10 Must-See Art and Design Exhibitions in Europe for 2025 to Spark Your Creative Inspiration
In 2025, Europe will become an open-air lab for creative inspiration. Beyond major museums and historic names, independent foundations and lesser-known cultural institutions are curating bold and inspiring exhibitions. If you work in visual creativity, illustration or design, these shows are unmissable opportunities to fuel your next project.
Here are 10 top European art and design exhibitions in 2025 that will help you find your creative inspiration and new perspectives.
1. Radical! Women Artists and Modernism 1910–1950
🗓 June 18 – October 12, 2025
Featuring over 60 women artists from more than 20 countries, this exhibition unveils the revolutionary power of their visual language during a time of profound social and political change. It’s a dive into forms, colors, and manifestos that continue to influence design, fashion, and public art today.
Perfect for illustrators, identity-focused creatives, and visual historians.
2. Pastorale – Nico Vascellari
🗓 February 18 – May 25, 2025
Inside the historic Sala delle Cariatidi, Vascellari merges sound installations, sculpture, and performance to conjure primordial landscapes. A sensory journey exploring the bond between humanity and nature, the sacred and the ritual.
Perfect for conceptual artists, performance creators, and environmental visionaries.
3. FormaFantasma: Oltre Terra
📍 Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
🗓 February 15 – July 13, 2025
Italian duo FormaFantasma explores wool production and resource extraction through raw materials, infographics, and video. The exhibition questions the designer’s role in today’s environmental crisis.
Perfect for sustainable designers, visual activists, and forward-thinking curators.
4. Stadiums: Architecture and Myth
🗓 May 30 – October 26, 2025
This show reflects on stadiums as collective icons, from ancient arenas to modern Olympic giants. It explores the link between sports, urban planning, and civic identity through drawings, models, and multimedia.
Perfect for architects, editorial illustrators, and urban designers.
5. Banksy Exhibition
📍 Museu Banksy, Lisbon, Portugal
🗓 Permanent Exhibition
This is a deep dive into the world of Banksy, with over 100 works, including graffiti, videos, and installations. Themes like war, surveillance, freedom, and consumerism take center stage.
Perfect for street artists, political illustrators, and visual storytellers.
6. David Hockney 25
📍 Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
🗓 April 8 – August 31, 2025
A sweeping retrospective of over 400 works by David Hockney, from figurative paintings to digital experiments. It’s a vibrant celebration of color, perspective, and visual freedom.
Perfect for contemporary painters, digital artists, and color enthusiasts.
7. Kandinsky: Pioneer of Abstraction
📍 Centre Pompidou, Málaga, Spain
🗓 March 28 – September 7, 2025
This five-part retrospective traces the evolution of Kandinsky’s abstract language—pure color, rhythm, and symbolism come alive in a visually immersive experience.
Perfect for abstract painters, visual designers, and calligraphers.
8. Leigh Bowery
🗓 February 27 – August 31, 2025
An icon of queer performance, Bowery transformed his body into living art. Explore his sculptural costumes, theatrical makeup, and bold self-expression that influenced art and fashion.
Perfect for fashion artists, performers, and visionary illustrators.
9. Garden Futures: Designing with Nature
🗓 May 17, 2025 – January 25, 2026
This exhibition views the garden as a metaphor for balance and resistance. Featuring projects that blend design and ecology, it explores poetic sustainability and urban nature.
Perfect for environmental designers, landscape artists, and eco-illustrators.
10. Yukinori Yanagi: Icarus
📍 Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, Italy
🗓 March 27 – July 27, 2025
This is the first major European retrospective of Japanese artist Yukinori Yanagi.His work delves into identity, borders, energy, and global politics through poetic, large-scale installations.
Perfect for installation artists, conceptual thinkers, and visual activists.
Ready to Recharge Your Creative Vision?
These 10 exhibitions are carefully selected for the Hue & Eye community.Curious minds eager to break routine and explore new artistic horizons may plan a creative retreat or look for the spark in their next project. Get your sketchbook ready—your next big idea might just be a museum visit away.
