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Modernist sculpture, feminist installations, Renaissance drama, kids games, Chicago and a whole bunch of Bacon: 2024 is going to have a little bit of everything, something for everyone, as long as everyone really likes paintings.
It’s not shaping up to be a brilliant year for forward-thinking immersiveness or mind-bending conceptualism, but who needs that stuff when you've got Caravaggio to look forward to? There’ll be countless interesting shows at London’s smaller galleries to dig your eyes into – these are the big blockbusters, the major museum shows that we should all have on our hit list.
The best London art exhibitions to look forward to this year
Barbara Kruger
The Serpentine is kicking off 2024 with a celebration of one of the most direct, confrontational, simple, effective artists ever. Barbara Kruger’s combination of bold image and bold text has made the American’s work instantly recognisable and hugely influential. This show will see past pieces reconfigured as video works and mashed together with soundscapes to create a totally immersive way to experience her art.
Barbara Kruger is at the Serpentine, Feb 1-Mar 17 2024. Free. More details here.
‘When Form Comes Alive: 60 Years of Restless Sculpture’
Wibbly, wobbly, lumpy and bumpy; the Hayward’s first show of the year will be all about organic forms in sculpture. We’re talking fluidity, curviness, blobbiness and tactility in the work of artists like Franz West, Phyllida Barlow, Holly Hendry and Eva Fàbregas. This big, ultra-focused group show approach is often what the Hayward does best. Prepare for ‘promiscuously proliferating’ sculptures about ‘the poetics of gravity’, whatever that means.
‘The Life Forms’ is at the Hayward Gallery, Feb 7-May 6 2024. More details here.
Frank Auerbach: ‘The Charcoal Heads’
Frank Auerbach, a head honcho of the ‘School of London’ movement alongside folk like Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, is considered one of the most important artists of twentieth century Britain – and he’s still alive today, pumping out gorgeous, vital art. His small show of new self-portraits at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert last year proved that he’s still got it, but this Courtauld exhibition will look back at some charcoal portraits from the 1950s and ’60s which are considered ‘some of his early masterpieces.’
Frank Auerbach: ‘The Charcoal Heads’ is at the Courtauld Gallery, Feb 9-May 27. More details here.
Yoko Ono: ‘Music of the Mind’
Ono’s fame is so huge, her name so ubiquitous, that it has almost totally eclipsed the fact that she’s a leading experimental artist in her field. She’s worked in performance, film and drawing, she was part of Fluxus, she’s made music and she’s fought for peace. She is, in other words, totally legit and totally overlooked. Her work is always radical, always earnest, and often quite silly. What more could you want?
Yoko Ono is at Tate Modern, Feb 15-Sep 1 2024. More details here.
‘The Last Caravaggio’
Caravaggio was the most dramatic of all Renaissance painters, both in his work (darkness! shadow! light!) and life (murder! revenge! syphilis!). In his final years he produced his most dramatic works. This small, free display focuses on what is possibly his last painting, ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula’ on loan from Italy, and it’s full of death, violence, blood and darkness. Genuinely can’t wait.
‘The Last Caravaggio’ is at the National Gallery, Apr 18-Jul 21. Free. More details here.
Judy Chicago: ‘Revelations’
Few artists are as deserving of the title ‘icon’ as Judy Chicago; she’s spent her career quite literally blazing a trail (no, literally, there’s been a lot of smoke and fire in her art) for feminist art, creating works filled with trippy swirling colours, clever conceptual installations and hefty amounts of righteous ire. Somehow, this is her first solo show at a major London institution.
Judy Chicago is at the Serpentine, May 22-Sep 1 2024. Free. More details here.
Zanele Muholi
This mid-career survey of South African visual activist Zanele Muholi captures the breadth and power of an extensive body of work dedicated to presenting a multifaceted view of Black LGBTQI+ individuals. This show originally opened near the start of the pandemic, and has now been expanded with more recent work, all tackling big important themes like labour, racism, sexism and sexual politics.
Zanele Muholi is at Tate Modern, Jun 6 2024-Jan 26 2025. More details here.
Francis Alÿs
He’s pushed a block of ice across Mexico City, kicked a flaming football, painted a line across Palestine and moved a mountain: Belgian artist Francis Alÿs goes for big gestures to make big points. He’s one of the most affecting and recognisable conceptual artists working today, and now he’s taking over the Barbican for an exhibition about children’s games in all their different forms around the world.
Francis Alys is at the Barbican, Jun 27-Sep 1 2024. More details here.
Van Gogh: ‘Poets and Lovers’
If you pronounce it like an American, it’s time to Van Gogh crazy and if you pronounce it like the Dutch, then you’re going to need some Van Gogh syrup, because everyone’s going to absolutely lose it for Vincent this autumn. The National Gallery is going big on one of art history’s megastars, and they are not holding back. ‘Starry Night’? Got it. ‘The Yellow House’? It’s in here. Big hits, big ticket prices: welcome to 2024’s biggest blockbuster exhibition.
‘Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers’ is at the National Gallery, Sep 14 2024-Jan 19 2025. More details here.
Mike Kelley: ‘Ghost and Spirit’
In a dizzying collision of sculptural installations, found objects, performance and sound work, American artist Mike Kelley (1954-2012) tore apart ideas of America and youth. The results are often disconcerting, filled with stuffed toys and grime, but always about something essential, important, underground, powerful. This is art for the punks, the hobos and the freaks, so you normies better beware.
Mike Kelley is at Tate Modern, Oct 2 2024-Mar 9 2025. More details here.
‘Francis Bacon Portraits’
Can you ever have too much Bacon? My cardiologist thinks so, but the National Portrait Gallery heartily disagrees. So get ready to gorge yourself on Francis Bacon’s finest portraiture in this big ambitious blockbuster show of, you know, his portraiture. Could most of his work be considered portraiture? Yes, probably, but don’t let that stop you from getting your fill.
‘Francis Bacon Portraits’ is at the National Portrait Gallery, Oct 10 2024-Jan 19 2025. More details here.
Can’t wait? Here are the ten best exhibitions you can see in London right now.