Numéro art unveils its 3 covers featuring Lucas Arruda, Hideo Kojima and Wolfgang Tillmans

Lucas Arruda, Hideo Kojima and Wolfgang Tillmans on the cover of Numéro art 16

The Brazilian painter Lucas Arruda, currently featured at both the Musée d’Orsay and the Carré d’Art in Nîmes, graces the first cover of this issue. We followed him to his homeland in Brazil, to the very landscapes that inhabit his canvases, in a photographic series by Vidar Logi.

As has become tradition, Numéro art once again ventures beyond the confines of contemporary art to explore other creative realms. Hideo Kojima, the iconic video game creator known for his boundless imagination, opens the doors of his Tokyo studio. Now 61, the Japanese auteur is among the most sought-after figures in both Hollywood and the music world.

For Numéro art, Kojima agreed to a full 3D scan of himself, enabling exclusive digital images created by artist Frederik Heyman. Their two worlds, shaped by science fiction and fantasy, seemed destined to collide.

Still, the magazine has not forgotten the season’s major exhibitions. The third cover is dedicated to Wolfgang Tillmans, who will take over the Bibliothèque du Centre Pompidou this June before the institution closes for renovation. The photographer welcomed us into his Berlin studio for an in-depth interview.

Numéro art also traveled with artist and stage director Théo Mercier to Bologna to meet legendary opera visionary Romeo Castellucci. Together, they share their views on a form of art that is radical, exacting, and unafraid.

Lastly, I wanted to give carte blanche to the young French artist and DJ Christelle Oyiri, aka Crystallmess. She chose to spotlight the unsung heroes of the night—party collectives, performers, and club or bar bouncers—who make our nights forever more beautiful than our days.

Find Numéro art 16 at newsstands and on iPad starting May 2, 2025.