The best new art exhibitions: London, 2022
From Francis Bacon's haunting bull to Whistler's Woman in White and Louise Bourgeois' Woven Child, your guide to the must-see London art exhibitions in 2022
Whistler’s Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan, Royal Academy
An exhibition opening at the Royal Academy in 2022 will explore the life and times of Joanna Hiffernan, a woman who had a considerable impact on the work of James Abbott McNeill Whistler and his circle. There are many women throughout the course of history who have influenced the art world. Some were artists, but this option was seldom open to women. Women were not admitted to the academies, not allowed into life drawing classes and were actively discouraged from painting anything but watercolours of flowers. Some women became artists against these odds, but plenty of others shaped the art world in other ways. Joanna Hiffernan was one such woman.
Read more ...Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child
Louise Bourgeois is perhaps best known for her colossal sculpture, Maman, a steel and marble spider standing nearly nine metres tall. Maman was the inaugural installation of Tate Modern’s newly opened Turbine Hall in 2000 and now guards the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. But, as a retrospective at the Hayward Gallery will demonstrate, Bourgeois’ work was just as impactful when she was exploring the malleability of much softer materials.
Read more ...Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature Exhibition, V&A Museum
‘Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.’ So begins The Tale of Peter Rabbit, the first of Beatrix Potter’s much-loved stories. Next February you can join Peter and friends at the V&A, with an immersive exhibition of Potter’s life and work. If Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck and Squirrel Nutkin bring back fond memories, this is the show for you.
Read more ...Cézanne exhibition, Tate Modern
It might be said that without the work of Paul Cézanne, the likes of Picasso and Matisse would not have produced the ground-breaking work they did, for, as the latter reportedly said, 'Cézanne is the father of us all.’ Picasso, in turn, referred to him as ‘the mother who protects her children.’ From October next year, Cézanne’s profound importance as the man who inspired a generation of modern masters will be explored in an exhibition at Tate Modern.
Read more ...Surrealism Beyond Borders exhibition, Tate Modern
Most people are familiar with at least some of the celebrities of surrealism – Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, André Breton, René Magritte – you know the line-up. But the movement stretched far beyond its roots in Paris and over the course of several decades became a global phenomenon. In February next year, Surrealism Beyond Borders at Tate Modern will explore the varied world of the uncanny, from Tokyo to Mexico City, Buenos Aires to Cairo.
Read more ...Raphael exhibition, National Gallery
Raphael was one of the Renaissance’s most talented painters, and together with Michelangelo and da Vinci makes up the trinity of greats. The National Gallery is bringing his full range of accomplishments to light with an exhibition of more than 90 varied works. With loans from the Louvre, Vatican Museum, Prado Museum and Uffizi, this exhibition will acquaint us with Raphael’s paintings, drawings, sculptures, and the tapestries he designed alongside ambitious reproductions of his frescoes, such as those monumental ones housed in the Vatican Palace.
Read more ...Francis Bacon: Man and Beast, Royal Academy
In 1991 Francis Bacon painted a beautiful but haunting study of a bull. The beast in the picture emerges from the darkness as if about to charge into a heavenly white light, only the dark void behind holds him back. It serves as a poignant reflection on life’s transience and is Bacon’s final work. Not long after finishing it, the artist passed away, aged 82. Held in a private collection, the two-metre high canvas only became known in 2016. Now, it's to be exhibited for the first time in the UK in a major Royal Academy exhibition charting the development of the artist’s work — notably the human figure — through his fascination with animals.
Read more ...