The Top 5 Exhibitions You Won't Want to Miss This Summer
Words Shemaiah Gold
One of the best things about visiting London are the world-class museums, galleries and exhibitions. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that nothing beats an in-person art encounter. This summer, London city is jam packed with the most insightful and creative exhibitions, whether you're in London for a short visit or just want to expand your creative mind. We've put together this guide for all the top exhibitions happening in London this summer so don't just enjoy the sun on the beach like everybody else, prepare to become enlightened by an array of the weird and wonderful world of contemporary art.
Kusama's Obliteration Room at the Tate Modern
23rd July – 29th August 2022 (Free)
Yayoi Kusama's interactive Obliteration Room begins as a white space which visitors are invited to cover with stickers. Over the course of a few weeks the room is transformed from a blank canvas into an explosion of colour, with thousands of spots stuck over every available surface.
Picasso Ingres: Face to Face at the National Gallery
3rd June – 9th October 2022 (Free)
For the first time ever a painting by Pablo Picasso (Woman with a Book, 1932) from the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, and the painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (Madame Moitessier, 1856) which famously inspired it, will be shown side by side at the National Gallery, London as part of a special collaboration between the two institutions.
Our Time on Earth at the Barbican
5th May – 29th August 2022 (££)
The new show at London’s Barbican Centre takes us inside a tree and under the earth to encourage us to marvel at the biosphere and rethink our place within it.
‘Our Time On Earth’ urges us to demote ourselves from the top of the species hierarchy and consider how what we design could be attuned to the needs of all beings, not just our own.
Eternally Yours at Somerset House
16th June – 18th September 2022 (Free)
Showcasing diverse examples of creative reuse, from historical samples of the Japanese art of Kintsugi and Boro, which embrace upcycling and repurposing, to works from contemporary artists who put repair at the heart of their practice, Eternally Yours explores the unexpectedly hopeful and healing stories that repair reveals. In light of the recent global pandemic, the exhibition seeks to unpack how ‘repair’ can guide both our individual and collective healing.
Gold at the British Library
20th May – 2nd October 2022 (£)
Dazzling beauty, striking resilience. Gold has long held the power to ignite feelings of awe and wonder across cultures.
Take a journey around the globe to learn how gold elevated art in manuscripts and books. Discover the masterful techniques used to handle such a precious metal. Examine items that are hundreds of years old.
Unveil the stories illuminated by gold.