Every week, we explore the thousands of galleries on the Artnet Gallery Network to highlight the spaces and artworks inspiring us right now. Take a look at our latest picks below.

Ara Güler
Istanbul, Turquie
Polka Galerie
Inquire for More Information

Ara Güler, Istanbul, Turquie (1954). Courtesy of Polka Gallery.

Here the mosque-adorned skyline of Istanbul vanishes under dense layers of smoke— steamboats cruising the Bosporus and landing in front of the Galata Bridge are the source of this dense pollution. The bridge here spans the city’s Golden Horn, linking the district of Eminönü on the Asian side with the quarter of Beyoğlu on the European side of Istanbul. A lively mix of cars, trams, and people are shown crossing the bridge in this 1954 photograph by Ara Güler. Güler, a member of the Paris Magnum Agency, portrayed celebrities such as Federico Fellini, Indira Gandhi, Sophia Loren, or Yaşar Kemal. However, his most iconic works are his black-and-white photographs of Istanbul. The “Eye of Istanbul”, as he was nicknamed, never considered himself an artist, but rather a visual historian.
—Elmas Senol

Eric Helvie
Shruggie Rain
Massey Klein Gallery
Inquire for More Information

Eric Helvie, Shruggie Rain (2020). Courtesy of Massey Klein Gallery.

Eric Helvie explores the obsessive act of looking through his new series of dreamy, photo-realistic portraits called “No Friends”.  In these works, moments of confrontational eye contact are surrounded by pillowy, vivid hues that encourage the viewer to linger and reflect on the process of looking at these pieces. “No Friends” is currently on view at Massey Klein Gallery through May 1, 2021.
—Gillian Ochoa

Caroline Walker
Hemming Pyjamas, Late Morning, December
Ingleby Gallery
Inquire for More Information

Caroline Walker, Hemming Pyjamas, Late Morning, December (2020) Courtesy of Ingleby Gallery.

Caroline Walker’s paintings offer an insight into people’s mundane lives. These are snapshots both metaphorically and literally—the paintings are often based on photographs. While voyeuristic, these images also challenge viewers to consider social, cultural, racial, political, and economic factors and expectations.

—Karin Petit

Suchitra Mattai
A Small Place, A Vast World (After Jamaica Kincaid)
Aicon Gallery
Inquire for More Information

Suchitra Mattai, A Small Place, A Vast World (After Jamaica Kincaid) (2020). Courtesy of Aicon Gallery.

Guyanese-born artist Suchitra Mattai creates vibrant and colorful works that consider how geography and environment mold a being’s identity. In this piece, Mattai collages colonial artifacts and designs that nod to her homeland of Guyana, while also referencing in the title a book by Antiguan American author Jamaica Kincaid. This title reference draws a connection of two island-born women who have been shaped by “a small place” but have broken out from that mold into “a vast world.” Be sure to check out this piece and others by Suchitra Mattai in New York’s Aicon Gallery’s current exhibition “FRESH EARTH.” 

—Qadira Farrington

Yulia Iosilzon
Dandelion Hairband
Huxley-Parlour
Inquire for More Information

Yulia Iosilzon, Dandelion Hairband (2021). Courtesy of Huxley-Parlour.

Yulia Iosilzon’s paintings are playful fantasies that resemble Ludwig Bemelmans’s  Madeline children’s book illustrations. In this work, we see three faces surrounded by yellow dandelions rendered in quick, energetic brushstrokes. The Israeli artist has a solo show opening this Saturday at Brooklyn’s Carvalho Park.
—Cristina Cruz

Sam Francis
Untitled
Olivier Malingue
Inquire for More Information

Sam Francis, Untitled (circa 1957). Courtesy of Olivier Malingue.

Painted around the time of the artist’s first visit to Japan, this gouache and watercolor piece with multiplying dark shapes on a bright background clearly shows Sam Francis’s interest in cell biology. as well as aerial and terrestrial landscapes.
—Sara Carson

Isabelle de Borchgrave
Plissé No°11
Serge Sorokko Gallery
Inquire for More Information

Isabelle de Borchgrave, Plissé No°11 (2012). Courtesy of Serge Sorokko Gallery.

Isabelle de Borchgrave is known as the pioneer of papiers à la mode, and this work is a primary example of her pioneering work. The title refers to pleats, a textile structure in fashion synonymous with Mariano Fortuny’s signature style Venetian column dresses. Yet by utilizing fine art materials like paper and acrylic paint, as opposed to fabric and dyes, Borchgrave bridges these parallel industries to construct a novel object. Expertly handling the vocabulary of fashion to create an artwork of pleated paper painted with motifs to resemble ikat weaving, perhaps in the Balinese tradition. Blurring boundaries this piece is not quite a painting and not quite a sculpture, but evades established categories to become its own hybrid art object.
—Carson Wos