Don't Miss These 11 Fantastic Exhibitions In London Right Now

Tabish Khan
By Tabish Khan Last edited 84 months ago

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Don't Miss These 11 Fantastic Exhibitions In London Right Now

Looking for a dose of culture? Want to know what's hot on London's exhibition scene? Read on.

A colourful passage

It's beautiful. Courtesy the Artist, Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong, and Victoria Miro, London (Photography: Thierry Bal)

Do Ho Suh has created a brightly coloured passageway based on doorways and corridors of the places he has lived and worked, something familiar to anyone who shares his peripatetic lifestyle. The attention to detail is superb, right down to sockets and light switches. Absorb this wonderful installation, just watch out for the hordes of selfie-takers and Instagrammers.

Do Ho Suh: Passage/s at Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Road, N1 7RW, until 18 March (Tuesday-Saturday), free ★★★★☆

A giant teddy and a trippy video

A giant teddy is part of this trippy install at Lazarides gallery.

Musician James Lavelle has curated this exhibition of merchandise, a giant blue and white teddy bear and a brilliant mesmerising video work by Doug Foster. If you loved the excellent Stanley Kubrick exhibition at Somerset House, also curated by Lavelle, think of this as the smaller sequel.

James Lavelle: Daydreaming with Unkle presents … The Road: Soho at Lazarides, 11 Rathbone Place, W1T 1HR, until 23 February (Wednesday-Saturday), free ★★★★☆

Bacon and Freud

Two heavyweights meet at Marlborough Fine Art.

Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon. Combine these two artistic heavyweights and quality is almost guaranteed. We have the contorted portraits by Bacon and the stark drawings of Freud. Sheer class.

Bacon and Freud: Graphic works at Marlborough Fine Art, 6 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BY, until 24 February (Monday-Saturday), free ★★★★☆

Giant fingers and sewer living

Giant fingers are part of Anna Bunting-Branch's installation. Copyright Anna Arca

This year’s Jerwood solo projects are the strongest yet. Giant flesh coloured fingers present a world of sci-fi feminism, a sewer is converted into a living space in a critique on modern living, and the surveillance state is brought home with a jarring video. Three brilliant and ambitious works in a great exhibition.

Jerwood Solo Presentations 2017 at Jerwood Space, 171 Union Street, SE1 0LN, until 26 February (Monday-Sunday), free ★★★★★

An algorithm on trial

An algorithm goes on trial. Photo: Tim Bowditch.

The trial of superdebthunterbot looks at whether a computer programme can be held responsible for causing a death. Sit in a jury style bench and watch videos of the defence, the prosecution and the jury’s deliberation. A particularly poignant art work.

Helen Knowles: The Trial Of Superdebthunterbot at Zabludowicz Collection, 176 Prince of Wales Road, NW5 3PT, until 26 February (Wednesday-Sunday), free ★★★★☆

Expansive landscapes

Michael Andrews' Australian paintings are his strongest. © The Estate of Michael Andrews. Courtesy James Hyman Gallery, London

A rather traditional landscape painter like Michael Andrews is not what you’d expect to see at Gagosian Gallery, but that’s what we have here. They are large paintings, but their scope is even more expansive. The paintings of Australia capture the sun-beaten landscape, while those of Britain feel a little underwhelming.

Michael Andrews: Earth Air Water at Gagosian, 20 Grosvenor Hill, W1K 3QD, until 25 March (Tuesday-Saturday), free ★★★☆☆

Surreal in Sussex

A sofa in the shape of Mae West's lips may be found at Two Temple Place. © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove.

The breadth of this exhibition is massive, starting with icons based on classical style, right through to surreal paintings by the likes of Roland Penrose. The exhibition explores how radical artists and writers were drawn to Sussex in the first half of the 20th century (don't worry though, no need to leave London). A great story backed up by some brilliant works.

Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion at Two Temple Place, WC2R 3BD, until 23 April (Wednesday-Monday), free ★★★★☆  

Colourful textiles

A packed and vivid exhibition at Fashion & Textile Museum.

Designer, artist and architect. Josef Frank was a talented man and his full breadth of outputs is explored in this colourful exhibition. Textiles hang from the ceilings, paintings adorn the walls and there are showroom interiors, all bursting with colour and patterns. This small museum always does a great job with its limited exhibition space, and this is yet another successful show.

Josef Frank: Patterns-Furniture-Paintings at Fashion & Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3XF, until 7 May (Tuesday-Sunday), £9.90 ★★★★☆  

Punk illustration

Tender punk moments. Copyright estate of Jo Brocklehurst.

Bright mohawks and leather jackets aplenty. But these drawings capture a more tender side to Punk culture, exploring emotion through colourful illustrations. It’s an insightful and visually stunning exhibition.

Jo Brocklehurst: Nobodies and Somebodies at House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, N1C 4BH, until 14 May (Tuesday-Sunday), £7.50 ★★★★☆

A plasticine kiss

Take this plasticine Rodin apart.

Rodin’s Kiss has been recreated by Urs Fischer in plasticine, and you can tear it down and re-build it however you wish. So far it’s a mix of puerile representations of genitalia and some rather inventive artistic creations. A perfect anti-Valentine's exhibition.

Urs Fischer: The Kiss at Sadie Coles, 1 Davies Street, W1K 3DB, until 11 March (Tuesday-Saturday), free ★★★★☆

An experimental painter

Vanessa Bell - Nude with Poppies. © The Estate of Vanessa Bell, courtesy of Henrietta Garnett

Vanessa Bell’s sister, Virginia Woolf, may be the better known of the two, but Bell was an accomplished painter in her own right. She was constantly trying new styles and the influence of the likes of Matisse and Picasso can be seen in her work. While there are some great works in this show, the exhibition highlights the fact that Bell never really found her own distinctive style.

Vanessa Bell at Dulwich Picture Gallery, until 4 June (Tuesday-Sunday), £14 ★★★☆☆

Last Updated 17 March 2017