We’re now almost into winter and for a real full-on art attack, London has got you well and truly covered. Below, we’ve rounded up all the current and upcoming art exhibitions from London’s major galleries and museums, from the Tate Britain and Tate Modern to Somerset House, the V&A and the National Gallery.
These art exhibitions in London encompass everything from classic works to cutting-edge modern pieces, but all offer something for the curious. Prices quoted are generally for adults in advance. On-the-day, walk-up tickets will be a few pounds more, while students and other concessionary fares may be slightly less. There’s even a fair few free art exhibitions for the penny-pinchers among you here – winner, winner!
The mesmerising mirrored rooms of Yayoi Kusama delight whenever and wherever they appear, and that includes Tate Modern, where a pair of delightfully trippy installations have appeared. The first of these, named ‘Filled with the Brilliance of Life’, has spent plenty of time at Tate Modern, back when the gallery hosted a Kusama retrospective in 2012, and is one of the artist’s largest Infinity Rooms.
The other, entitled ‘Chandelier of Grief’, depicts a Swarovski-encrusted chandelier inside a mirrored room, which gives the impression of endless chandeliers stretching around you, as if one were in the most gloriously OTT dining room imaginable.
🎟️ Until April 28 2024. Price £10. More info.
As if Borough Yards wasn’t enough of a vibrant destination already, the district is now home to Delight – ‘an innovative media art exhibition that provides a fresh and creative interpretation of urban city life‘. You can discover 25 immersive and interactive art installations thanks to the use of cutting-edge technology. Visuals, sounds, lighting, and more are coming together to capture the realities of cities worldwide, including reflections on Seoul’s culture and people. Cop your tickets here.
🎟️ Until April 30 2024. From £12.30.
3. David Hockney: Bigger and Closer (Not Smaller & Further Away), Lightroom
Now, this man really needs no introduction. The legend that is David Hockney is back with a bang at this fantastic art exhibition, taking us on a journey exploring over 60 years’ worth of his art.
In a cycle of six themed chapters – with a specially composed score by Nico Muhly and a commentary by the artist himself – Hockney reveals his process to us in a brand-new, fully-projectable space in London’s Kings Cross St. Pancras. It promises to be an excellent addition to this art exhibitions roundup that’s for sure.
🎟️ Until December 3 2023. Price £25. More info.
One of the most popular art exhibitions of the year has to be this incredible immersive installation dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh, where you can literally step into his paintings.
Treat yourself to this all-encompassing, 360-degree display of the Dutchman’s work – which takes over all your surroundings with the use of several dozen projectors and hyper-realistic VR headsets. Tickets for this exhibition have been flying out faster than any swish of any paintbrush could manage, so grab yours here before they’re gone.
🎟️ Until January 28 2024. Price from £18.
Embark on an astonishing journey through the incomparable universe of Claude Monet, one the greatest artistic geniuses of the nineteenth century at the Boiler House in Brick Lane. Explore his life, his career, and his secrets like never before with the help of 360º digital projections and a unique virtual reality experience. Immerse yourself in Monet’s Impressionist artwork, and step into the world created by his brushstrokes – this is one you really don’t want to miss! Get a hold of your tickets here.
🎟️ Until January 7 2024. Price from £17.
6. Tracing Freud on the Acropolis, Freud Museum London
Located on a limestone hill high above the city, the Acropolis of Athens in Greece is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Over time, the site has been a fortress, a religious centre and a major cultural monument – and it was a favourite spot of none other than Sigmund Freud, who paid it a visit in 1904. Tracing Freud on the Acropolis opened earlier this Summer at the Freud Museum London, and it brings together archives, images and objects exploring Freud’s journey to Greece, and his encounter with the Acropolis.
🎟️ Until January 7 2024. From £14. More info.
7. Capturing The Moment, Tate Modern
The arrival of photography changed the course of painting forever. In this unique exhibition, we explore the dynamic relationship between the two mediums through some of the most iconic artworks of recent times. From the expressive paintings of Pablo Picasso and Paula Rego, to striking photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto and Jeff Wall, you’ll see how these two distinct mediums have shaped each other over time.
🎟️ Until January 28 2024. From £20. More info.
8. Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine at The Hayward Gallery
On October 11, the Hayward Gallery opened the biggest ever retrospective on renowned Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, one of the best art exhibitions happening in Autumn 2023. This fantastic photography exhibition will highlight Hiroshi’s playful approach to exploring the boundaries of what a photograph can contain. He is fascinated by time and loves to explore themes such as being the world’s first 16th century photographer with waxwork portraits of everyone from Henry VIII to Princess Diana, images of abandoned theatres with a long exposure of a full film being played, and his own natural history dioramas which have viewers guessing as to what’s real and what’s not…
📍 The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
🚇 Nearest station is Waterloo.
🎟️ Until January 28 2024. From £18. More info.
9. A World In Common: Contemporary African Photography, Tate Modern
Bringing together a group of artists from a whole host of different generations, this much-anticipated photography exhibition at the Tate Modern ‘will address how photography, film, audio, and more have been used to reimagine Africa’s diverse cultures and historical narratives‘. Running until January 2024, it is designed to reflect aspects of the whole continent and will explore themes of spirituality, identity, urbanism and the climate emergency too. Definitely worthy of its place on this art exhibitions roundup then!
🎟️ Until January 14 2024. Price £17. More info.
10. Marina Abramović, Royal Academy of Arts
Time for a spot of performance art, as pioneering practitioner Marina Abramović once again tests her physical and mental limits in the first major UK exhibition of her work. Like many art exhibitions, however, this one was also delayed by the pandemic. However, it’s now open for good and drew plenty of attention from it’s opening week, when the media caught on that you could squeeze your way through two naked people in order to reach a different part of the exhibition!
This major exhibition presents key moments from Abramović’s career through sculpture, video, installation and performance. Works such as ‘The Artist is Present’ will be strikingly re-staged through archive footage while others will be reperformed by the next generation of performance artists, trained in the Marina Abramović method.
🎟️ Until December 10 2023. Price from £25.50. More info.
11. Frans Hals, The National Gallery
Four hundred years since they were painted, Frans Hals’s exquisite portraits still breathe with life. Some 50 of Hals’s finest works will be brought together, including the exceptional, first-ever loan of his most famous picture, ‘The Laughing Cavalier’ (1624), from the esteemed Wallace Collection. From small works to large group portraits, there will be many different things here for you to enjoy – so don’t miss out!
🎟️ Until January 21 2024. Price £20. More info.
12. The Art of Banksy, Regent Street
The Art of Banksy is the world’s largest collection of original and authenticated Banksy art showcasing more than 150 pieces including prints, canvases, unique works and fascinating ephemera. Banksy works at the exhibition include: the first ever Flower Thrower, the Valentine’s Day Mascara street artwork (available for the public to see for free), the Girl With Balloon in three different colour variations, Rude Copper and personal stories from close associates of the artist giving unique insights into some of the world’s most famous images. Plus – it’s free for kids! Winner, winner.
🎟️ Until January 21 2024. From £17.50 for adults and free for kids under 12. More info.
13. DIVA, V&A
Certainly one of the best art exhibitions running at the moment in our beloved capital we’d argue… The immersive, audio-visual exhibition ‘DIVA’ will span two centuries and celebrate the trailblazing performers who have broken boundaries, challenged the status quo, and used their voices and platforms to encourage social and political change.
The exhibition will showcase 60 different looks and more than 250 objects and artefacts (from fashion and photography to costume and design) and will be accompanied by a captivating audio journey that will be triggered (through a pair of elegant headphones, might we add) as visitors move between the displays, making it a truly sensory experience. The exhibit will be spread across three acts: “Act One is the history, Act Two is the thematic, and Act Three brings together the stars” shares Kate Bailey – curator of the exhibit.
🎟️ Until April 7 2024. From £20. More info.
14. Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective, Photographer’s Gallery
This exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery gives you the chance to gain an insight into the works of Daido Moriyama, a Japanese photographer who has used his camera to interrogate and revolutionise the way we look at the world with his dense and grainy images. The retrospective will focus on different moments of Moriyama’s vast and productive career – beginning with his early works for Japanese magazines, interest in the American occupation, and engagement with photorealism. You’ll also then be able to see his work from the 1980’s and 1990’s, which focuses more on a self-reflexive body of work.
🎟️ Until February 11 2024. From £6.50. More info.
15. Ron Nagle, Modern Art
Modern Art in both Old Street and St. James’s is pleased to announce Ron Nagle’s third exhibition with the gallery, which takes place across two presentations: ‘Conniption’ at Helmet Row, and ‘Extraterrestrials’ at Bury Street. The acclaimed sculptor and musician – who’s know for his small-scale, refined sculptures of great detail and compelling colour – returns with a whole host of new sculptures and a suite of new drawings. Expect them to touch on the theme of Brutalism and on ‘lunar-like’ landscapes too.
🎟️ Until February January 6 2024. Free. More info.
16. Philip Guston, Tate Modern
For well over 50 years now, acclaimed artist Philip Guston restlessly made paintings and drawings that captured the anxious and turbulent world in which he was witnessing. Themes touched on in his paintings include racism in America and wars abroad, and this exhibition is designed to ‘explore how his paintings bridged the personal and the political, the abstract and the figurative, the humorous and the tragic‘. It’s the first of its kind in the UK for over 20 years now, so this one is well worth a visit!
🎟️ Until February 25 2024. Price £20. More info.
17. Holbein at the Tudor Court, The Queen’s Gallery
Hans Holbein was considered one of the most talented artists of the 16th century – he painted none other than Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas Moore after all. This fascinating exhibition at none other than Buckingham Palace showcases one of the most important surviving collections of his work, and includes drawings, paintings, miniatures and book illustrations too. This is one you really don’t want to miss!
🎟️ Until April 14 2024. Price £17. More info.
18. Sarah Lucas: ‘Happy Gas’, Tate Britain
British artist Sarah Lucas is best known and celebrated for her bold and provocative use of imagery and other materials. For over four decades, she’s used ordinary objects in extraordinary ways to challenge our understanding of sex, class and gender. Sculptures include *ahem* wax penises and a wall of ‘tabloid tits’ – so this one is pretty out there it has to be said!
🎟️ Until January 14 2024. Price £17. More info.
So there you have it – a rundown of some of the best art exhibitions in London. So what are you waiting for culture vultures? Get out there and explore!
Also published on Medium.
