Best of the Royal Academy art exhibitions 2019

By Lucy Scovell on 18/12/2018

From Michelangelo and Bill Viola to Lucian Freud and Antony Gormley, the Royal Academy stages some of the biggest names in art in 2019

Bill Viola, “Fire Angel”, panel 3 from Five Angels for the Millennium, 2001. Video/sound installation. Performer: Josh Coxx. Courtesy Bill Viola Studio. Photo: Kira Perov;

Bill Viola/Michelangelo, Royal Academy

15 exquisite drawings by Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo will be shown alongside major video installations by contemporary artist Bill Viola in a major Royal Academy exhibition opening in January 2019. Juxtaposing Viola and his ancient forebear, for the first time, The Royal Academy explores the unexpected affinities between the two artists.

WHEN

26 Jan 2019 – 31 Mar 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Royal Academy
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD

Phyllida Barlow exhibition: Cul-de-Sac, Royal Academy of Arts

Balanced, stacked, suspended: the abstract sculptures of British artist Phyllida Barlow arise from an intense interrogation of the art form itself. In February 2019, the Royal Academy presents a solo exhibition of her work in its recently developed Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries.

WHEN

23 Feb 2019 – 23 Jun 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Royal Academy
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD

What is the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

Everything you need to know about the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition – the world's longest running open submission contemporary art show.

WHEN

10 Jun 2019 – 12 Aug 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Royal Academy
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD

Antony Gormley, LOST HORIZON I, 2008. Cast iron. 189 x 53 x 29 cm (32 elements). Installation view, White Cube, Mason’s Yard, London, England Photograph by Stephen White, London © the artist.

Antony Gormley, Royal Academy London

The sculptor best known for The Angel of the North stages his most significant solo exhibition for over a decade in September 2019. Within the spacious galleries of the Royal Academy, Gormley explores a dialogue between some well-known works, brand new pieces and the architecture of the Royal Academy itself, shedding new light on the ways in which his oeuvre has developed over the years.

WHEN

21 Sep 2019 – 03 Dec 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Royal Academy
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD

Detail: Reflection (Self-portrait), 1985. Oil on canvas. 56.2 x 51.2 cm. Private collection, on loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images.

Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits, Royal Academy

In a world first, the Royal Academy brings together more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings in which artist Lucian Freud turns his voyeuristic gaze onto himself.

WHEN

27 Oct 2019 – 26 Jan 2020, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Royal Academy
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD