Art
There are 16 Gagosian exhibition spaces around the world and one of those is on Britannia Street. The gallery showcases modern and contemporary art with the likes of Chris Burden, Vera Lutter, Nancy Rubins and Katharina Grosse showing in King’s Cross in the past.
Art, comedy, spoken word, music; you can enjoy it all at King’s Place. The art space hosts regular festivals and series (examples include Jewish Book Week and Venus Unwrapped on music by women) and it’s also home to both the Pangolin London and Piano Nobile galleries.
A HOME AWAY FROM HOME | THE INDIA CLUB
The National Trust is showcasing the rich history of the India Club with this audio-based exhibition inside the iconic venue. The India Club has been a significant meeting point and community space for Anglo-Indian organisations as well as immigrants, journalists, artists, writers and students. The venue recently came under threat from redevelopment but was saved following an extensive campaign, with the likes of food writer Sejal Sukhadwala, critic Marina O’Loughlin and Will Self lending support. The oral history interviews feature a range of people connected to the Club, from the late 50s to today, and provide a real insight into how important a place it is.
ROBERT FRASER'S GROOVY ARTS CLUB BAND
Gazelli Art House is hosting this celebration of gallerist Robert Fraser, who bridged the worlds of art and music in the sixties. The show brings together artists that Fraser championed, including Clive Barker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Bridget Riley, Ed Ruscha and more, and there’s also an accompanying double vinyl album featuring songs in tribute to Fraser.
HANNA MOON & JOYCE NG | ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
A new photography exhibition exploring the feeling of “being lost in translation” by two most acclaimed fashion photographers Hanna Moon and Joyce Ng is coming to Somerset House. Driven by the feelings of being immigrants in London, the work showcased by the two artists will celebrate the vitality of international perspectives within our multi-cultural society, challenging the concept of ‘otherness’ and the power fashion photography holds in shifting our perceptions of beauty, style and taste.
BILL VIOLA | MICHELANGELO
The Royal Academy is bringing together the works of Michelangelo and Bill Viola, who though born centuries both explore the themes of the cycle of life. A selection of Michelangelo’s drawings will be on display, as will the Virgin and Child with the Infant St John, his only marble sculpture in the UK. Twelve of Viola’s installations will feature in the show, including the five-metre high projection Tristan’s Ascension (The Sound of a Mountain Under a Waterfall), which depicts the ascent of the soul after death.
ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG | SPREADS 1975 - 83
Large-scale pieces (with one stretching to six metres) from Robert Rauschenberg are on display for the first time in the UK at the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. The Spreads series, inspired by “autobiographical feelings”, feature many of his best-known motifs like doors, lights and tyres though they are used with a brighter colour palette. If you liked the retrospective the Tate held in 2016, you’ll want to come and check these out.
To honour the centenary of women’s suffrage, SHOWstudio is hosting a fashion illustration exhibition that features images of 100 models, including Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, Andrej Pejic, Devon Aoki, Slick Woods, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Iman and Karlie Kloss, in an outfit they wore that made them feel most empowered.
MODERN COUPLES | ART, INTIMACY AND THE AVANT-GARDE
The Barbican is showcasing the creative collections of over 40 artistic couples, from Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar to Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo. Modern Couples exhibition features work from iconic duos of painters, sculptors, photographers, architects, designers, musicians and performers, alongside personal material that defined their relationships. A true collab of modern art and modern love.
For their big winter exhibition, Somerset House is celebrating the cultural legacy of Peanuts, showcasing contemporary works inspired by Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang, alongside original drawings from creator Charles M. Schulz. As one of the world’s most influential comic strips, the exhibition explores the lasting social and political impact of one of our favourite cartoons.
ELMGREEN & DRAGSET | THIS IS HOW WE BITE OUR TONGUE
Scandi duo Elmgreen & Dragset, who are known for exploring social politics and power structures through their sculptures and large-scale installations have taken over the Whitechapel Gallery with works from across their 20+ year collaboration. As well as pieces that reference masculinity and identity, the specially commissioned ‘Whitechapel Pool’ – an actual, full-size abandoned swimming pool – is a comment on the loss of civic space.
HOOKED is the inaugural exhibition at the new Science Gallery London and it’s all about exploring the processes of addiction and recovery. Covering everything from drugs to technology to gambling, the exhibition features artworks, installations and interactive experiences that are designed to challenge our notion of addiction and show us the many different forms recovery can take.
BLACK MIRROR | ART AS SOCIAL SATIRE
No it’s nothing to do with Charlie Brooker, this Black Mirror is an exhibition that explores how political uncertainty has influenced art and how art has become a tool for social satire. The show features everything from collage to photography to installation, with the work of 26 international artists including Jessica Craig-Martin, Richard Billingham and Alejandra Prieto on display.
The famous Body Worlds exhibition, created by Dr Gunther von Hagens and featuring real body parts preserved with plastination, is on display in Piccadilly. The 200 exhibits cover the reproductive, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, locomotive and metabolic systems in an insane amount of detail, so if you want to get a true insight into what happens inside the human body, this is place to come.
Christian Marclay’s acclaimed piece The Clock is back. Marclay’s installation is 24 hours long and is made up of a collection of clips and images from film and television featuring clocks, with each face shown corresponding to the actual time. The gallery will be open during the day with one nightly opening each month for a full 24 hour viewing.
TIME OUT 50 | 50 YEARS, 50 COVERS
Time Out is turning 50 and to celebrate, the mag is showing off fifty covers from their archive at the Museum of Brands. The exhibition will chart how London has changed from 1968 to now, as well as how magazine design itself has evolved over the years. As well as the first ever cover featuring an Andy Warhol soup can design, the 1974 cover marking Winston Churchill’s 100th anniversary, and covers designed by Banksy, Jamie Hewlett and David LaChapelle will be on display.
This year the Artist Rooms at the Tate are dedicated to Jenny Holzer, with works from across her 40-year career on display. She’s known for her text-based works and pieces from her Truisms and Diagrams series as well as her Redaction Paintings and LED installations. A painting created with NY graffiti artist Lady Pink will also be on display for the first time in the UK. Entry to the rooms is free and it’s gonna be open for a year, so it’s defo one to pop into next time your in the Tate.