The best free exhibitions in London – get your culture fix and keep your money for coffee
It’s summer in London, and as usual, the capital is absolutely packed with things to do – whether that’s exhibitions, events, theatre or music.
But of course, it can all get a bit pricey. So if you want to have a great weekend seeing some of London’s best culture, but also want to save a few quid, look no further than this guide to the best art shows to see in the city, which are all absolutely free.
Chris Ofili: Requiem
In this moving commission, Turner Prize-winning British artist Chris Ofili has created a giant art work across Tate Britain’s Northern Staircase to pay tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. The dream-like, brightly-coloured mural gives a special nod to fellow artist Khadija Saye who was killed in the 2017 tragedy.
Tate Britain, ongoing; tate.org.uk
Materials and Objects
Eleven rooms of the Tate are dedicated to this visual exploration of the varied materials that artists have used over the decades. Expect to see works such as Doris Salcedos famous metal structures, Marcel Duchamp’s toilet seat and Sarah Sze’s installations.
Tate Modern, ongoing; tate.org.uk
Keith Piper & Rex Whistler: Viva Voce
Rex Whistler’s 1927 mural, the backdrop of a Tate Britain restaurant for decades, was sealed off in 2020 after being deemed ‘unequivocally offensive’ by the Tate's ethics committee. The mural, titled The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meat, features caricatures of Chinese people and a black child in chains being dragged behind a carriage.
Now, the room is to be reopened, with a film installation from British artist Keith Piper, a founding member of the BLK Art Group, filling the space. The plan was to contextualise the earlier work and provide a counterpoint.
The idea is to open up a conversation about engaging with historical works: “I know there is an argument among young people now that these images retraumatise, but I think we either look or forget,” said Piper. “To keep a clear sense of history we need to see these things. We need to recognise the importance throughout black struggles, the importance of difficult images.”
Tate Britain, ongoing; tate.org.uk
Michaël Borremans: The Monkey
Belgian artist Michaël Borremans, who has been described as “may be the greatest living figurative painter”, presents a series of new works that are, as usual, strange, unnerving and incredible.
David Zwirner, to July 26; davidzwirner.com
The Body As Matter: Giacometti Nauman Picasso
What a fantastic opportunity to see the works of three great 20th century artists displayed together – Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso and perhaps the less well known Bruce Nauman – here with a focus on their distinct sculptural practices. The show delves into their exploration of the human body – from the way it is perceived, to its various representations in art.
Gagosian, to July 26; gagosian.com
Harmony Korine: Aggressive Dr1fter Part II
The work of American artist and filmmaker Harmony Korine, who directed Spring Breakers in 2012, is a meditation on experimentation and expression. Here, a new series of hallucinatory images draw from his film Aggro Dr1ft, which premiered at 2023’s Venice Film Festival.
Hauser & Wirth, to July 27; hauserwirth.com
Isa Genzken: Wasserspeier and Angels
Influential German contemporary artist Isa Genzken, best known for her sculptural works, draws on the aesthetics of Minimalism and punk culture to ask questions about society, capitalism, human experience and perception. Here her 2004 installation, Wasserspeier and Angels, is revived to celebrate two decades since its London debut.
Hauser & Wirth, to July 27; hauserwirth.com
Boscoe Holder, Geoffrey Holder
Accomplished siblings Boscoe Holder (1921-2007) and Geoffrey Holder (1930-2014) were born in Trinidad and Tobago but settled in the UK and US respectively. Both enjoyed stellar careers as artists, singers, musicians and dancers. Here, some of their exquisite paintings are on show together for the first time ever.
Victoria Miro, to July 27; victoria-miro.com
Intension
“Intension is a common misspelling of intention, but a beautiful one. Google it,” says Copperfield Gallery, introducing Intension, a show about the extraordinary capabilities of our minds, and the unfortunate way only certain kinds of intelligence are celebrated by society. The artists in the show, many of whom are neurodiverse, can do remarkable things such as see numbers in colour or 3D render in their minds, but were called stupid at school – this show mulls over these kinds of misconceptions.
Copperfield Gallery, to July 27; copperfieldgallery.com
John Baldessari: Ahmedabad 1992
American conceptual artist John Baldessari (1931-2020) played with photography, collage, painting and texts and was inspired by a wide range of sources – from film culture to Marcel Duchamp to Ludwig Wittgenstein – to make his absurdist works. Ahmedabad 1992 is a special series, made during a residency in India.
Sprüth Magers, to July 27; spruethmagers.com
Matthew Barney: Secondary: light lens parallax
A show in four parts, celebrated American contemporary artist Matthew Barney’s exhibition unfolds across London, at Sadie Coles HQ, Gladstone Gallery, Regen Projects and Galerie Max Hetzler. Exploring the relationship between the body, violence, possibility and change, the four exhibitions all work as extensions of Barney’s 2023 film, Secondary.
Sadie Coles HQ, to July 27; sadiecoles.com
Material States: Yves Klein and Günther Uecker
Yves Klein and Günther Uecker, both influential figures in Europe’s postwar avant-garde, developed radically different visual languages: French artist Klein, explored monochromes and colour, creating his iconic shade of ultramarine, as well as pioneering performance art.
German painter and sculptor Uecker asked questions about purity and simplicity in his kinetic works. But the two artists, who exhibited work together numerous times, literally became family: Klein married Uecker’s sister Rotraut in 1962, though he died of a heart attack the same year aged just 34. Here some of their remarkable works are being displayed together again.
Lévy Gorvy Dayan, to August 2; levygorvydayan.com
Kiki Kogelnik: The Dance
Kiki Kogelnik (1935-1997), a hugely influential artist in Austria who is often associated with the Pop Art movement, spent her career creating bright, psychedelic works in a wide range of materials. She grew up in post-war Europe and forever-after searched for joy and freedom – finding this physically in Paris and New York and spiritually in her work. This survey of her works focuses in on her interest on space and the body.
Pace Gallery, to August 3; pacegallery.com
Formation: Paul de Monchaux at 90
Celebrating the 90th birthday of Paul de Monchaux, this survey exhibition charts the Canadian-born British sculptor’s practice over his stellar six-decade career. His geometric works, substantial, architectural and elegant, explore themes including permanence and proportion, and have been displayed in public spaces across the country, as well as in galleries. But this isn’t his only legacy: as head of Sculpture and Fine Art at Camberwell School of Art for nearly two decades, De Monchaux played a critical role in guiding and developing many young artists.
Frestonian Gallery, to August 3; frestoniangallery.com
Lorna Robertson
The works of Glasgow-based Lorna Robertson are swirling, dream-like paintings that sit between abstraction and figuration. Here, in her first solo show in London, Robertson presents a new body of work that plays with ideas around memory, the readability of an image, and fantastical narratives.
Alison Jacques, to August 3; alisonjacques.com
Lottie Cole: A Commonplace Collection of Paintings
Lottie Cole, an associate member of the Royal Watercolour Society, paints unknown figures and gentle interior scenes full of promise – in one, a bowl of cherries rests on a chair; in another, a balcony door is left slightly ajar, letting in the moon. In this show of 30 works in watercolour and oil, she continues her explorations of motherhood, sisterhood, potential and the passing of time.
Long and Ryle, to August 9; longandryle.com
Ilona Szalay: Only Lovers Left Alive
Award-winning Beirut-born London-based artist Ilona Szalay uses a variety of media to create poetic scenes, often featuring mysterious figures, that ask questions about power and vulnerability, dominance and submission.
Arusha Gallery, July 26 to August 17; arushagallery.com
Ibrahim Mahama: Purple Hibiscus
Ibrahim Mahama has collaborated with hundreds of craftspeople from Ghana to create this delicate, uplifting installation, which sees the Barbican wrapped in 2,000 square metres of purple cloth. 100 ‘batakaris’ – royal Ghanian robes – have been hand sewn to the brightly-coloured piece that adds a shock of colour to the famous grey tones of the Brutalist space.
Barbican, to August 18; barbican.org.uk
Admonitions of the instructress to the court ladies
This masterpiece, which the British Museum describes as “a milestone in Chinese painting history”, can only be displayed for six weeks a year because it’s so fragile. It was painted somewhere between AD 400 and 700 and it’s usually attributed to Gu Kaizhi, a Chinese painter, poet, writer and politician. A rare treat.
The British Museum, to August 18; britishmuseum.org
Jodie Carey: Guard
Jodie Carey’s extraordinary sculptural installations often ask questions about material memory and the environment. Here, she continues her exploration of these themes in 150 sculptures, which reflect on evolution, the stubbornness of the natural world, and the way human beings imbue plants with meaning.
Edel Assanti, to August 23; edelassanti.com
Beryl Cook / Tom of Finland
The works of cultural icons Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland are displayed in the same space for the first time: the British artist’s comical scenes next to the Finnish artist’s homoerotic figures, the works playful and political. With the inclusion of archival materials, the survey explores their interconnected ideas concerning gender, sexuality, taste and class.
Studio Voltaire, to August 25; studiovoltaire.org
One for sorrow, two for joy (A video exhibition curated by Lauren Auder and special guests)
This exhibition curated by Lauren Auder and Tosia Leniarska consists of anonymous videos submitted by dozens of artists including Alvaro Barrington and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Its title a play on the folkloric nursery rhyme, the show is a meditation on the sheer mass of human creative expression and on different ways of bearing witness to the world.
Emalin, July 19 to August 30; emalin.co.uk
Charles Trevelyan: Vignettes
Charles Trevelyan’s background in material science and engineering can be seen in his stunning creations: inspired by structures in the natural world, the Australian designer often goes through an intensive process of experimentation to create his conceptual sculptural works. Here, pieces from two recent series, Gyre and Fuse, are shown together.
Carpenters Workshop Gallery, to August 31; carpentersworkshopgallery.com
Embraced: A Lived Experience
This group exhibition of 13 contemporary artists aims to re-examine the way that identity is depicted in portraiture. Featuring exciting new names including Pace Taylor, Adelisa Selimbašić, Caroline Walls, the works reflect on bodily experiences, vulnerability and self-expression.
Rhodes, to August 31; rhodescontemporaryart.com
Yinka Shonibare: Suspended States
Described as “beautiful, alluring and disquieting” and “classic Yinka”, Suspended States, Yinka Shonibare’s first London solo exhibition in more than two decades is a series of illuminating installations made since 2017. Expect statues of Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill wrapped head to toe in bright fabrics; models of buildings that have housed the vulnerable; and his harrowing war library.
Serpentine South Gallery, to September 1; serpentinegalleries.org
Al Held: About Space
This survey of paintings from trailblazing American artist Al Held, who died in 2005 aged 76, spans an extraordinary five-decade career. Although varied, the works have a through-line: they tend to be colourful, abstract and used geometric shapes to explore versions of space – depth, illusion and infinity.
White Cube Bermondsey, to September 1; whitecube.com
Polly Braden: Leaving Ukraine
In this moving series of photographs and short films, visual artist Polly Braden documents stories of women - mothers, daughters, teenagers and babies in arms - who have been forced to leave their homes because of the war.
Founding Museum, to September 1; foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Judy Chicago: Revelations
Judy Chicago, the celebrated artist, author and feminist, returns to London with her largest-ever solo presentation in the city.
The show, which focuses on the 84-year-old’s drawings, offers a radical retelling of history: “Chicago advocates for changing the patriarchal paradigm with a vision of the world where equality is the norm, change is the goal, and working together toward this end is the purpose of life,” said the Standard.
Serpentine North Gallery, to September 1; serpentinegalleries.org
Rheim Alkadhi: Templates for Liberation
Iraqi-American artist Rheim Alkadhi, whose family moved to the US in 1980 at the advent of the Iran-Iraq War, explores colonialism and the consequences of conflict in present day Iraq and its wider region. Using sculptures and archival documentation, she asks questions about environmental and sociopolitical violence, imperialism, displacement and rebellion.
ICA, to September 8, free on Tuesdays; ica.art
Firelei Báez: Sueño de la Madrugada (A Midnight’s Dream)
Dominican Republic-born, New York City-based artist Firelei Báez’s first solo exhibition in the UK is a series of installations, paintings and sculptures which ask questions about ecology, power and resistance. “My works are propositions, meant to create alternate pasts and potential futures, questioning history and culture,” said Báez.
South London Gallery, to September 8; southlondongallery.org
A Room With A View
In old and new works, Azerbaijani artist Aida Mahmudova explores solitude, nostalgia and longing in 70 pieces that respond in some way to Forugh Farrokhzad’s poem The Window: “One window is sufficient / One window for beholding / One window for hearing / One window,” it begins.
Saatchi Gallery, to September 10; saatchigallery.com
Dominique White: Deadweight
In this new body of work, award-winning British-based artist Dominique White presents a series of sculptures that look like shipwrecks and sea monsters in a dimly-lit gallery space. The effect is haunting and transportive as reviewers are made to feel submerged in a dark sea.
In doing so, White continues to weave together her long-time themes of rebellion, transformation, destruction and nautical myths, with an exploration of African diaspora culture, science and technology. White reminds us of a terrible truth: our vast sea is inextricably culpable in the history of enslaved people.
Whitechapel Gallery, to September 15; whitechapelgallery.org
Beyond The Matrix: A Sculptural Exhibition by Jodie Carey
British artist Jodie Carey’s large-scale installations extend across the giant glass foyer of this east London office, inviting viewers to contemplate the anthropocene, material memory, and the relationship between objects and their environment.
100 Bishopsgate, to September 20; brookfieldproperties.com
Cedric Christie: Oblivious to Your Own Career
London-based artist Cedric Christie’s training as a welder is evident in his minimalist sculptures made of industrial materials, covered in car paint. In this survey exhibition, he continues his exploration of the “aesthetic of reduction”.
Rocket Gallery, to September 21; rocketgallery.com
Art Without Heroes: Mingei
Mingei, meaning ‘the art of the people’, is an early 20th century Japanese folk-craft style which encompassed ceramics, woodwork, paper, toys, textiles, photography and film. In this wide-ranging, illuminating show, unseen pieces, museum loans and archival footage tell the story of the influential movement.
William Morris Gallery, to September 22; wmgallery.org.uk
Monumental: Tipping The Scales of Historical Design
This group exhibition presents the works of nine pioneering designers, including Le Corbusier, Serge Mouille, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé, Sergio Rodrigues and Joaquim Tenreiro, and explores questions about scale and perception.
Carpenters Workshop Gallery, to September 22; carpentersworkshopgallery.com
Dono: Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom & Harun Morrison
Somerset House Studios resident artists Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom and Harun Morrison present new works that delve into the limitations of language, looking at alternative forms of communication. The result is a show comprising sculptures and a sound installation that asks questions about surveillance, documentation and the regulation of bodies.
Somerset House, to October 20; somersethouse.org.uk
Serpentine Pavilion: Archipelagic Void
A London tradition, every year a different celebrated architect who has never built a structure in England before, designs the Serpentine’s summer pavilion. And every year, Londoners flock to Hyde Park to hang out in the new space and compare it to previous iterations. This year’s architect is South Korea’s Minsuk Cho with his practice Mass Studies. Together they have made a star-shaped pavilion, which the Standard described as having “a welcome conviction in its architectural noir”.
Hyde Park, to October 27; serpentinegalleries.org
Art Now: Steph Huang: See, See, Sea
Tate Modern’s series Art Now highlights the work of exciting emerging artists. Now it’s Taiwanese Steph Huang’s time to shine. Presenting an installation of sculptures, film and sound, Huang uses a range of techniques such as glass blowing and casting to explore mass production and consumer culture.
Tate Britain, to January 5; tate.org.uk
Flaming June
Frederic Leighton’s most famous painting, the exquisite Flaming June, was originally part of the British artist’s submission to the RA’s Summer Exhibition in 1895. Now, 128 years later, it’s on show at the institution again (on loan from the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico), being shown alongside work from both Leighton and his contemporaries.
Royal Academy of Arts, to January 12, 2025; royalacademy.org.uk
Goshka Macuga: Born From Stone
Bloomberg’s £1bn Foster and Partners London office sits directly above the London Mithraeum – the remains of a Roman temple, which they have turned into a museum and art space. Turner Prize-nominated Polish artist Goshka Macuga is its latest contemporary art commission. She will transform the space into a cave-like installation, drawing on its phenomenal history.
London Mithraeum Bloomberg Space, to January 18, 2025; londonmithraeum.com
Lina Iris Viktor: Mythic Time / Tens of Thousands of Rememberings
This collaborative exhibition between artist Lina Iris Viktor and the Museum is an exploration of time and historic traditions. Viktor, inspired by art from around the world and across the centuries, presents a show of mixed media (such as sculpture, painting, photography) that asks questions about objects and their ability to hold memories and generate connections.
Sir John Soane's Museum, to January 19, 2025; soane.org
Peter Kennard: Archive of Dissent
Peter Kennard has spent his influential five-decade career making punchy, striking images of resistance and dissent, responding to the biggest conflicts taking place in his lifetime – from the Vietnam War and the Anti-Apartheid Movement, to Gaza and Ukraine. Here the London-based artist, activist and Royal College of Art professor takes over three galleries, with a survey of works that comprises installations, posters, photomontages and books.
Whitechapel Gallery, to January 19, 2025; whitechapelgallery.org
Alvaro Barrington: Grace
In this major installation, Venezuela-born, London-based painter Alvaro Barrington honours the women who shaped him: his grandmother, sister and mother. A “constant reimagining of Black culture”, the lively show consists of paintings and sculptures inspired by his memories.
Tate Britain, to January 26, 2025; tate.org.uk
Colin Davidson: Silent Testimony
Quiet, thought-provoking and moving, the exhibition displays 18 large-scale portraits by the Belfast-born artist Colin Davidson. He’s painted individuals who have experienced loss due to The Troubles, Ireland’s 30-year sectarian conflict.
National Portrait Gallery, to February 23, 2025; npg.org.uk
