First Impressions: 5 Art Spaces To Visit in January

This article was originally published on 1 Minute Critic

With fewer distractions, navigating the art circuit in January carries a sense of ease that typically dissipates as the year progresses. There's no better time to engage with artists like Andrea Bergen and YeonKyung Park, who continue to challenge and reshape modern sensibilities, while also revisiting trailblazers such as Léon Spilliaert.

From San Francisco to Paris, here are five art spaces we recommend visiting to get warmed up for 2026.

Andrea Bergen: ‘Every Varmit Has Its Day’

Restoring balance to nature, Andrea Bergen imagines a world without the single greatest threat to the planet: human beings. Once reduced to “vermin,” her whimsical sculptures and collages depict a diverse lineup of wildlife taking charge of a landscape left in ruin by their predecessors.

●      La Luz de Jesus Gallery [4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027]

●      January 9 – February 1, 2026

Susan Hall: ‘Balance’

There’s a tenderness to Susan Hall’s work that is unique to her touch. Though she doesn’t adhere to a single style or medium, each piece carries the same quiet sense of calm. Using animals as conduits for delicate, peace-inducing patterns, this series of oil paintings invites meditative stillness through sustained attention.

●      Kim Storage Gallery [207 E Buffalo St, Suite 404, Milwaukee, WI 53202]

●      January 2 – February 14, 2026

Léon Spilliaert: Solo Exhibition

Best known for his figurative renderings of everyday sights and objects, Léon Spilliaert perfected the craft of capturing moods that transcend language. Following a month-long run at David Zwirner’s New York gallery, a focused selection of the late Belgian artist’s illustrations and paintings will be displayed at the Paris branch.

●      David Zwirner [108 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris, France]

●      January 15 – March 21, 2026

YeonKyung Park: Unfading Traces

YeonKyung Park’s exhibition visualizes an intangible phenomenon: how images of the world fade and shift as they transform into memories. By softening the edges of her painted figures, she explores the mind’s natural tendency to distort and reinterpret glimpses of the past.

●      Galerie Shibumi [261 W 35th St, Suite 1401, New York, NY 10001]

●      January 17 – February 21, 2026

San Francisco Art Week

From Santa Cruz all the way up to Sonoma, galleries and museums across the San Francisco Bay Area will host exhibitions, talks, and pop-ups throughout the third week of January. Anchored by the Fog Design + Art fair, the event spotlights the full extent of Northern California’s creative ecosystem.

●      Multiple venues across the San Francisco Bay Area

●      January 17 – 25, 2026

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