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Visual Arts

10 London art exhibitions to see this summer

By Lucy Scovell on 16/7/2020

After more than 100 days, London’s blockbuster museums are cautiously reopening their doors. But if you’re not yet ready to tackle the capital’s major players — we’re talking the Tate, National Gallery, Royal Academy and Barbican — get your art-world fix at some of London’s alternative (but equally fantastic) cultural hotspots. We round-up ten exhibitions worth venturing out for this summer. Masks at the ready!

In line with government guidelines, capacity in most of the venues below is limited. You may also need to pre-book a timed ticket slot, adhere to social distancing measures and wear a mask.

Breath is Invisible

Breath is Invisible (7 July – 9 August) is a new public art project in Notting Hill, comprising three site-specific exhibitions that address issues of social inequality and injustice. The project launched with in this space we breathe (7 July – 7 August), a poignant outdoor installation of nine large-scale prints by Khadija Saye, the young Gambian-British artist who tragically lost her life in the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.

Shown across the outside façade of 236 Westbourne Grove, the prints explore the migration of traditional Gambian spiritual practices. ‘The series was created from a personal need for spiritual grounding after experiencing trauma,’ Saye said before her untimely death. ‘The search for what gives meaning to our lives and what we hold onto in times of despair and life changing challenges.’

The second exhibition in the series, to be invisible (11 August – 4 September), is inspired by current events associated with the Black Lives Matter movement; while the final exhibition, The Invisible Life Force of Plants (8 September – 9 October), features work by British artist Joy Gregory that explores the origins and history of plants we think of as ‘native’. In such globally challenging times, this trio of shows packs a powerful punch.

Khadija Saye - in this space we breathe

WHEN

7 July – 9 October 2020

WHERE

236 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RH

Mushrooms: The Art, Design and Future of Funghi

Located in one of London’s grandest, neoclassical courtyards, Somerset House reopens to the public on 16 July with Mushrooms: The Art, Design and Future of Funghi. Curated by writer Francesca Gavin, this peculiar but intriguing exhibition explores the magical mysteries of mushrooms and their role as creative catalyst in the worlds of art, poetry, music and design.

There are mushroom-inspired works by 35 artists, musicians and designers on display. Highlights include a specially commissioned mycelium-based chair by Tom Dixon, one of Britain’s leading designers; and a solar-powered Mushroom Suitcase by conceptual artist Carsten Höller.

Once you’ve had your fill, grab a coffee in Hej (the on-site café) before soaking up the beautiful surrounds of the outdoor courtyard.

Seana Gavin - Collage of works

WHEN

Until late summer

WHERE

Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA

About the Human Figure

Nestled in the heart of Mayfair, Michael Werner Gallery reopens to the public with a new group exhibition of painting and sculpture that explores the creative possibilities of the human figure. Spanning the past 100 years, the works on display are by such celebrated artists as Peter Doig, James Lee Byars and Sigmar Polke.

Standout exhibits include a striking nude by French avant-garde artist Francis Picabia dating to 1911 and a 2019 sculpture of a policewoman in fabric, wool and wire by Raphaela Simon, the Berlin-based artist best known today for transforming utilitarian items into motifs of memory and nostalgia. Without the throng of usual gallery-hoppers, Michael Werner feels all the more sumptuous.

Image: Peter Doig “Hitch-hiker (Reflected)”, 1990, Oil on linen, 25 x 39 inches, 63.5 x 99 cm, DOI 174. Courtesy Michael Werner Gallery, New York and London

WHEN

7 July – 4 September 2020

WHERE

Michael Werner Gallery, 22 Upper Brook St, Mayfair, London W1K 7PZ

A trio of exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery

London’s Whitechapel Gallery springs back into action with three fantastic exhibitions, all of which have been extended throughout the summer. In the Eye of Bambi, a free display of photographs curated by artist and writer Verónica Gerber Bicecci, explores the effects of human and environmental catastrophe on landscape and language; while Radical Figures: Painting in the New Millennium brings together a new generation of brilliant artists — to include Cecily Brown, Dana Schutz and Tschabalala Self — whose challenging figurative works explore social concerns such as sexuality, gender, race, politics and body image.

Then there’s The Return of the Spirit in Painting, an exhibition of radical paintings, which takes as its starting point the Royal Academy’s seminal exhibition New Spirit in Painting in 1981. There are significant works by Nicholas Seora, Julian Schnabel and Georg Baselitz on display.

Image: © Daniel Richter / DACS, London 2019. Courtesy of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, Paris, Salzburg

WHEN

Times and dates vary

WHERE

Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High St, Shadwell, London E1 7QX

Marian Goodman

Marian Goodman has championed cutting-edge contemporary artists for more than 40 years. Among the artists the gallery represents are such famous names as John Baldessari, Maurizio Cattelan of recent 18 carat-gold-toilet fame and Tacita Dean. Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra is now too part of the gallery’s impressive artist roster.

Goodman’s London outpost, housed in one of the most striking commercial gallery spaces in the city, has reopened to the public with a stunning solo show of Dijkstra’s work.

At the heart of the exhibition is Night Watching (2019), a 35-minute long video installation featuring groups of people admiring Rembrandt’s The Night Watch (1642). Look out for Chen and Efrat (1999 – 2005) too, a series of poignant photographic portraits of Israeli twins, Chen and Efrat, captured over a period of six years.

Image: Rineke Dijkstra, Night Watching, 2019, © Rineke Dijkstra. Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery New York, Paris and London

WHEN

Until 25 July

WHERE

Marian Goodman Gallery, 5-8 Lower John Street, London W1F 9DY

Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2020

Launched in 1996, the Deutsche Börse has become the most prestigious photography prize in the world. The annual award recognises and supports the most innovative, original and relevant photographic-based practice within a given year. Previous winners include Andreas Gursky, Boris Mikhailov and Juergen Teller.

For the 2020 edition, the four nominees are Mohamed Bourouissa, Anton Kusters, Mark Neville and Clare Strand. The exhibition, which has been extended until September, comprises four distinct rooms, one for each artist. Collectively, the works on display explore the artistic, social and political issues shaping photography today. Expect to confront challenging visuals that will make you stop, stare and think.

La Prise, 2008, From the series PERIPHÉRIE © Mohamed Bourouissa, Kamel Mennour, Paris & London and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

WHEN

Reopens Tue 14 Jul extended until 20 Sep 2020

WHERE

The Photographers’ Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW

Unit London

Unit London, which started life as a pop-in Chiswick, now represents some of the most cutting-edge contemporary artists working today — to include Jake Wood-Evans, Ryan Hewett, Oh de Laval and Helen Beard. The gallery has reopened with two stellar exhibitions: Alter Ego, a group show that investigates personas as artists’ mouthpieces; and Natural Order, a solo exhibition of textured paintings by Australian artist Michael Staniak that explores the tension between our analogue and digital environments.

Next up: Rex Southwick: Purple Lands (28 July – 29 August). Look to Instagram for a taster of Southwick’s highly sought-after, highly saturated paintings.

Michael Staniak - Series of work

WHEN

Times and dates vary

WHERE

Unit London, 3 Hanover Square, Mayfair, W1S 1HD

Serpentine Galleries

The Serpentine Gallery welcomes back visitors on 4 August with Blueprints, an immersive exhibition of thought-provoking works by the Chinese multi-media artist and filmmaker Cao Fei. This free exhibition explores themes of automation, virtuality and technology to chart the ways in which recent technological developments have altered our perception of self and the way we understand reality.

Central to the exhibition is The Eternal Wave, a virtual reality artwork produced in collaboration with Acute Art. Other notable highlights include Whose Utopia? (2006) and La Town, a post-apocalyptic cityscape pictured through a cinematic stop-motion animation. It’s a discombobulating yet timely show that challenges all sense of certainty in an uncertain world.

Cao Fei, Blueprints

WHEN

4 Aug – 13 Sep 2020

WHERE

Serpentine Gallery, London W2 3XA

Anish Kapoor at Houghton Hall

Stately home Houghton Hall is a rococo haven exhibiting paintings by the likes of Rembrandt and Velázquez. Now its historic interiors and sumptuous gardens are home to celebrated works by contemporary artist Anish Kapoor. On display are more than 20 sculptures, as well as a selection of drawings and smaller works from the past 40 years, that trace the evolution of Kapoor’s distinctive monochromatic style.

Among the standout works is Sky Mirror (2018), a monumental stainless-steel mirror that turns the world upside down. There’s also a curated selection of Kapoor’s exquisite carved marble sculptures. If you’re eager for a day out of London, this is the exhibition to jump on a train for.

Anish Kapour - Untitled

WHEN

12 July – 1 November 2020 (Selected Days)

WHERE

Houghton Hall, Norfolk, PE31 6TY

Timothy Taylor: Online

If you’re not yet ready to dip your toe back into the art world’s metaphorical waters, virtually stop by Timothy Taylor and browse Artful Living, Curated by Steven Gambel.

The interior designer is best known for creating sophisticated interiors that harmoniously blend antiques and contemporary art with design and architectural pieces spanning styles and periods. This new viewing room presents work by artists that have featured in Gambel’s lively interiors alongside photographs of the interiors in which they now hang.

There are works by big-name post-war and contemporary artists, including Diane Arbus, Frank Auerbach, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and Bridget Riley on display. It will have you dreaming of reviving your interiors in no time.

Christian Marclay

WHEN

7 July — 30 August

WHERE

Timothy Taylor Gallery ONLINE