The summer is the perfect time to enjoy art in London, with dozens of new exhibitions to cater for every artistic taste. Drop into one of these inspiring London shows, and you may also need to make a trip to the framers with any prints or even original artworks you pick up on your cultural journey.
The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The RA’s annual open submission exhibition is a perfect opportunity to be inspired by the sheer amount of artistic talent in the UK. Astonishingly, it has been held every year since 1769, and showcases work by emerging and established artists across a range of genres and mediums, including painting, photography, printmaking and film.
The event is curated by a Royal Academician, who will consider thousands of entries for inclusion. There are no limitations on who can submit their work for inclusion, but all entries must be framed, and metal, glass and perspex clip frames are not acceptable. Frames are encouraged to be simple and neutral coloured with no hanging fixtures on the reverse.
Furthermore, the work must have been recently made to reflect the contemporary nature of the event, and not already exhibited at a major London institution. It must be an original work and not a print. The exhibition is open until 18 August 2024.
Anthony McCall, Tate Modern
McCall is best known for his light installations, and this new Solid Light exhibition at the Tate Modern features mesmeric immersive installations that change as you interact with them. His works have been described as an intersection of sculpture, cinema, drawing and performance art, and it needs to be experienced first hand.
McCall is a British born artist who is now based in New York, and his first exhibition was Line Describing a Cone in 1973. The exhibition runs until 27 April 2025.
Judy Chicago: Revelations
Chicago is an American artist who is celebrated for her emphatic retelling of the human experience from a feminist perspective. She was born in 1939, and her extensive oeuvre includes writing, sculpture, and art installations that examine women’s contributions to culture and their historical place in the world.
Her current exhibition ‘Revelations’ at the Serpentine Gallery is the largest London solo exhibition of her work, and has been critically acclaimed.
The name is taken from an unpublished manuscript Chicago wrote in the early 1970s to accompany her most famous work, ‘The Dinner Party,’ a giant installation on permanent display at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. The piece celebrates the achievements of 1038 women. The manuscript will now be published for the first time.
The exhibition is organised around chapters of the manuscript, and focuses on drawings that span six decades. There are also interactive elements and video footage to provide an immersive experience. The exhibition runs until 1 September 2024 and entry is free.
The Body as Matter: Giacometti, Nauman, Picasso
The new exhibition featuring curated sculptural works by Giacometti, Nauman, Picasso is on display at the Gagosian, Grosvenor Hill until July 26 2024. Picasso is perhaps best known for his cubist paintings and drawings, but he also produced many sculptures which characteristically invite us to view the human body from fresh perspectives.
The other two post-modern artists are chosen to compare and contrast, and the exhibition features some of their best known pieces arranged to provide thought-provoking juxtapositions.
The Last Caravaggio, The National Gallery
If Renaissance masters are more your bag, then The Last Caravaggio at The National Gallery is the unmissable experience of the summer. It features The Martyrdom of St Ursula, and is the last artwork Caravaggio ever created in 1610.
It’s a typically dark and dramatic scene as a ghostly and stricken Ursula is fatally pierced by a violent arrow to the heart.
The painting is displayed alongside a letter describing its creation, which was created just two months before the artist’s tragic early demise after a brilliant and turbulent life. The National’s own late Carrivaggio, Salome with the Head of John the Baptist is also displayed.
There will be accompanying information about the life of the artist and the stories behind the painting, and how the themes reflect on the world today. It’s free to enter in room 46 and is on display until 21 July.