Must-see winter exhibitions

Hastings Contemporary is presenting a major survey show of the work of Caragh Thuring (b. Brussels, 1972) – her first UK exhibition in six years. 

Thuring’s unique compositions oscillate between the humorous and the quotidian, juxtaposing signs and imagery from her recurring iconography of volcanoes, bricks, submarines, tartan, human silhouettes, and flora to explore where natural and manufactured worlds collide.

The show of more than 20 works will include paintings, drawings and monotypes created over the last 15 years. All works are on loan from the artist’s own collection, as well as public and private UK collections, in order to avoid the environmental impact of international shipping. Learn more.

One of the most original and eccentric artists of the 18th century, the Swiss-born Henry Fuseli (1741–1825) is the subject of a new exhibition at The Courtauld. 

Fuseli spent most of his career in London, where he established himself as one of 18th-century Europe’s most controversial artists. He deliberately courted notoriety with his most famous painting ‘The Nightmare’ and other sensationalistic images inspired by a wide range of literature and his own imagination. 

This exhibition focuses on Fuseli’s numerous private drawings of the modern woman. Blending observed realities with elements of fantasy, these studies showcase him as one of the finest draughtsmen of the Romantic period at his most original and provocative. Read more.

Sir John Soane’s Museum is collaborating with Grafton Architects on an exhibition that explores the relationship between two of the principal buildings on Lincoln’s Inn Fields: Grafton’s Marshall Building for the London School of Economics and Political Science and Sir John Soane’s Museum.

The exhibition examines shared themes and architectural values between the Marshall Building and the work of Sir John Soane. 

Located at 44 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the Marshall Building and Sir John Soane’s Museum were both created as spaces for learning and debate, but are also sites of architectural experimentation in function, space and light.  Read more.

From astrological clay tablets, ancient papyri, medieval manuscripts and comics, TV series and cutting-edge videogames, this major exhibition reveals how Alexander the Great’s character has been adapted and appropriated by different cultures and religions over 2,000 years. 

Featuring around 140 exhibits from 25 countries in over 20 languages, Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth explores how his legacy turned into legend – a transformation that started while he was alive and continues today. 

With the oldest item dating from Alexander’s lifetime and the most recent (a graphic novel) still to be published, the exhibition considers how and why the tales surrounding Alexander became more fantastical as they spread across the cultures of Europe, Asia and beyond. Learn more.

Arnolfini is exploring the alchemical practice of internationally renowned artist Bharti Kher in a major solo exhibition of drawing, sculpture, and the spaces that lie between.

Including new and previously-unseen works created during residencies in Somerset in 2017 and 2019, The Body is a Place also features Kher’s monumental bindi drawings, the playful and political drawing-based installation ‘Links in a Chain’, sculptures made from found objects and plaster casts, and a new encounter with her site-specific bindi work Virus; part of a 30-year project began by the artist in 2010.

A collector of materials and meaning, Kher’s work invites us into ‘a world of objects and a world of words’, weaving between magical, mythical, spiritual, and scientific realms. Learn more.

The Hepworth Wakefield is presenting the first major survey of British photographer Hannah Starkey, tracing the development of her work across two decades. 

Throughout her career, Starkey’s meticulously choreographed photographs have determinedly engaged with how women are represented in contemporary culture, an issue which is now centre stage. 

Starkey reveals women in moments of private reflection, alienation or social interaction that might otherwise go unseen: a woman fleetingly fascinated by another woman’s reflection, or the attentive gaze of a mother carrying her child. Learn more.

Making Modernism is the first major UK exhibition devoted to pioneering women working in Germany in the early 1900s: Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kӓthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin. 

Celebrated in their native homelands, this exhibition introduces their innovative paintings and works on paper, alongside key pictures by Erma Bossi, Ottilie Reylaender and Jacoba van Heemskerck. 

Bringing together 65 works, many never seen in the UK before, Making Modernism foregrounds the individuality of each artist whilst shining a spotlight on the strong affinities between them. Learn more.