Mehretu’s largescale gestural paintings have made her a major presence both in museums and the saleroom. In March, Venice’s Palazzo Grassi staged Mehretu’s largest exhibition in Europe to date, with more than 50 works on show. Such is the artist’s standing, however, that she invited some of her ‘closest friends’ along for the ride: her practice contextualised with works by Nairy Baghramian, Huma Bhabha, Tacita Dean, David Hammons, Robin Coste Lewis, Paul Pfeiffer and Jessica Rankin. The next generation might also have reason to be thankful: in October she donated $2.1m to the Whitney Museum in New York, where she is a trustee, to ensure free entry to all visitors twenty-five and under for the next three years. She’s breaking free from the canvas too: this year Mehretu designed the BMW Art Car, her work appearing on the bodywork of the racing M Hybrid V8, and Barack Obama commissioned a 25m-tall stained-glass window for his forthcoming presidential museum and library in Chicago. Meanwhile, the artist’s first exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region just opened at MCA Australia in Sydney.