THE BEST FREE EXHIBITIONS IN LONDON – GET YOUR CULTURE FIX AND KEEP YOUR MONEY FOR COFFEE
Spring has finally, gloriously, sprung, and as usual, London is absolutely packed with things to do – whether that’s exhibitions, events, theatre or music.
But of course, it can all get a bit pricey. So if you want to have a great weekend seeing some of London’s best culture, but also want to save a few quid, look no further than this guide to the best art shows to see in the city, which are all absolutely free.
Chris Ofili: Requiem
In this moving commission, Turner Prize-winning British artist Chris Ofili has created a giant art work across Tate Britain’s Northern Staircase to pay tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. The dream-like, brightly-coloured mural gives a special nod to fellow artist Khadija Saye who was killed in the 2017 tragedy.
Tate Britain, ongoing; tate.org.uk
Materials and Objects
Eleven rooms of the Tate are dedicated to this visual exploration of the varied materials that artists have used over the decades. Expect to see works such as Doris Salcedos famous metal structures, Marcel Duchamp’s toilet seat and Sarah Sze’s installations.
Tate Modern, ongoing; tate.org.uk
Michèle Lamy & Loree Rodkin x Rick Owens
French designer Michèle Lamy is a fixture of Paris’s fashion and art crowd. Not only is she the life partner of fashion designer Rick Owens, but over her six-decade career she has worked as a cabaret dancer, lawyer, producer, entrepreneur, artist and model. She also makes jewellery with celebrated designer Loree Rodkin, whose earrings, ring and bracelets were worn by Michelle Obama to Barack’s inaugural ball. At Carpenter’s Workshop their rings are on show alongside some of Owen’s own design pieces.
Carpenter’s Workshop, to April 26; carpentersworkshopgallery.com
Shuvinai Ashoona: When I Draw
Inuk artist Shuvinai Ashoona started drawing in the Nineties to earn money for food and cigarettes – “smoke money,” as she calls it. Now, her works have been exhibited internationally and were recently celebrated at the 2022 Venice Biennale. Combining everyday scenes of life, land and community in the Canadian Arctic with imagery associated with Inuit animism and shamanism, the pieces are illuminating, sometimes funny, and often dreamlike.
The Perimeter, to April 26; theperimeter.co.uk
Betty Parsons
By day, Betty Parsons was a visionary New York gallerist. By night, she was an abstract painter and sculptor. Here is a selection of her playful and colourful works: “I would give up my gallery in a second if the world would accept me as an artist,” she once said.
Alison Jacques, to April 27; alisonjacques.com
Wendell Castle: Suspended Disbelief
The works of sculptor Wendell Castle (1932-2018), one of the founding fathers of the American Art Furniture Movement, could be best described as ink splashes rendered in 3D. Here a range of the astonishing sculptural design pieces, created over his celebrated career, are on display.
Carpenter’s Workshop, to April 27; carpentersworkshopgallery.com
Zheng Bo: Bamboo as Method
Hong Kong based artist Zheng Bo uses film, dance and installation in their work to explore the connections between nature, biology and queer sexuality. In this large-scale commission, they have transformed Somerset House’s courtyard into a bamboo garden, creating an elegant sanctuary for contemplation and restoration.
Somerset House, to April 28; somersethouse.org.uk
Atta Kwami, Dzidzɔ kple amenuveve (Joy and Grace) 2021-22: Maria Lassnig Prize Mural
The Serpentine’s public art mural is a bright delight. One of Ghanaian painter, printmaker, historian and curator Atta Kwami’s (1956 – 2021) last ever works, the prize-winning painted construction, which is titled Joy and Grace in the West African language Ewe, is just that.
Serpentine North Garden, to April 30; serpentinegalleries.org
Accordion Fields
This group exhibition, presented across both of Lisson Gallery’s London spaces, showcases the work of eight artists who have all cultivated their practices in London over the past three decades, as the city has gone through a number of radical socio-political shifts.
Lisson Gallery, to May 4; lissongallery.com
Raqs Media Collective: Come Undone
New Delhi-based Raqs Media Collective, which is made up of artist-curator-researchers Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, presents a series of work centred around the shape of the knot. Expect glass knots, carpets, videos, a curated soundtrack, sculptures and engravings.
Frith Street Gallery, to May 4; frithstreetgallery.com
François Morellet
French painter and sculptor François Morellet (1926-2016), a pioneer of geometrical abstract art, explored perception, hierarchies and pre-established systems in his celebrated works. Here, a number of his signature light installations are on display.
Annely Juda Fine Art, to May 4; annelyjudafineart.co.uk
Aria Dean: Abattoir
In her first UK exhibition, American artist and writer Aria Dean explores modernity and death through the instantly recognisable and provocative architecture of an abattoir. The large animated film installation is accompanied by an immersive score (so described because it incorporates algorithmically generated sounds, field recordings and instrumentals) by Evan Zierk.
ICA, to May 5; ica.art
Farley Aguilar: The Age of Effluence
Nicaraguan, Miami-based, artist Farley Aguilar’s unsettling, brightly-coloured paintings depict people – in groups, walking with friends – and ask questions about the social facades of and within communities.
Edel Assanti, to May 11; edelassanti.com
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: A Scot in St Ives
Trailblazing British artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004), a key member of the St Ives group of artists whose cohort included Barbara Hepworth and Patrick Heron, is best remembered for her illuminating abstract paintings. Here 12 of her lesser-known, brilliant works on paper are displayed.
The British Museum, to May 12; britishmuseum.org
Richard Serra: Six Large Drawings
It’s been less than a fortnight since the death of Richard Serra, who was recently described as “the greatest sculptor of his generation and one of the greatest in the history of American art”. Known for creating monumental steel architectural installations that would loom over visitors below, Serra’s works were unforgiving and severe - and beautiful. Here are six of his large drawings.
David Zwirner, to May 18; davidzwirner.com
Shizuko Yoshikawa: Possible Progressions
Shizuko Yoshikawa, one of the leading female figures of the 20th century Constructivist and Concrete art movement, has spent her career creating sculptures, paintings and drawings. Here, see four-decades of the Japan-born, Switzerland-based artist’s thought-provoking works.
Marlborough Gallery London, to May 18; marlboroughgallerylondon.com
Secundino Hernández: Problematic Corners
In his fifth solo exhibition with this east London gallery, Spanish artist Secundino Hernández presents colourful works on giant ovals (the mystical shapes reoccur throughout religious iconography, and are “deeply ingrained in the Spanish imagination”). They continue his exploration of art history and aesthetic movements.
Victoria Miro, to May 18; victoria-miro.com
Shaqúelle Whyte: Yute, you’re gonna be fine
Shaqúelle Whyte’s enigmatic paintings, which often depict figures caught off-guard, ask questions about the human condition, and explore how everyday moments come to form a life.
Pippy Houldsworth, April 26 to May 25; houldsworth.co.uk
Earthly Bodies
Featuring the work of Ken Eastman, Luke Fuller, Yoshimi Futamura, Tomonari Hashimoto and Jonathan Keep, this group exhibition is a love letter to ceramics in a series of exquisite pots and sculptures.
Sarah Myerscough Gallery, to June 1; sarahmyerscough.com
Mark Corfield-Moore: We Speak Chicken
In this thought-provoking and humorous exhibition, multidisciplinary artist Mark Corfield-Moore (b. 1988, Bangkok) looks into the history of textile craftsmanship, adopting traditional techniques he learnt in northern Thailand and utilising the methods in his own playful textile works.
Goldsmiths CCA, April 12 to June 2; goldsmithscca.art
Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and The Art of Protest
Anti-rape demonstrations in Bangladesh, Iranian unrest after Mahsa Amini’s death, reactions to the US Supreme Court overturning of Roe vs Wade – these are just a few of the global events depicted in Acts of Resistance. The group photography exhibition, which has been organised in collaboration with the V&A, explores documentation as a tool of protest.
South London Gallery, to June 9; southlondongallery.org
Fanciful Figures
Drawing largely on pieces in the Lincoln's Inn museum’s fantastic collection, Fanciful Figures shines a light on the small human and animal figures that would populate large-scale Georgian architectural drawings, used by artists to add intrigue and create a sense of size.
Sir John Soane’s Museum, to June 9; soane.org
Judith Bernstein: Truth And Chaos
An outspoken feminist and anti-war activist, New Jersey-born Judith Bernstein has spent her career making provocative large-scale drawings of genitalia. Her first exhibition in London in over a decade is a retrospective of 30 years of her startling, confrontational works.
Emalin, to June 15; emalin.co.uk
Beyond Surrealism
This illuminating group exhibition, presents Surrealist works from pioneers of the genre, such as Giorgio De Chirico, Max Ernst and Joan Miró, alongside lesser-known artists who also made important contributions to the art movement. Asking questions about reality, the unconscious and perception, the exhibition marks 100 years since the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto.
Waddington Custot, April 29 to June 15; waddingtoncustot.com
Georg Baselitz: A Confession of My Sins
86-year-old German painter and sculptor Georg Baselitz returns to White Cube Bermondsey for the first time in eight years, presenting a body of new work in which he reflects on a variety of moments from his extraordinary life, and reflects on his art practice to date.
White Cube Bermondsey, to June 16; whitecube.com
Art Now: Zeinab Saleh
Art Now is Tate Britain’s long-running exhibition series spotlighting rising stars in the art scene; this time, it’s Kenyan-born and London-based artist Zeinab Saleh’s turn to shine. Drawing on everyday experiences and memories, Saleh uses patterns and silhouettes in soft colours to create a feeling of otherworldliness and intimacy.
Tate Britain, to June 23; tate.org.uk
Andrew Omoding: Animals To Remember Uganda
Ugandan-born, London-based artist Andrew Omoding presents a brand new site specific series of abstract installations that incorporate music, video and sculpture, which have been made from repurposed objects and metal. The autobiographical pieces, a continuation of his 2019 presentation at the gallery, reflect on childhood and migration.
Camden Arts Centre, April 26 to June 23; camdenartcentre.org
Leo Robinson: DREAM-BRIDGE-OMNIGLYPH
Bloomberg’s City of London basement is full of surprises. It not only consists of an art gallery, but it is home to parts of an ancient Roman temple and showcases a number of Roman artefacts too. Its next art commission is DREAM-BRIDGE-OMNIGLYPH, a collection of multimedia works from British artist Leo Robinson that explores ancient myths, personal identity, history, tradition and colonialism.
London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE, to June 29; londonmithraeum.com
Soufiane Ababri: Their mouths were full of bumblebees but it was me who was pollinated
Moroccan artist Soufiane Ababri’s first major solo UK exhibition is a tender investigation of queerness, desire and diasporic life through drawings and set design: “This atmospheric installation won’t give up all its secrets to everyone, but it’s evocative nonetheless,” said the Standard.
Barbican, to June 30; barbican.org.uk
The Conservatory x Ranjani Shettar
Not that anyone really needs an excuse to visit the Barbican’s gorgeous conservatory, but the space now features five large-scale works from Indian sculptor Ranjani Shettar. The delightful sculptures, which have been inspired by nature, have been crafted by hand using materials - including wood, stainless steel, muslin - and techniques that are used in traditional Indian craftwork.
Barbican, to July 1; barbican.org.uk
Adriano Costa: ax-d. us. t
Brazilian artist Adriano Costa uses everyday materials to create his sculpture, installation and painting works. His minimalist and modernist work is here presented in – and draws from – the historical Clerk’s House in Shoreditch High Street.
Emalin, to July 13; emalin.co.uk
The Last Caravaggio
Violent, cinematic, eternally provocative, Caravaggio’s kinetic paintings continue to inspire. Which is why a one-room show of just two of the Italian master’s paintings – The National Gallery’s Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (1609-10) and The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (1610), seen in London for the first time in 20 years – is one of the most buzzy openings of the year.
The National Gallery, to July 21; nationalgallery.org.uk
Ibrahim Mahama: Purple Hibiscus
Ibrahim Mahama has collaborated with hundreds of craftspeople from Ghana to create this delicate, uplifting installation, which sees the Barbican wrapped in 2,000 square metres of purple cloth. 100 ‘batakaris’ – royal Ghanian robes – have been hand sewn to the brightly-coloured piece that adds a shock of colour to the famous grey tones of the Brutalist space.
Barbican, to August 18; barbican.org.uk
Yinka Shonibare: Suspended States
Described as “beautiful, alluring and disquieting” and “classic Yinka”, Suspended States, Yinka Shonibare’s first London solo exhibition in more than two decades is a series of illuminating installations made since 2017. Expect statues of Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill wrapped head to toe in bright fabrics; models of buildings that have housed the vulnerable; and his harrowing war library.
Serpentine South Gallery, to September 1; serpentinegalleries.org
Beyond The Matrix: A Sculptural Exhibition by Jodie Carey
British artist Jodie Carey’s large-scale installations extend across the giant glass foyer of this east London office, inviting viewers to contemplate the anthropocene, material memory, and the relationship between objects and their environment.
100 Bishopsgate, to September 20; brookfieldproperties.com
Art Without Heroes: Mingei
Mingei, meaning ‘the art of the people’, is an early 20th century Japanese folk-craft style which encompassed ceramics, woodwork, paper, toys, textiles, photography and film. In this wide-ranging, illuminating show, unseen pieces, museum loans and archival footage tell the story of the influential movement.
William Morris Gallery, to September 22; wmgallery.org.uk
Flaming June
Frederic Leighton’s most famous painting, the exquisite Flaming June, was originally part of the British artist’s submission to the RA’s Summer Exhibition in 1895. Now, 128 years later, it’s on show at the institution again (on loan from the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico), being shown alongside work from both Leighton and his contemporaries.
Royal Academy of Arts, to January 12, 2025; royalacademy.org.uk
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2023-01-16T12:02:30Z dg43tfdfdgfd