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Visual Arts

Where to find art by women in London in 2019

Words and phrases like ‘long overdue’, 'overshadowed' and ‘under appreciated’ are peppering the wall texts of London’s galleries this year, as female artists step out of the shadows. Yes, the gender imbalance is finally shifting in the art world and more attention is being given to female artists than ever.
Women are now breaking the glass ceiling, no longer cast as the muse, but rather seen as the masters. From stunning surrealists to daring designers – here’s where to find art by women in London this year.

Faith Ringgold,American People #15: Hide Little Children, 1966. Courtesy Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London © 2018 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Faith Ringgold exhibition, Serpentine Gallery

This June the Serpentine Gallery is mounting an exhibition of works by American artist Faith Ringgold, the first to be held in a European institution. The show will celebrate the artist’s 50-year career, which has challenged gender and racial inequality with unwavering directness.

WHEN

06 Jun 2019 – 08 Sep 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London, W2 3XA

Luchita Hurtado, Untitled, 1969, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of artist, Photo Credit: Jeff McLane

Luchita Hurtado exhibition, Serpentine Sackler Gallery

This is Luchita Hurtado's first solo show in a public gallery. At 98, she has waited a long time for public recognition and it is an all too familiar story of the artist mother, juggling family and career, overshadowed by the burgeoning career of an artistic spouse.

WHEN

23 May 2019 – 08 Sep 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Serpentine Sackler Gallery, West Carriage Drive, Kensington Gardens, London, W2 2AR

Lee Krasner: Living Colour, Barbican Art Gallery

Throughout her career, she battled sexism in the industry and the overwhelming reputation of her husband, Jackson Pollock. But an exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery is set to change her course. Nearly 100 of Krasner’s pieces will go on display from May, in what will be the first European retrospective of her works in 50 years.

WHEN

30 May 2019 – 01 Sep 2019, Saturday - Wednesday, 10 AM - 6 PM, Thursday- Friday, 10 AM – 9 PM

WHERE

Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS

Natalia Goncharova. Left: Peasant Woman from Tula Province 1910. © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019. Right: Harvest: Angels Throwing Stones on the City © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019

Natalia Goncharova, Tate Modern

Russian artist Natalia Goncharova (1881–1962) scandalised the media of the day. She was a radical who challenged social and gender norms, using her body, as well as the theatre, to display her art. Tate Modern is set to present the first UK retrospective of her art, with a comprehensive survey of her varied career.

WHEN

6 June – 8 September, 2019

WHERE

Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG

Helene Schjerfbeck, Royal Academy

You can be excused for never having heard of Helene Schjerfbeck, an artist little-known outside of her native Finland. But that’s one of the great draws of a new exhibition at the RA, which will introduce UK audiences to another female trailblazer in art this summer. A major highlight will be Schjerfbeck’s self-portraits, a ghostly sequence in which amorphous figures stare out at the viewer against muted backgrounds – images of a woman truly ‘in a room of one’s own’.

WHEN

20 Jul 2019 — 27 Oct 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Friday 10 AM – 10 PM

WHERE

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

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #21, 1978, Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 inches, 20.3 x 25.4 cm; Image Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

Cindy Sherman, National Portrait Gallery

Cindy Sherman was performing for the camera long before mobile phones even existed. Featuring around 180 works from international public and private collections, as well as new work never before displayed in a public gallery, Cindy Sherman will trace the development of Sherman's work from the mid-70s to the present day.

WHEN

27 Jun 2019 – 15 Sep 2019, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, London, WC2H 0HE

Pre-Raphaelite Sisters, National Portrait Gallery

Pre-Raphaelite Sisters is the 160-year-delayed foil to the first exhibition of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1849. The show will illuminate the incredible contribution of twelve women to the movement, as both muses and artists in their own right.

WHEN

17 Oct 2019 - 26 Jan 2020, 10:00 AM – 18:00 PM

WHERE

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, London, WC2H 0HE

Dora Maar, Tate Modern

Tate Modern becomes home to another female surrealist this November, this time, the photographer Dora Maar. You might know her better as the erstwhile lover of Pablo Picasso. But Maar was a bold innovator, with a voice, a style and an avant-garde eye, all of her own.

WHEN

20 Nov 2019 – 15 Mar 2020, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG

Tomma Abts, Zebe 2010. Tate © Tomma Abts

Sixty Years exhibition, Tate Britain

Tate Britain has announced a new curated display dedicated to the work of women artists working in Britain from 1960 to the present day. The gallery space will showcase around 60 works by more than 30 female artists, including Turner Prize winner Rachel Whiteread, painter Bridget Riley and the multimedia artist Mona Hatoum.

WHEN

22 Apr 2019 – 22 Apr 2020, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

WHERE

Tate Britain, Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG

Where to find art by women in London in 2019

Faith Ringgold exhibition, Serpentine Gallery

Luchita Hurtado exhibition, Serpentine Sackler Gallery

Lee Krasner: Living Colour, Barbican Art Gallery

Natalia Goncharova, Tate Modern

Helene Schjerfbeck, Royal Academy

Cindy Sherman, National Portrait Gallery

Pre-Raphaelite Sisters, National Portrait Gallery

Dora Maar, Tate Modern

Sixty Years exhibition, Tate Britain

Visual Arts

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