to nourish and restore ecosystems. Together, the artists investigate how materials and processes reveal connections, from the inner life of the body to the memory of the Earth.
On view from 13 September to 11 October 2025.
7. Milène Sanchez
7. Milène Sanchez
Milène Sanchez (b. 1997) plays with blur and sharpness to capture movement and light, bringing her images to life. Her technique is characterised by pigments she mixes herself, creating new shades that fall on a spectrum between natural and artificial. She works with oil paint and turpentine, employing the glazing technique, applying successive thin layers to give her canvases a unique depth.
On view from 20 September to 15 November.
Would you like to curate your own Seven in a Week for See All This? Sign up for the art newsletter, and we’ll soon tell you how you can join in.
Read the interview with Joël Riff here.
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