Art exhibitions to see in London in December 2024
While December may not see the opening of many new exhibitions in London as the city prepares for the festive season, there are still a few exciting openings, as well as several ongoing exhibitions worth keeping on your radar. Here is our pick of art exhibitions you need to check out in London this December.
For more exhibitions happening across the city, click here for our guide to unmissable art shows this Christmas at museums and galleries, including Tate, V&A, and Serpentine.
Motion in Stillness: Dance and the Human Body in Movement
Paula Rego, Legend of the Fire, 1997. Acrylic on canvas. 77 x 101 cm, 30 1/4 x 39 3/4 in © Estate of Paula Rego. Courtesy Estate of Paula Rego and Victoria Miro.
#FLODown: Artists explore the challenge of capturing human motion and dance in static forms, with many creating new works specifically for this exhibition. The showcase examines the intersection of dance and visual art, highlighting how physicality shapes the creative process. Examples include Megan Rooney’s choreographed brushstrokes and Florence Peake’s use of her own body to create imprints and outlines. Featuring a diverse range of techniques and perspectives, the exhibition reveals the dynamic relationship between movement and artistic expression.
Date: 21 November 2024 – 18 January 2025. Location: Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Rd, London N1 7RW. Price: Free.
Feast
Feast - County Hall Pottery - Ceramics Exhibition - 2024
#FLODown: Feast at County Hall Pottery is a celebration of contemporary tableware and ceramic artistry, featuring the work of 40 artists. The exhibition showcases a diverse array of handcrafted ceramics, from functional pieces to imaginative designs. All items are available for purchase, offering unique gift options for the holiday season.
Date: 18 November 2024 – 5 January 2025. Location: County Hall Pottery, County Hall, Belvedere Road, SE1 7GP. Price: Free. countyhallpottery.com.
Nicole Eisenman
Nicole Eisenman. Sadie Coles HQ. 13 November 2024 – 20 December 2024.
#FLODown: Following their major survey What Happened at Whitechapel Gallery, Nicole Eisenman presents new works at Sadie Coles HQ on Bury St. The exhibition features a series of mismatched portraits of friends and fellow artists, reflecting Eisenman’s long-standing practice of inviting peers to model in intimate, late-night studio sessions. Alongside these expressive portraits, Eisenman presents Fiddle V. Burns (2024), a new painting that humorously yet solemnly comments on the human condition, showing a character isolated in a chaotic world.
Date: 13 November – 20 December 2024. Location: Sadie Coles HQ, 8 Bury St, London SW1Y 6AB. Price: Free.
Amelia Bowles & Caroline de Lannoy: < READ-ONLY MEMORY >
Installation view IONE & MANN, Amelia Bowles, Velvet Wing (detail), 2024. Photography is by Matt Spour.
#FLODown: <Read-Only Memory> at IONE & MANN showcases works by Amelia Bowles and Caroline de Lannoy, inspired by the idea of memory and permanence. De Lannoy’s colourful paintings use precise forms and rhythm to explore emotions and time, while Bowles’s sculptures play with light, shadow, and space to create calming, interactive experiences. Together, their abstract, geometric works reflect human experience, turning complexity into universal symbols of connection and meaning.
Date: 29 November 2024 - 25 January 2025. Location: IONE & MANN, 1st Floor, 6 Conduit St, London W1S 2XE. Price: Free. ioneandmann.com
Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome
Parmigianino (1503–1540), Studies of Saints John the Baptist and Jerome, a Crucifix and Various Heads (recto), about 1525–7 , Red chalk on paper, 13.5 × 22.1 cm, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (87.GB.9), Image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content.
#FLODown: Parmigianino’s The Madonna and Child with Saints (The Vision of Saint Jerome) returns to public display after 10 years, offering a rare opportunity to explore the masterpiece and its creation. Painted during the 1527 Sack of Rome, the work cemented the young artist’s reputation as a “Raphael reborn.” This display reunites the altarpiece with Parmigianino’s preparatory drawings—velvety chalk studies and swirling ink sketches—revealing his dynamic creative process. Part of the Bicentenary celebrations, it highlights the genius and innovation of this Renaissance prodigy.
Date: 5 December 2024 – 9 March 2025. Location: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN. Price: Free.
Feliciano Centurión: Hope in Bloom
Installation view, Feliciano Centurión: Hope in Bloom, Cecilia Brunson Projects, 2024
#FLODown: Hope in Bloom at Cecilia Brunson Projects celebrates the tender and innovative artistry of Feliciano Centurión (1962–1996). A pivotal figure in Latin American art, Centurión’s work reflects themes of love, resilience, and beauty, shaped by his exile from Paraguay’s dictatorship and later by his HIV diagnosis. The exhibition features rarely seen works from his estate, including his iconic Macetas (flowerpots) and Frazadas (blankets), which transform domestic materials and traditional techniques into poetic explorations of queerness, gender, and the fleeting nature of life.
Date: 6 November - 13 December 2024. Location: Cecilia Brunson Projects, 3G Royal Oak Yard, Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3GE. Price: Free.
Jeff Wall
Jeff Wall at White Cube. 22 November 2024 – 12 January 2025.
#FLODown: The major survey at White Cube celebrates 30 years of collaboration with Jeff Wall, showcasing over 40 works that span his career from the 1980s to the present. Known for blending near-documentary realism with staged compositions, Wall’s photographs capture the subtleties of modern life and explore the boundary between reality and imagination.
Date: 22 November 2024 – 12 January 2025. Location: White Cube Bermondsey, 144 – 152 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ. Price: Free.
Justin Dingwall
Justin Dingwall, ERINYES III, 2017, Giclée print on 100% cotton fine art paper, 46 4/5 × 33 1/10 in | 118.9 × 84.1 cm.
#FLODown: Doyle Wham presents the first UK solo exhibition of South African photographer Justin Dingwall, showcasing his acclaimed Beautiful Terrible and Fly by Night series. The exhibition also features a selection of distinctive hand-crafted works that seamlessly merge photography with textile art.
Date: 11 December 2024 - 25 January 2025. Location: Doyle Wham, Third Floor, 91a Rivington St, London EC2A 3AY. Price: Free.
Philip Colbert: The Battle for Lobsteropolis
Philip Colbert's A.I. Battle Scene and A.I. Battle Scene II, both 2023.
#FLODown: Pop artist Philip Colbert returns to the Saatchi Gallery with his latest exhibition, The Battle for Lobsteropolis. Known for his hyperpop-style history paintings, Colbert’s new series reimagines historical battle scenes, with his lobster character facing off against artificial intelligence. Central to the exhibition are two monumental AI-assisted paintings, exploring the evolving relationship between art history and digital innovation. Colbert’s work subtly engages with the implications of AI, blending tradition and technology without alarmism. Alongside large-scale paintings, the exhibition features mythologically inspired sculptures, including figures like the Centaur and Medusa, underscoring mythology’s enduring relevance in today’s digital age.
Date: 29 November 2024 – 13 January 2025. Location: Gallery 4, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, London, SW3 4RY. Price: Free.
Katrina Palmer: The Touch Report
Katrina Palmer © The National Gallery, London.
#FLODown: Katrina Palmer’s The Touch Report opens in December at the National Gallery. In this unique installation, the usual artworks are replaced by Palmer’s experimental book, which invites visitors to engage with a narrative exploring the violent imagery in the Gallery’s historical paintings. The book examines themes of violence, subjugation, and physical tension within the collection. The room features an illuminated display showing where the last painting hung and an unlabelled sculpture from the gallery’s collection. The project encourages visitors to reconsider the gallery’s artworks through descriptive text, offering a new perspective on the role of violence in art.
Date: 11 December 2024 – 2 March 2025. Location: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN. Price: Free. nationalgallery.org.uk.
Reverb
Reverb at Stephen Friedman Gallery. Until 18 December 2024. Free to visit.
#FLODown: Reverb at Stephen Friedman Gallery brings together new works by eight prominent artists from the Caribbean diaspora: Julien Creuzet, Denzil Forrester, Hulda Guzmán, Suchitra Mattai, Zinzi Minott, Kathia St. Hilaire, Charmaine Watkiss, and Alberta Whittle. The exhibition explores themes of migration, identity, and colonial legacies through a diverse range of paintings, sculptures, mixed media, and sound-based works. Drawing inspiration from the concept of “reverb” in dub music, the show examines the echoes of diaspora cultures and their far-reaching impact. Key works include Mattai’s tapestry on Indo-Caribbean migration, Minott’s sound piece on Jamaican ancestral journeys, and Forrester’s vibrant paintings of reggae and dub scenes. Whittle’s textile works reference Afrofuturism and resistance, while Creuzet’s sculptures reflect on ecological issues, and Guzmán’s spiritual self-portrait captures the interconnectedness of nature.
Date: 22 November – Wednesday 18 December 2024. Location: Stephen Friedman Gallery, 5–6 Cork Street London, W1S 3LQ. Price: Free.
