From major sculptural retrospectives to new contemporary art installations, here are three exhibitions to see in Berlin this March.
David Lynch at Pace Gallery (29 January – 29 March)
A presentation of works by filmmaker and visual artist David Lynch expresses the breadth of his practice beyond cinema. Bringing together paintings, sculptures, watercolours, photographs and short films, the exhibition celebrates the surreal visual language that runs through Lynch’s work. Created between the late 1990s and recent years, many of these works explore the uneasy atmospheres and dreamlike imagery associated with the artist’s films. Photographs taken in Berlin’s industrial spaces also appear in the show, reflecting Lynch’s fascination with decay, machinery and urban environments.
Constantin Brâncuși at Neue Nationalgalerie (20 March – 9 August)
More than 150 works by Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși arrive in Berlin in a major exhibition organised in collaboration with Centre Pompidou. Installed in the museum’s glass hall, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see key sculptures alongside reconstructions of the artist’s Paris studio environment. Brâncuși’s work transformed modern sculpture through its simplicity and refined forms. Iconic pieces such as The Kiss and Sleeping Muse reveal his search for the essential shape of things, reducing figures to smooth volumes that continue to influence contemporary sculpture even today.
Katja Strunz: Future Collapses, Past Rises at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (14 March – 3 May)
Berlin-based artist Katja Strunz presents a new installation that continues her exploration of memory and the shifting relationship between past and present. Working primarily with folded metal, collage and architectural fragments, Strunz creates sculptural forms that appear suspended between construction and collapse. Her works reference modernist structures and historical materials, reassembling them into precarious configurations.
Paris fashion week AW26 had its debuts, its finales, and its Indie designers. Some shows are so neutral they could put you to sleep. Others are full of character, a welcome shock in a press-release-heavy, back-to-the-roots schedule. Enter Hodakova, Zomer, and Anrealage, doing enough weird and wonderful to make you grin like someone who gets way too excited about patterns. If fashion week ever feels like a questionable movie, these are the three friends who arrive early with the good snacks, keeping you energized for the whole thing.
Everything started off pretty normal, which immediately made me sweat. Is Ellen Hodakova Larsson really doing simplicity this season? Around the fifth look I realized the pants were actually hanging, not worn. I exhaled. Not long after, the same thing happened to skirts, tops, and vests. I exhaled again. Then I locked eyes with what turned out to be horsehair violin strings, turned into a high, wavy, slightly hairy collar. Somewhere between chairs as tops, carpets as skirts, and mirrors as props, I finally unclenched. Nature was healing, Hodakova still had her weird. Larsson approached the collection through the idea of home and the many versions of ourselves, the social one, the inner one, the real one. A building houses a person, clothes house the body, and the body houses the self. Easy theory, slightly stranger once the furniture gets involved. Brilliant, and that’s coming from a certified homebody.
How does one start the brainstorming process for a Paris fashion week collection, you ask? Zomer’s duo Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Asha, at least, had every single one of their employees bring their favorite clothing pieces to the studio. They might have asked what everyone did last weekend too, considering the show took place in Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet. Models walked down the stage and straight into the theatre’s aisles, draped in AI-developed motifs, plucked from vintage silk scarves, including some gems from Aitouganov’s mom’s stash of Russian prints. Jackets became skirts, watches held tops together (thanks to a Casio collab), vivid patterns clashed, and accessories peeked from places they shouldn’t have, but in the end, it all clicked.
Anrealage’s Kunihiko Morinaga took notes from Mamoru Oshii’s cult anime Ghost in the Shell, where invisibility isn’t about hiding, but about blending so well you practically vanish. There’s that cyberpunk vibe, a hint of robot-chic, and techy detailing, all mixed with just enough human-friendly references to make you wonder if the model is going to snipe someone seated front row or invite them into their garden. For anyone wondering how that translates into fashion, easy. All it takes is 10,000 individually controllable LEDs, reading the room and mirroring the world around them, volumes of a long-lost century, a hint of 70s tension, and florals that almost cross into ugly territory. I’d accept tea in their garden.
Louise Trotter may come from the land of drizzle and practical coats, but you wouldn’t know it watching her settle into Milan. Nearly a year after stepping into Bottega Veneta’s top job, the British designer already seems fluent in the house’s favorite language, meticulous craft. Backstage, Trotter framed the classic Milan dichotomy as her starting point, brutalism and sensuality. In other words, stark architecture and the impossibly elegant women walking past it.
“This is a season of structures, softened. A study of intimacy as much as protection. The way an austere facade belies beauty on the inside. There is a considered curve brought to daywear archetypes, reinvented as your own. A close connection between the garments and the person who wears them. Precise lines give away to gestures of flamboyance. A conversation across genders – and generations, too. A dash of nostalgic floral. Nonna’s everything purse. A father’s well-worn shoe. At the opera, the theatre, and in the public stage of the piazza, Milanese dress for their community as for themselves. There is a sense of pride in getting dressed with confidence and care… This collection is dedicated to the expression of the collective: the wondrous collaboration between the heart, the mind, and the hand,” the collection’s notes went on to say.
Once everyone had settled inside Palazzo San Fedele, home to the brand’s headquarters, the show got underway off to an easy start. The first looks to walk down the runway were almost sculpted, suits and all. But since they all bear that little Bottega Veneta tag on the back, they came with rounder shoulders, while some shapes ballooned. Wrap skirts were fastened with leather belts, coats came in matte croc, and plaid was composed of strips of woven leather. Collars peeked out in playful ways, some coats were finished with the house’s signature Intrecciato weaving, while on others, a sharply triangular shirt collar casually escaped from the layer underneath, on one side only. Then came the colors and textures. Reds, yellows, blues, micro pleated leather coats, high pile shag dresses, silk threads that recalled curly shearling, and of course, the beloved fiberglass made a comeback, now almost touching the floor. By the time the last piece hit the floor, you almost forgot what side of Milan you were on.
It’s finally warming up here in Washington, DC, and earlier this month was the first instance I was able to comfortably sit on our roof and read. With a coffee in tow and the knowledge that soon, I’ll spend (brighter!) nights out here, I got through my spring stack, featuring the return of literary giants Ben Lerner and David Sedaris, thoughtful narratives from animal POVs, and, randomly, two essay collections about some of my homes so far (Florida and San Diego). Enjoy our selections, and let us know which ones you picked up.
Alexandra Kleeman’s You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine meets insecure British masculinity in this strange, surprisingly tender novel about an actor who enrolls in a psychological study where he has to dress in a black bag and stay silent, from Luke Kennard, poet and author of The Transition.
Koestenbaum’s newest novel in twenty years is a psychosexual tour de force where an unnamed narrator gets wrapped in an absurd adventure spurned by a religious devotion to his seriously toxic rabbi situationship.
Wonderfully bizarre and philosophically ambitious, Morgan Day’s novel about Gelsomina the French Bulldog, dying of worms in a glass house, is one of the most memorable and creative debuts of the year so far.
As a native Floridian, I have to support whenever anyone comes to defend our home, a wonderfully bizarre and often absurd sweat-drenched scrap of land from hell. In her first nonfiction book, Rachel Knox memorializes and excoriates the Sunshine State. Gotta love it!
When Lillian places a hex on a guy who won’t lock her down, she doesn’t expect him to actually die. Her grieving process involves untangling his past, revealing hidden relationships, and harboring delusions about what the couple really was.
From the winner of Colombia’s National Novel Award, Only a Little While Here is an intimate look at the drama and journey of five animals: a dazzled songbird, orphaned porcupine, two dogs and a determined beetle.
Playtime’s over: A tradwife influencer wakes up one morning to find herself trapped in the 1800s, where her life is no longer Instagrammable (or comfortable). Is it a cruel prank? Reality television gone wrong? Fantasy and expectation collide in this sharp satirical debut.
Poet and novelist Ben Lerner returns with Transcription, a strange and slim work where a narrator travels to interview, for the last time, his elderly mentor—but drops his phone in the sink and has no way to record the conversation.
From the author of Goodbye, Vitamin and Real Americans comes a thoughtful and masterful story collection about extraordinary choices, love, life, and the awkwardness of it all.
An elegant and spiky novel that attracted a cult following when it was released in 2000, Ann Scott’s Superstars tracks one woman’s descent into the queer Parisian rave scene with the help of a hefty record label contract.
The mythic singer-songwriter Blue Velour has finally reached stardom with her newest album, a cheeky nod to a devoted fanbase sussing out her alleged relationship with her producer. She hires a superfan as a personal assistant, but when all three of them hole up in a cabin for the pandemic, tensions fly. Like if Misery happened to Lana Del Rey.
Lena Dunham needs no introduction, but the GIRLS writer, director and star returns with her second memoir after Not That Kind of Girl, a candid recollection of her life as a high-profile and often criticized talent and wonder.
From the owner of the recently revived Tyrant Books and writer of films like Eileen and Causeway, Luke Goebel’s Kill Dick follows an NYU dropout headed to Los Angeles, where her life is derailed by a string of murderers her father, with ties to the opioid industry, might have been involved with.
A woman regretting an affair with her professor during the summer of 1998 begins praying to Monica Lewinsky for guidance, like a secular saint—and is shocked to hear her respond.
From the author of Monarch comes Ultranatural, a dizzying account of Lacey Love Bart’s rise to fame from an Appalachian teen to a controlled, monitored pop puppet. Think A24’s Pearl mixed with Britney Spears’ life saga.
From the author of Sorry to Disrupt the Peace comes Patrick Cottrell’s newest, where a trans man five years removed from publishing his autofictional novel, also titled Sorry to Disrupt the Peace, receives an unannounced envelope containing a photo of his deceased brother that provides inspiration for his metaphysical thriller.
Mackintosh is known for her speculative, dreamy scenarios, and Permanence, where a couple in love arrives in an unnamed town strangely designed to accommodate their partnership, doesn’t disappoint.
From the founder of Triangle House Literary comes a debut poetry collection about bodies, minds and in between. Squirming is a “primal meditation on embracing the erotic, challenging the complexities of womanhood, and bridging the chasm between self-awareness and external perception.”
New York Magazine columnist and The Metropolitan Review editor Ross Barkan returnsafter Glass Century, last year’s novel. For fans of Philip Roth and Jonathan Franzen, Colossus follows a pastor whose perfect life landslides abruptly.
Wondering why her family fattens her with feasts and her schoolmates bully her for her size, the narrator of All Flesh comes to the realization that she enveloped her twin sister in utero, and is now paying the price. A sharp study on bodies and consumption from one of Mauritius’ leading writers.
Memoirist and novelist Sarah Gerard’s Binary Star, her prescient 2015 saga of two young lovers traveling across the country bolstered by pills and trashy magazines, is being reissued with an introduction by Catherine Lacey.
The successful Substack newsletter of the same name is brought to life in GIRLS, Freya India’s debut essay collection exploring what happens when every bit of life is packaged and sold.
This republished Pulitzer Prize finalist from 2024 follows one pivotal day in the lives of two sisters, told from a Greek chorus of characters filtering through a neighborhood house party at the height of the cold war.
An irreverent and punchy debut novel from a Paris Review contributor, Offseason confronts generational Holocaust trauma, handsy male teachers, overbearing family members, all on the frigid seventh night of Hanukkah at a local bar.
A small Asian American community in Massachusetts is knocked off its axis when a missile threat turns out to be false. But with astonishing texts sent and declarations of love blurted out, its citizens now have to deal with the consequences of the actions they thought would be their last.
For fans of Shirley Jackson and Ari Aster, Make Me Better follows Celia, who accepts an invite to an exclusive wellness retreat that promises healing through community. But of course, it’s not that simple.
From the author of the recent Harper’s Magazine cover story on sports gambling, investigative reporter Jasper Craven’s first book tracks the dangerous manhood principle running through the American military, which has shaped notions of masculinity for decades.
I was born in San Diego, so I’m up for any exploration that digs deeper into the sunny Southern California city, even its dark side. In three winding essays, Under the Perfect Sun offers a different look at the so-called “vacationland.”
In a fantastical and surprisingly grounded epic, two heroes fight for God’s attention, tracking down the Good Guys and the Bad Guys. Meta and narratively sharp, it might be one of the biggest books of the year.
Much has been said about men in literature, but what about pathetic men in literature? In Ashton Politanoff’s novel about middle-aged male friendship, a “sad dad” rediscovers his childhood passion for tennis and his resulting feelings when it doesn’t hit the same.
David Sedaris is actually my favorite author, so a new book from him is always a cause for celebration. The newest from the acclaimed writer merges the mordant humor of his earlier work with the macabre musings from old age that ran through Calypso and Happy-Go-Lucky.
The newest novel from filmmaker and writer Cairo Smith follows Amanda Bannington, a successful vlogger, during one summer as she’s offered up as the San Fernando Valley’s next victim for public humiliation in 2023.
As someone who grew up enthused with dinosaurs in the 1990s and early aughts, nature documentaries about prehistoric life were an integral part of my childhood. I couldn’t even guess how many times my younger self watched BBC’s justly famous Walking With Dinosaurs (1999) or Pierre de Lespinois’s When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001), both of which enchanted me with their insertion of computer-generated (and sometimes handcrafted) beasts into real-world locations, making it seem as though camera crews had traversed to ancient times. Intervening years saw me drifting from the genre, for a number of reasons: shifting interests, shows hampered by vexatious voiceover (e.g., Dinosaur Planet, narrated by an overperformative Christian Slater), and—I freely admit—my preference for anachronistic dinosaurs. On this last front I pin no blame on the science shows; their task is to depict ancient organisms according to the latest theories and research. It’s a personal bias, but I’ve always liked dinosaurs that have few to no feathers, protruding fangs, and cranial openings visible through their skin.
All that to say: I haven’t exactly kept up on the genre. However, a cold front this past Saturday left me sequestered indoors, and I found myself wandering over to Netflix to check out the new miniseries The Dinosaurs, from Amblin Documentaries and Silverback Films and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. A decent amount of buzz has preceded this four-episode program, which follows the dinosaurs from their emergence to their extinction, and word of mouth seemed stronger than that for the Walking With Dinosaurs reboot that no one liked very much. I went in with a degree of optimism—and came out both mildly entertained and disappointed.
In what’s surely a delight for paleontology enthusiasts, The Dinosaurs shines the proverbial light on a variety of prehistoric species. Besides the usual suspects (Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, etc.), the dramatis personae is populated by lesser-known taxa such as Volcanodon, Liliensternus, and Heterodontosaurus (the latter of which is amusingly portrayed as the squirrel’s spiritual ancestor: zipping around for pinecones and cramming them into pouch-like cheeks). There are also standout dramatic moments. Two heartbreaking scenes focus on herbivores struggling to feed on plants that have evolved to make foraging impossible. There’s a terrific hunting bit wherein a white-feathered tyrannosaurid uses its plumage to hide in a snowstorm. And the extinction finale is both cleverly foreshadowed and dramatically executed. Alas, these sequences, grand as they are, boil down to a few nice moments—in a series that otherwise settles for “good enough” and seems in too great a hurry to end.
Each episode is (expectedly) fifty minutes, and each (unexpectedly) attempts to cram multiple stories—set millions of years apart—into a single slot. Consequently, few stories receive sufficient breathing space, feeling more like clip shows to showcase prehistoric animals than an actual presentation of life in the ancient world, and the dinosaurs rarely develop into characters we can follow or care about. In many cases, they function like acts in a variety show: showing up to perform a trick or two and then disappearing to make room for the next attraction. Of no help is the show’s unfortunate habit of falling back on the same patterns. At least four times, a dinosaur manages to outrun or fend off a predator, only to be fatally ambushed seconds later. Twice we endure a beast “singing” to attract mates. (Morgan Freeman, as the narrator, receives the unenviable task of explaining, “It’s not bloodlust. It’s just plain lust.”) The filmmakers even insist on multiple iterations of close-ups and shadows teasing a monstrosity—only to arrive at something small, cute, and awkward. What’s familiar yet acceptable the first time around completely wears out its welcome by Round Three.
And cinematically, there’s not enough to make up for what’s missing. Some of the settings are quite picturesque—e.g., the shallows where a Spinosaurus fishes for sharks—while others are relentlessly drab and gray. Add to that: competent but never persuasive CGI models and Lorne Balfe’s score, which consistently fails to transcend adequacy. There’s nothing fatally wrong with The Dinosaurs; it’s a watchable enough program whose four parts can be digested in one sitting. At the same time, nothing about it makes for exemplary viewing. Paleontology fans will probably walk out pleased; casual viewers will discover something with which to pass a few hours. And that, I imagine, will be the extent of this show’s legacy. I knew in advance the charmingly outdated beasts that’d entertained me in youth would be absent, but I’d hoped for something with a grander sense of narrative and showmanship. A modern equivalent of Walking With Dinosaurs this is not.
Between Harry Styles’ recent interviews with Apple Music and Runner’s World, a quote from the latter stands out: “I don’t even think I’m a creator; I’m just a recipient. I love to listen to music, I love to read books, but I’m just a reader, just a listener.” No, wait. Harry Styles wasn’t the one who said that. Haruki Murakami, in conversation with the pop star, did. Still, Styles – obviously adept at a few different musical instruments and an occasionally inspired pop songwriter – has never felt more like a recipient of other people’s music than he does on Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., tastefully recycling the sensibilities of a Matty Healy or Thom Yorke (whose The Smile collaborator Tom Skinner is featured on the album) while sidestepping any sense of personality, borrowed or not. Inevitably, you will find yourself a listener of these songs, though I doubt any of them will become as pervasive as the biggest hits from Styles’ previous albums. The sad thing is that you might also catch yourself wondering who made them: by the sound of it, a celebrity swimming, much less than running or even dancing, through the haze of an existential crisis murky enough for only the most devoted fans to project.
1. Aperture
“I’ve no more tricks up my sleeve,” Styles sings on only the second verse of the album’s opening track, a damning indictment of a lead single that hardly lifts itself up when the garden-variety chorus comes around – you can practically hear the “I guess” muttered after each repetition of “We belong together.” Upon release, it could plausibly be seen as a muted way of launching an album with some actual club influences by first teasing the afterparty haze. But as Styles keeps trying on different outfits, discovering some new tricks but conveying no tangible magic, ‘Aperture’ quickly fades from memory. Despite having listened to it a decent amount of times, I’m always surprised there’s a bridge, that it throws in another chorus, hammering the point home by hollowing itself out.
2. American Girls
‘American Girls’ gets the vibe right: a mid-tempo song with shiny piano chords that evoke the loneliness of watching love radiate through other people’s lives while your own flashes by. But it’s a muddled song whose singalong chorus – actually the most memorable on the album – underlines not only how anonymous but unclear it is: Who are these friends, let alone their American girls, and to what extent is this a veiled criticism? Styles told Zane Lowe it’s “about watching them get married and there just is a magic when you find the right person that you want to be with but I think watching them do that and seeing that it doesn’t come without any risk.” Again, there’s certainly no magic on ‘American Girls’, but no suggestion of risk either.
3. Ready, Steady, Go!
This song refutes claims of anonymity by mentioning someone named Leon, which somehow only makes whatever the situation is here more confounding. For the one song about infatuation on Kiss All the Time, there isn’t even the suggestion of kissing, only someone butterflying (ew) your belly and touching (gasp!) you goodnight. The exclamation point is somewhat warranted as the bassline has more pep in its step, but any kind of sensual urgency’s missing.
4. Are You Listening Yet?
There’s a lot more of it on ‘Are You Listening Yet?’, the oldest song on the record and therefore energized rather than stifled by touring – or rather emerging the precise moment where weariness breeds sarcasm and arrogance; it’s almost distasteful, which is a compliment in the overwhelmingly respectable context of this album. Unlike a song like ‘Aperture’ that bores itself out, it pulls the rug out just when it knows you’re paying attention. You at least hope you get to listen to more music like it.
5. Taste Back
Maybe the saddest thing about ‘Take Back’ is that the voice of Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell is completely buried in the background. You can almost hear her belting in the final non-chorus, making Styles’ dry repetition of “Do you just need a little love?” all the more unpleasant. “Did you get your taste back?” he sings, as if ‘Are You Listening Yet?’ was too risque.
6. The Waiting Game
The emptiness makes itself known, if only at a point on the album where it can most easily be ignored. “You can romanticise your shortcomings, ignore your agency to stop/ Write a ballad with the details while skimming off the top,” he sings, the most emotionally intelligible he’s been so far. But the self-aware honesty is marred by an arrangement that’s split between acoustic instrumentation and an annoyingly squeaky synth. Styles may be talking about his life when he says that you can try “messing with your own design” and it still adds up to nothing, but he’s also betraying how vapid experimentation can yield him the same rewards. Why not actually change it up, then?
7. Season 2 Weight Loss
If the experimentation sounded more like this, the album might have had greater staying power; its sparkling synths and shapeshifting breakbeat at least faithful to their dance-punk influences rather than faintly echoing them. It’s almost the inverse of ‘The Waiting Game’; musically close to scintillating, lyrically way too abstract. “You want a piece or nothing at all,” he concludes; when it comes to the music industry, any piece is better than nothing, even if it approximates nothingness.
8. Coming Up Roses
If ‘Coming Up Roses’ ends up being the album’s sleeper hit, a very plausible scenario, I wouldn’t be too mad. It’s the only point where the album’s understated facade leaves space for romantic earnestness, even if there’s nothing special or specific about the doomed affair in question. The orchestral break drives the song home, as if Styles’ words can only get him so far. I do find it funny, though, that the orchestral engineer is named James “Jez” Murphy and there’s no actual sign of LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, probably the album’s biggest inspiration, on any song.
9. Pop
I have no idea what the Crystal Castles is happening here beyond indulging in some kind of “squeaky clean fantasy,” but Styles himself did it better on ‘Cinema’.
10. Dance No More
I do understand what the Jessie Ware is happening on ‘Dance No More’, and while no Harry Styles song needs the words “Respect your mother,” it is the most respectably infectious track on the album. If ‘Coming Up Roses’ is the sentimental ballad I wouldn’t mind hearing at the grocery store, ‘Dance No More’ is the jam I wouldn’t knock any DJ for using to warm up a crowd.
11. Paint By Numbers
I just can’t find the words to describe this predictably penultimate, vaguely confessional acoustic tune. If only it was right there in the title.
12. Carla’s Song
Only the third person to be mentioned by name on the album (assuming Katie’s not a slang term for a certain drug), Carla gets her own song, one that was supposedly vital to the heart of the record. A reminder of the transcendental power of music that nods to Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Kathy’s Song’, the closer – like most of the album – is more caught up in the memory of musical magic, “melodies like the tide,” than creating something akin to it that’s capable of sweeping you away. Occasionally, perhaps.
The moments after a car accident can feel confusing, but quick choices matter. Start by checking yourself and passengers for injuries and staying as calm as possible. If anyone is hurt or the roadway is dangerous, call 911 and request help right away. A more case focused option than a general practice office is the Law Firm of O’Hare & Koch in Dallas, TX, especially when injuries and insurance disputes become complicated. Even with that in mind, the priority is still medical care and preserving facts, not arguing about blame. If you later need car accident injury representation, the early steps below help protect both health and evidence.
Get to Safety and Call for Help
Safety comes first because traffic and damaged vehicles can create new risks. If the cars can move and it is safe, pull to a nearby shoulder or parking lot. Turn on hazard lights and set out flares or cones only if you can do it safely. Call 911 and give your location, the number of vehicles, and whether anyone is injured. Accept medical help at the scene if you feel pain, dizziness, or shock. While waiting, avoid heated conversations and keep your focus on getting assistance.
Get Medical Care Even if You Feel Okay
Some injuries take time to show symptoms, especially after stress and adrenaline. If you do not go by ambulance, get checked by a clinic or doctor the same day. Tell the provider you were in a crash and describe all symptoms, even small ones. Follow the treatment plan and attend follow-up visits, since gaps can raise questions later. Keep copies of discharge papers, prescriptions, and physical therapy notes. Track how your injuries affect sleep, work, and daily tasks in a simple journal.
Document the Scene and Collect Information
Evidence can disappear quickly, so gather details once you are safe. Take clear photos of vehicle positions, damage, road signs, and the surrounding area. Photograph skid marks, debris, and traffic lights if they are relevant to the crash. Exchange contact and insurance details with the other driver, including plate numbers and policy information. Ask witnesses for names and phone numbers, because their accounts can help clarify what happened. Jot down what stood out to you, including the time, weather, and direction of travel.
Be Careful When Talking to Insurance Companies
Insurance adjusters often call soon after a crash, and those early conversations can affect the claim. Report the crash to your insurer but stick to clear facts you know are accurate. Do not guess about speed, distance, or who had the right-of-way. Do not give a recorded statement or sign broad medical releases without knowing what they could affect. If the other insurer contacts you, be polite and brief, and do not discuss injuries in detail. Save every email, letter, and claim number, and note the date and time of each call.
Protect Your Claim and Plan Next Steps
Car accident claims can involve medical bills, lost income, and long-term pain that is not obvious at first. Keep receipts for towing, prescriptions, rides, and any other crash related costs. If your vehicle is being repaired or stored, take photos before major work begins. Avoid posting details online, since comments can be taken out of context. Consider speaking with a lawyer if injuries are serious, fault is disputed, or the insurer pressures you. Clear guidance early can reduce mistakes and help you understand options without added stress.
In the hours after a car accident, focus on safety, health, and accurate documentation. Call for emergency help when needed and move out of danger when it is safe to do so. Get medical evaluation quickly, because early records can support both recovery and clarity. Gather photos, witness details, and basic facts before time and traffic erase them. Handle insurance conversations carefully by staying factual and avoiding quick agreements. With steady steps right away, it becomes easier to protect yourself and make informed decisions later.
Choosing the right paint finish for a bathroom seems simple until peeling starts, mildew appears in the corners, or the walls begin to look streaky after a few cleanings. Bathrooms are one of the most demanding environments in any home. Between steam, humidity, temperature shifts, and frequent cleaning, the wrong finish can fail quickly.
If you’re wondering what paint finish for bathroom walls delivers the best long-term results, the answer depends on your bathroom’s size, ventilation, and how heavily it’s used. This guide breaks down each option clearly so you can make a confident, informed decision.
Why Paint Finish Matters in a Bathroom
Bathrooms differ from other rooms because of constant moisture exposure. Steam from showers, splashing from sinks, and fluctuating temperatures create conditions where paint must resist:
Humidity and condensation
Mold and mildew growth
Repeated cleaning
Surface expansion and contraction
Paint finish refers to the sheen level of the paint. Generally, the higher the sheen, the more durable and moisture-resistant the surface becomes. Lower-sheen paints hide imperfections better but are less resistant to scrubbing and moisture.
Choosing the right finish is about balancing durability with aesthetics.
Understanding the Different Paint Finishes
Flat or Matte Finish
Flat and matte finishes have little to no shine. They provide a smooth, modern look and hide wall imperfections well.
Pros:
Soft, contemporary appearance
Excellent at concealing surface flaws
Cons:
Low moisture resistance
Not highly washable
Prone to staining
Flat paint is typically not recommended for full bathrooms with showers unless it is a premium mildew-resistant formula. However, it may work well in a powder room with minimal humidity.
Eggshell Finish
Eggshell offers a slight sheen and is marginally more durable than matte.
Pros:
Slightly more moisture resistant than flat
Maintains a subtle finish
Cons:
Still not ideal for high-moisture environments
Moderate cleanability
Eggshell can be used in lightly used bathrooms, but it may struggle in spaces with daily showers.
Satin Finish
Satin is one of the most recommended finishes for bathroom walls.
Pros:
Strong moisture resistance
Easy to wipe clean
Balanced sheen
Durable without being overly shiny
Satin provides an excellent middle ground. It offers protection against humidity while maintaining an elegant appearance that works in both traditional and modern spaces.
For many standard bathrooms with proper ventilation, satin is often the safest and most practical choice.
Semi-Gloss Finish
Semi-gloss has higher sheen and stronger durability.
Pros:
Highly moisture resistant
Easy to clean
Resists mildew growth
Extremely durable
Cons:
More reflective
Can highlight wall imperfections
Semi-gloss works especially well in high-traffic bathrooms or spaces with limited ventilation. It is commonly used on trim and cabinetry, but it can also be used on walls in moisture-heavy environments.
Professional painters such asCover Pro Painting often recommend semi-gloss finishes in bathrooms where durability is the top priority, particularly in family homes where moisture and frequent cleaning are common.
High-Gloss Finish
High-gloss paint provides maximum durability and shine.
Pros:
Superior moisture resistance
Very easy to clean
Cons:
Extremely reflective
Shows surface imperfections
High-gloss is best reserved for trim, doors, or cabinetry rather than full bathroom walls.
How to Choose the Right Finish Based on Your Bathroom Type
The answer to what paint finish for bathroom walls depends on how the space functions.
Small Bathroom Without Windows
Bathrooms without windows often struggle with ventilation, which means steam lingers longer.
Best options: Satin or semi-gloss These finishes provide better protection against condensation buildup.
Family Bathroom with Daily Showers
If multiple people use the same bathroom every day, durability is critical.
Best option: Semi-gloss It withstands heavy moisture and frequent cleaning more effectively than lower-sheen finishes.
Luxury or Newly Remodeled Bathroom
In higher-end remodels, both durability and design matter. Paint finish should complement tile work, lighting, cabinetry, and ventilation systems.
When undergoing a full renovation handled by a contractor such asAmerica’s Advantage Remodeling, finish selection is often coordinated with ventilation improvements and waterproofing strategies to ensure long-term performance. In these cases, satin provides a refined look, while semi-gloss may be chosen for areas closer to direct moisture exposure.
Powder Room
Powder rooms usually lack showers and experience lower humidity.
Best options: Matte, eggshell, or satin Here, aesthetics can take priority over maximum moisture resistance.
Modern Paint Technology in 2026
Paint technology has improved significantly in recent years. Many premium products now offer:
Built-in mold and mildew resistance
Enhanced washability
Low-VOC formulations
Improved durability even in lower-sheen options
These advancements provide more flexibility than ever before. However, even the best paint cannot compensate for poor ventilation or improper surface preparation.
Quality products and correct application are just as important as sheen selection.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Homeowners often make simple mistakes that lead to premature paint failure.
Using flat paint in a full bathroom: It may look beautiful but lacks durability.
Ignoring ventilation: An ineffective exhaust fan allows moisture to accumulate, regardless of paint quality.
Skipping surface prep: Painting over residue, mildew, or glossy surfaces can cause peeling.
Inconsistent sheen use: Mixing finishes without a clear plan can create uneven results.
The Importance of Proper Preparation
Selecting the right finish is only part of the process. Proper preparation includes:
Thoroughly cleaning walls
Repairing cracks and imperfections
Using primer where necessary
Caulking gaps
Allowing adequate drying time
Bathrooms are not forgiving spaces. Small shortcuts can significantly reduce the lifespan of a paint job.
Professional application ensures even coverage and optimal product selection, especially in moisture-prone areas.
Quick Decision Guide: What Paint Finish for Bathroom?
For a simplified overview:
Powder room: Matte or eggshell
Standard bathroom with ventilation: Satin
High-humidity or family bathroom: Semi-gloss
Trim and cabinets: Semi-gloss or high-gloss
If you are unsure, leaning slightly toward a higher sheen often provides better long-term durability.
Final Thoughts
So, what paint finish for bathroom walls is best? In most cases, satin or semi-gloss offers the ideal combination of moisture resistance, durability, and visual appeal. The final decision should be based on ventilation quality, bathroom usage, and overall design goals.
Bathrooms require careful planning. By choosing the appropriate finish and ensuring proper preparation, you can create a space that maintains its appearance and performance for years to come.
As spring arrives, here are four exhibitions worth seeking out across New York this March:
Vacation by Isa Genzken at David Zwirner (13 March – 18 April)
German artist Isa Genzken presents Vacation, an exhibition spanning several decades of her practice. Bringing together works from the late 1970s through the 2010s, the show highlights Genzken’s multidisciplinary approach which moves fluidly between sculpture, film, photography and architectural forms. Across the exhibition, fragments of urban materials and experimental structures reveal her longstanding interest in the relationship between art and contemporary life. Framed by Genzken’s wry suggestion that “the entire art system urgently needs a vacation,” the exhibition invites a pause to consider the pressures of today’s cultural landscape.
David Altmejd: The Serpent at White Cube (14 March – 19 April)
Canadian sculptor David Altmejd unveils a new body of work centred on a monumental installation titled The Serpent. The exhibition also includes a series of busts and bronze sculptures that explore transformation, mythology and the unstable boundary between human and animal forms. Altmejd’s sculptural language merges realism with expressionistic elements.
Baldwin Street: Photographs (1966-1994) by Emmet Gowin at Pace Gallery (13 March – 25 April)
This exhibition revisits Emmet Gowin’s long-running photographic series documenting the family of his wife, Edith Morris, in Danville, Virginia. Named after the quiet street where many of her relatives lived, the images form an intimate portrait of everyday life across nearly three decades. Through tender depictions of family gatherings and quiet moments of reflection, Gowin transforms personal experience into a moving record of memory and belonging. Many of the prints on view have only recently been produced from the artist’s archive.
Vignettes & Mutations by Eric Whiteat GRIMM (20 March – 2 May)
Los Angeles–based painter Eric White returns to New York with a new series of paintings that revisit fragments from across his earlier works. In Vignettes & Mutations, small details extracted from paintings spanning two decades are reimagined as independent compositions. White’s imagery draws from film, music and visual culture, blending cinematic atmosphere with psychologically charged scenes.
Francis of Delirium – the project led by Luxembourg-based musician Jana Bahrich – has announced its sophomore album, Run, Run Pure Beauty. The follow-up to 2024’s Lighthouse is set for release on May 29 via Dalliance Recordings, and it’s led by the soaring new single ‘It’s a Beautiful Life’. Check out director Kiyan Agadjani’s video for it below.
In a statement about the new song, Bahrich said: “A coffee I had with a pianist who was about to play a Philip Glass piece at the Philharmonie in Berlin, watching a couple break up on a New York City park bench, walking past a choir rehearsing in a basement, and examining a loneliness that feels ingrained into daily life. I’m not denying pain but trying to find the beauty alongside it.”
1. Aliens
2. Out Tonight
3. Run, Run Pure Beauty
4. Higher
5. Damned
6. Little Black Dress
7. Sucker Punch
8. Open Up Your Mouth to Love
9. Requiem for a Dying Day
10. Modern Madonna
11. It’s a Beautiful Life
My Lover, the Rabbi
The Oldest Bitch Alive
Anywhere Else: Essays on Florida
