Exhibitions to see this autumn

A very exciting exhibition is opening at Charleston’s Lewes gallery at the end of September. ‘A Temple for Everyone’ will exhibit a collection of works exploring the meaning of home by the ever spectacular Grayson Perry.

A collection of over 30 works in textile, ceramic and woodcut prints by the Turner Prize 2003 winner will invite the viewer to reflect on how the spaces we inhabit shape our stories, identities, and the way we see the world.

Highlighting what an ideal venue Charleston is for the artist, the gallery draws on similarities between Perry’s practice and that of Bloomsbury artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant who transformed the house at Charleston into a canvas and sanctuary of their ideas, expressing dreams, friendships, queerness, politics and creativity. This not to be-missed exhibition is part of a season of exhibitions at Charleston in Lewes that explore the intersections between art and home, alongside ‘Collecting Modernism: Pablo Picasso to Winifred Nicholson’. Learn more

Described as a ‘once-in-a-century’ exhibition, Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers brings together masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh from both public and private collections around the world, presenting them together for the first time at the National Gallery. 

Visitors to this exhibition can expect to see the Post-Impressionists iconic paintings ‘Starry Night over the Rhône’ (1888, Musée d’Orsay) and ‘The Yellow House’ (1888, Van Gogh Museum), as well as ‘Sunflowers’ (1888) and ‘Van Gogh's Chair’ (1889) which belong to NG’s collection among many others, which will be paired with the artist’s extraordinary drawings. Learn more

On 21 September the Royal Academy of Arts will be opening an exhibition of works by influential British artist and teacher, Michael Craig-Martin.

A key figure of his generation, Craig-Martin came to prominence in the late 1960s, moving between sculpture, installation, painting, drawing, print and digital work, to create a body of work that fuses elements from pop, minimalism and conceptual art.

The largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Craig-Martin’s work ever held in the UK, the artist will transform the RA‘s Main Galleries with work from across his career, including his early experimental sculpture, large-scale vivid pop paintings of corkscrews and smartphones, plus a dramatic site-specific installation and new immersive digital work. Learn more

This year’s Turner Prize is returning to it’s biannual home Tate Modern, where visitors can view works by this year’s four shortlisted artists, Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas.

As ever, the prestigious Prize’s shortlist features an eclectic mix of thought-provoking work, including themes of cultural loss and colonial histories in drawings and sculptures by Pio Abad, and Claudette Johnson’s examination of the marginalisation of Black people in Western art history in her celebrated figurative portraits.

Featuring drawing, etching, painting and sculpture, alongside immersive and conceptual art, there is art to suit everyone in this year’s fantastic exhibition. Be sure to keep an eye on the announcement of this year’s winner on 3 December 2024. Learn more

Between 1899 and 1901, Claude Monet visited London three times, each time beginning a series of paintings depicting Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. They were unveiled in 1904 in Paris, and though Monet had a great desire to unveil the paintings in London, his plans of doing so unfortunately fell through. 

Brought together for the first time 120 years after their inaugural exhibition, Monet’s dream has now been realised in The Courtauld’s latest exhibition, Monet and London: Views of the Thames – which will showcase this collection of paintings in the UK for the very first time. By presenting the paintings Monet himself selected for his public in Paris and London, it will provide visitors with the unique experience of seeing the show Monet curated and the radiant and atmospheric works he felt best represented his ambitious enterprise. Learn more

Opening on 10 October, the National Portrait Gallery’s Francis Bacon: Human Presence will explore Francis Bacon’s deep connection to portraiture and how he challenged traditional definitions of the genre. 

Displaying more than 55 works from the 1950s onwards, the exhibition will be a biography of the Dublin born figurative painters life, including large-scale paintings memorialising lost lovers, self-portraits and sitters including Lucian Freud, Isabel Rawsthorne and lovers Peter Lacy and George Dyer. NPG also has an exciting schedule of talks and events to coincide with the exhibition. Learn more

On 10 August 2024, Moco London opened its doors to lovers of Modern and Contemporary art. Three permanent collections can be found over the expansive Marble Arches venue, including Moco Masters which features artworks by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michael Basquiat and Keith Haring, Moco Contemporary that includes works by Tracey Emin, Julian Opie and Banksy, plus a Digital and Immersive gallery. Plus, on September 11, the gallery’s first temporary exhibition, ‘Healing Frequency’ by Marina Abramović opened. 

The culmination of Marina’s 55-year journey through the realms of art, spirituality, and human consciousness, the show features twelve works by the legendary conceptual and performance artist.

Calling on the universal capacity for transformation, Marina invites viewers to experience the profound impact of transitory objects on the human soul and how they can influence our mental and emotional experiences. If you’re a fan of modern and contemporary art, be sure to check this new and exciting museum. Learn more