The best art exhibitions in London and around the UK to see this month

Our invaluable guide to the best exhibitions in London and around the UK to see, so you don’t miss out on any must-see displays

By Fiona McKenzie Johnston

11 September 2023

The best art exhibitions in London for 2023

There may be no better way to spark inspiration and forget the doom and gloom of the world than by ducking into a gallery or museum. Here, we've rounded up the best and most exciting exhibitions to see in London (and beyond).

MAY WE SUGGEST: The affordable art guide

1/12
Sculpture towns and public art
If you have paid a visit to Wakefield in Yorkshire recently, you might have spotted some additions. Wakefield Council, in collaboration with The Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, is unveiling a series of new monumental site-specific sculptures by artists such as Annie Morris, Halima Cassell and Jason Wilsher-Mills. Public art is not new – statues have adorned streets since ancient times – but the current emphasis dates from the period after the Second World War when, on a mission to beautify the Essex new town of Harlow, the founders of Harlow Art Trust declared that high-quality art should be part of the social fabric of everyday life. Some of the greatest 20th-century artists – Henry Moore, Elisabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, Leon Underwood– conceived pieces for Harlow’s parks, shopping centres and office plazas, and new works are still being added (sculpturetown.uk).
In Wakefield, the six contemporary commissions can be seen throughout the city, including at Westgate train station, outside the library and in The Hepworth Wakefield’s garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith (featured in the November 2022 issue of House & Garden). And in London, Nick Hornby has this year created three new public commissions, one for St James’s and two for Kensington. ‘Our environment affects every-thing, from our mood to our morals,’ he says.
Pictured; Not in Anger, 1979, Leon Underwood.
2/12
Claudette Johnson: Presence
One of the most significant figurative artists of her generation, Claudette Johnson was a founding member of the Black British Art Movement. This compelling new exhibition at The Courtauld Gallery, WC2, surveys her artistic development throughout her career.
September 29-January 14, 2024; courtauld.ac.uk
Pictured; Figure in Blue, 2018
3/12
Marina Abramović
The first major UK solo showcase of this pioneering performance artist’s work is coming to the Royal Academy of Arts, W1. As well as providing an overview of Marina’s extraordinary practice, it features four seminal works performed live in the galleries.
September 23-January 1, 2024; royalacademy.org.uk
Pictured; The Hero, 2021
4/12
Grayson Perry: Smash Hits
The biggest ever exhibition of Grayson Perry’s work is taking place at the National (Royal Scottish Academy) in Edinburgh. It features art covering the full breadth of his 40-year career, from pots and prints to sculptures and tapestries, and pieces from his student days
in Portsmouth.
Until November 12; nationalgalleries.org
Pictured; Sacred Tribal Artefact, 2023

Ilona Zielinska
5/12
Karla Black solo exhibition at Newhaven Art Space
Scottish artist Karla Black is known across the globe for her abstract sulptures. This autumn, Newhaven Art Space, an artist-run gallery in the small coastal town in Sussex, is hosting a solo exhibition of new works by Karla. Karla uses a range of materials, from cotton wool, Vaseline, bath bombs and make-up to polythene, cellophane, powder paint and paper to make her large, conceptual pieces.
September 21 - November 4; newhavenprojects.co.uk
Pictured; The Academy
PETE HUGGINS 07785311449
6/12
Sean Scully at Houghton Hall: Smaller than the Sky
The gardens and historic interiors of Houghton Hall in Norfolk prove
a perfect backdrop for Sean’s vast structures and tessellating blocks
of colour. This visually arresting show also features paintings and works on paper.
Until October 29; houghtonhall.com
Pictured; Venice Stack, 2020
© National Portrait Gallery, London
7/12
Reopening of the National Portrait Gallery
Portraiture offers insights that no other genre of art can, specifically into social, cultural and even political history. Our attitude to that
heritage has undergone a shift since the National Portrait Gallery closed in 2020; along with the pandemic came new ideas regarding success and recognition, and widespread acknowledgement of structural inequality in the art world and beyond. Following the most extensive refurbishment in its history, the gallery has reopened, with new spaces and a rehang of a collection that stretches from the Tudor period to today.
Many will delight at being reacquainted with familiar works but now, alongside those, are more than 200 portraits of women and 100 by women made after 1900. The opening exhibition Yevonde: Life and Colour (until October 15) celebrates the British (female) portrait photo- grapher who pioneered the use of colour. And, on the ground floor, a gallery devoted to History Makers holds portraits of Stormzy, Jeanette Winterson and, in a tapestry by Michael Armitage, four refuse collectors who worked through the lockdowns.
Pictured; Self-portrait by Gwen John, c1900
npg.org.uk
8/12
GRUPPENAUSSTELLUNG
Hauser & Wirth Somerset celebrates its Swiss family origins with a show that features artists including Phyllida Barlow, Martin Creed and Rashid Johnson. Expect immersive installations and outdoor sculpture, plus culinary events.
Until January 1, 2024; hauserwirth.com
Pictured; Work No. 748, 2007, Martin Creed

9/12
Gwen John: Art and life in London and Paris
At Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, this exhibition sheds new light on Gwen John’s 40-year career and her artistic relationships with her brother Augustus John, teacher James Abbott McNeill Whistler and lover Auguste Rodin.
May 13-October 8; pallant.org.uk.
Pictured: Landscape at Tenby with Figures, c. 1896-97.
Mark Heathcote and Samual Cole
10/12
The Rossettis
At Tate Britain, SW1, this survey of painting, poetry, photography and more follows the romance of the Rossettis – Dante Gabriel, Christina and Elizabeth (née Siddal) – through and beyond the Pre-Raphaelite years.
April 6-September 24; tate.org.uk.
Pictured: Monna Vanna, 1866, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Bridgeman Images
11/12
Soutine | Kossoff
This exhibition at Hastings Contemporary, in East Sussex,
is the first museum show to explore the artistic relationship between two 20th-century masters: the Paris-based Chaïm Soutine and the London-based Leon Kossoff.

April 1-September 24; hastingscontemporary.org.
Pictured: Le Petit Pâtissier, c1927, Chaïm Soutine
Richard Schmidt
12/12
Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney
Our devotion to our four-legged friends is as old as time. Cave paintings show dogs alongside humans and they were a popular accoutrement to Renaissance portraits. But towards the end of the 17th century, dog owners started commissioning portraits of their hunting hounds and canine confidantes simply because they loved them. This exhibition at The Wallace Collection, W1 (March 29-October 15), presents a broad range of the genre – and a broad range of breeds. The earliest example is a 1st century AD Roman marble sculpture of two greyhounds; another highlight is a metalpoint drawing made in the late 15th century by Leonardo da Vinci. Also explored is Queen Victoria’s attachment to her spaniels – featured is Sir Edwin Landseer’s portrait of Tilco, as well as Victoria’s own sketches of her dogs. Alongside these are artists’ depictions of their pets, including Thomas Gainsborough’s Tristram and Fox, Lucian Freud’s Pluto, and David Hockney’s series of vivid vignettes of his two dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie. In a different room at the same museum, there will be a smaller exhibition titled The Queen and her Corgis (March 8- June 25), which celebrates our late Queen’s connection to her beloved companions.
wallacecollection.org.
Pictured: Dog Painting 30, 1995, David Hockney