It’s safe to say we’re in the swing of summer (even though it’s soggy) 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 are even a fair few free art exhibitions for the penny-pinchers among you here – winner, winner!
Exhibitions in London now
1. Portraits to Dream In, National Portrait Gallery
Until 16 June 2024
Two of the most influential women in the history of photography are no doubt the likes of Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron. Even though they lived a century apart – Cameron in the UK and in Sri Lanka from the 1860s and Woodman in America and Italy from the 1970s, both women explored portraiture using their own creativity and imagination. Going beyond the notions of beauty, symbolism, storytelling and transformation – Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In spans the career of both artists showcasing while showcasing more than 160 rare vintage prints.
📍 National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, WC2H 0HE.
🚇 Nearest station is Charing Cross.
🎟️ Price from £8.50. More info.
Until 2025
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.
📍 Borough Yards, London
🚇 Nearest stations are London Bridge, Borough, and Southwark
🎟️ From £12.30. More info here.
3. The Last Caravaggio, The National Gallery
Until 21 July 2024
Copyright: © Archivio Patrimonio Artistico Intesa Sanpaolo / foto Luciano Pedicini, Napoli
In May 1610, Caravaggio was in Naples working on the last masterpiece he’d ever paint. Two months later and under mysterious circumstances, he died. It is generally agreed that during his final tumultuous years, Caravaggio made some of his best and most striking works. The Baroque master painter was known for his dramatic lighting and dramatic scenes which can be seen in this last painting of his. Depicting an intricate scene of guilt and violence, the final masterpiece returns to London for the first time in 20 years and will be displayed alongside a letter that describes its creation by the artist.
📍Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN.
🚇 Nearest stations are Charing Cross.
🎟️ Free. More info here.
4. Double Exposure: David Bailey and Mary McCartney, Claridge’s Artspace
Double Exposure: David Bailey & Mary McCartney is set to bring two era-defining British photographers into discourse for the first time ever. Curated by Brandei Estes, the exhibition will feature working spanning across the 1960s to present day exploring the aesthetic of ‘reinvention, play and the art of portraiture itself.’
So you can expect glamorous portraits of celebrity icons from Kate Moss to Harry Styles alongside portraits of every day life and its moments – a ballet dancer ‘off pointe’ or a woman hailing a taxi.
📍Claridge’s Art Space, Brook Street, London, W1K 4HR.
🚇 Nearest stations is Bond Street.
🎟️ Free! More info here.
Until October 13 2024
Ever wanted to go to space with the legendary, two-time Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks? Well, now you can with this fantastic new exhibition, which ‘offers a unique new perspective on humankind’s past and future voyages to the moon‘. Hanks narrates and provides an insight into all the different Apollo missions in intimate detail. Of course, this being Lightroom in King’s Cross, you can also expect some pretty epic projections and installations! Pop this on your list of art exhibitions that you can’t miss.
📍 Lightroom, 12 Lewis Cubitt Square, London, N1C 4DY.
🚇 Nearest station is Kings Cross St Pancras.
🎟️ Price £25. More info here.
6. Expressionists: Kadinsky, Münter and The Blue Rider, Tate Modern
Until October 20 2024
A group of artists, friends and early collaborators known as The Blue Rider came together in the early 20th century – Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Franz Marc and Paul Klee came together to form ‘a union of various countries to serve one purpose’ – to transform modern art. Experimenting with colour, sound and light – artists Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter made bold and vibrant art. Expressionists is a story of friendships told through art. It examines the highly individual creatives that made up The Blue Rider, from Franz Marc’s interest in colour to Alexander Sacharoff’s freestyle performance.
📍 Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG.
🚇 Nearest stations are Blackfriars and Southwark.
🎟️ Price from £22. More info here.
Until June 29 2024
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.
📍 Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, 106 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LZ.
🚇 Nearest stations are Liverpool Street and Aldgate East.
🎟️ Price from £18. More info here.
Until January 26 2025
Zanele Muholi is easily one of the most critically acclaimed photographers today and this June, with over 260 photographs on display, this exhibition presents the full breadth of their career to date. Muholi presents them selves as a visual artist who has documented and celebrated the lives of South Africa’s Black lesbian, gay, trans, queer and intersex communities. Most of their work captures moments of love, intimacy, addresses issues of oppression and discrimination and empowers non-binary people and trans women.
📍 Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG.
🚇 Nearest stations are Blackfriars and Southwark.
🎟️ Price from £18. More info here.
Until September 1 2024
This striking new exhibition at the Tate Modern delves deep into the “powerful, participatory work of artist and activist Yoko Ono”. Spanning over seven decades, ‘Yoko Ono: Music Of The Mind’ ranges across some of the most important moments in her life, including meeting John Lennon, and her creative practices in the United States, Japan, and the UK. There are over 200 works included in the exhibition, with everything from instrumental scores to films, photography, and more. Dive into the artistic world of one of the most misunderstood and maligned creative forces in recent history.
📍 Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG.
🚇 Nearest stations are Blackfriars and Southwark.
🎟️ Price from £22. More info here.
Until January 5 2025
The V&A will showcase 300 never-seen-before prints from 140 photographers taken from Sir Elton John and David Furnish’s private art collection. The exhibition hopes to tell the story of modern and contemporary photography across a variety of subjects such as fashion, celebrity, reportage and the male body.
📍 Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL.
🚇 Nearest station is South Kensington.
🎟️ Price £20. More info here.
Until September 30 2024
An entire London residence will dedicate its space to exhibit the forgotten photographs of Andy Warhol and American printmaker central to the pop-art movement, Robert Indiana. Photographed by William John Kennedy who was known to document the ‘bohemian New York life,’ these images were said to be lost to the world for nearly 40 years. These rare photographs can now be seen in The Warhol Kennedy Residence in London, nestled just a few minutes away from The Strand. The Warhol Kennedy Residence will be the only place that one can experience the entirety of the collection with purchase editions available for the stunning and iconic images.
📍 29 Sackville Street, W1S 3DX.
🚇 Nearest station is Piccadilly Circus.
🎟️ By appointment only.
12. The World To Me Was A Secret, The Cosmic House
Until December 20 2024
A postmodern masterpiece created by Charles and Maggie Jencks between 1978 and 1983, they call it a ‘idiosyncratic private house turned museum, in a residential neighbourhood.’ Situated in the affluent Holland Park, it not only served as a living space for the couple but also a point of discussion for creatives and architectural enthusiasts alike.
📍 19 Lansdowne Walk, W11 3AH.
🚇 Nearest station is Holland Park.
🎟️ Price is £8, while students pay £5. More info here.
13. Mantegna: The Triumphs of Caesar, National Gallery
Until 2026
Considered to be among the finest achievements in Italian Renaissance art, a total of nine exquisite canvases were painted by legendary artist Andrea Mantegna in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. For the first time ever, six of them are leaving their Royal palace abode, the UNESCO-listed Hampton Court, while the Mantegna Gallery is under renovations. This means dear reader that you can get to see them with zone one – in none other than the National Gallery we might add – plus, it’s free to enter! Win, win.
📍 The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN.
🚇 Nearest station is Charing Cross.
🎟️ Free! More info here.
Until July 14 2024
Art of the Brick is a world-travelling exhibition of over 150 LEGO® artworks, currently located at the Boiler House (the irony of a LEGO® exhibition on Brick Lane was not lost). “Fortunately, there are no rules in art!” says Nathan Sawaya, the artist behind Art of the Brick. Here, this is exactly the kind of sculpture you’ll see, and it is incredibly impressive. The artworks span original works – fun pieces, and thought-provoking comments on Nathan’s life – as well as recreations of some of the world’s most iconic art, each in themed galleries. Expect stunning reimagined versions of some of the world’s most iconic masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s David to Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa – not to forget the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton.
📍 The Boiler House, 152 Brick Lane, London E1 6RU.
🚇 Nearest station is Shoreditch High Street.
🎟️ Price from £16. More info here.
15. Beyond The Bassline, The British Library
Until August 26 2024
Major exhibition at The British Library? It makes sense as Beyond The Bassline aims to provide a map through Black music in Britain. Whether its soundscapes, artworks or films produced by artists and collectives across the UK. The British Library is the perfect home for archival footage. It’s about more than just music but also the plaace where these sounds were born whether its clubs, carnivals, stages.
📍96 Euston Rd., London NW1 2DB.
🚇 Nearest station is King’s Cross.
🎟️ Price from £15. More information here.
Over at the British Museum, Michelangelo: the last decades delves into the final three pivotal decades of Michelangelo’s life. An unexpectedly active period, during which successive popes called on his expertise to commission a series of increasingly demanding artworks. Previous exhibitions have focused on Michelangelo’s earlier work (such as David or the Sistine Chapel); however this landmark exhibition showcases some of his lesser-known work including a diverse array of his poems, letters, and fascinating artwork.
📍Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG.
🚇 Nearest stations are Tottenham Court Road and Holborn.
🎟️ Price from £18. More information here.
So there you have it – a rundown of some of the best art exhibitions in London now and the rest of 2024. So what are you waiting for culture vultures? Get out there and explore!