Art exhibitions to see in London this week: 3 - 9 June 2024
Art exhibitions to see in London this week range from new openings at the Serpentine to the artwork of renowned artists from Damien Hirst's collection on show at his Newport Street Gallery. Discover our pick of art to see in London this week:
Opening this week
Discover Degas & Miss La La
Opening this week at the National Gallery, the exhibition delves into Edgar Degas's iconic Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, 1879. Unveiling unseen photographs and drawings, it sheds light on the life of its subject, circus artist Miss La La, born Anna Albertine Olga Brown, while exploring Degas's complex relationship with race. Examining the painting's influence on British art, the exhibition offers a fresh perspective on this enduring masterpiece.
Date: 6 June – 1 September 2024. Location: National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN. Price: Free. Website: nationalgallery.org.uk.

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Au cirque Fernando, 1879, Lithograph heightened with pastel, 11.9 x 16 cm. Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, collections Jacques Doucet (EM DEGAS 1). © Bibliothèque numérique de l’INHA.
23rd Serpentine Pavilion by Minsuk Cho
Minsuk Cho's innovative 23rd Serpentine Pavilion, Archipelagic Void, opens this week. Unlike previous designs, it features a decentralised layout with a central open space. The Pavilion consists of five distinct 'islands' connected by a central void, resembling traditional Korean houses. Each island serves a unique purpose, from housing a gallery and library to providing spaces for public gatherings and experiences. Cho's design promotes engagement with nature and cultural exchange.
Date: 7 June – 27 October 2024. Location: Serpentine, Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA. Price: Free. Website: serpentinegalleries.org.

Serpentine Pavilion 2024 designed by Minsuk Cho, Mass Studies. Design render, view of void from the Auditorium. Photo © Mass Studies, Courtesy: Serpentine.
#FLOFavourites: This week
Sharon Walters: Seeing Ourselves
HackelBury Fine Art, London, presents Sharon Walters’ first solo exhibition, Seeing Ourselves. The exhibition features intricate collages honouring Black women, exploring their history, culture, and identity. Walters uses detailed paper cut-outs and multi-layered portraits to create an alternative narrative, addressing the absence of Black women in mainstream Western media and culture.
Date: 10 May – 6 July 2024. Location: HackelBury Fine Art, 4 Launceston Pl, London W8 5RL. Price: Free.

being alone by Dean Sameshima, features twenty-five black and white photographs of solitary viewers in a Berlin porn theatreat. On show at Soft Opening gallery.
Dean Sameshima: being alone
Dean Sameshima's recent series, being alone, features twenty-five black and white photographs of solitary viewers in a Berlin porn theatre. These images capture the anonymity and isolation of the viewers, reflecting on the hidden and protected nature of queer spaces. Sameshima's work focuses on negative space and the absence of identifying features, highlighting the emptiness and liminality of queer desire. The series, exhibited at Soft Opening, will also be published as a book with a text by Bruce Hainley.
Date: 26 April – 8 June 2024. Location: Soft Opening, 6 Minerva Street London E2 9EH. Price: Free.
Adriano Costa: ax-d. us. t
Adriano Costa's debut exhibition, ax-d. us. t, is on show at Emalin's new location, The Clerk's House. Through sculptures in bronze, wood, and plaster, Costa explores the transformation of value and life into base material and dust, challenging hierarchies of value and reflecting on the ephemeral nature of existence. Influenced by his surroundings in São Paulo, his work invites viewers to reconsider notions of beauty and permanence.
Date: 12 April – 13 July 2024. Location: The Clerk’s House, 118½ Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JN. Price: Free.

SIN CENTRE at Hannah Barry Gallery is a space dedicated to pleasure, created by artists, writers and designers. Photo by MTotoe.
SIN CENTRE
SIN CENTRE at Hannah Barry Gallery is a space dedicated to pleasure, created by artists, writers and designers. It offers a range of entertainment options, such as a bar and library, along with unprogrammed spaces for leisure. The focus is on promoting comfort, connection, surprise, and delight. Contributors include George Rouy, Jesse Pollock, Mellony Harvey, Nikolaj Schultz, Stevie Dix, and many others, who have also contributed to the Love Library.
Date: 31 May - 14 September 2024. Location: Hannah Barry Gallery, 4 Holly Grove, Peckham, London, SE15 5DF. Price: Free.
Sin Bar opens on Saturdays only 5pm – midnight. Until 14 September 2024.

Sarah Lucas on show at DOMINION at Newport Street Gallery. Photo by MTotoe.
DOMINION
DOMINION, is open at Newport Street Gallery, showcases 80 works from Damien Hirst's collection across all six gallery spaces. The exhibition features pieces by artists including Johannes Albers, Francis Bacon, Banksy, Georg Baselitz, Tracey Emin, Jeff Koons, Sarah Lucas, Andy Warhol, and many others.
Date: 24 May - 1 September 2024. Location: Newport Street Gallery, 1 Newport St, London SE11 6AJ. Price: Free.
100 Years by Jenny Lewis
Along Regent's Canal, there is an installation of works by Jenny Lewis. On display are portraits from her 2021 series 100 Years, featuring 100 portraits of community members, with one from every age between one and one hundred.
Date: ongoing. Location: along Regent’s Canal from Victoria Park to Broadway Market.

100 Years by Jenny Lewis. Located along Regent’s Canal. Photo by MTotoe.
Metamorphosis: Innovation in Eco-photography & Film
Metamorphosis: Innovation in Eco Photography & Film at Saatchi Gallery, features works by Almudena Romero, Edd Carr, Hannah Fletcher, and Scott Hunter. Supported by Pasqua Wines, the exhibition highlights their pioneering eco-friendly practices in photography and film, addressing environmental issues and inspiring positive change.
Date: 24 May - 28 July 2024. Location: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, London SW3 4RY. Price: Free.
MONUMENTAL: Tipping the Scales of Historic Design
MONUMENTAL is a landmark exhibition by Carpenters Workshop Gallery, exploring scale through nine innovative artworks by renowned designers like Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand. Highlights include rare pieces like Le Corbusier's Bureau des Ministres and Charlotte Perriand's imposing Conference Table. The exhibition extends outdoors with Jean Prouvé's Maison Démontable, showcasing the fusion of art and nature.
Date: 16 May – 22 September 2024. Location: Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Ladbroke Hall, 79 Barlby Rd. Price: Free. Website: carpentersworkshopgallery.com.
Pioneering choreographer Merce Cunningham’s work will “forever” be revered. The Van Cleef & Arpels Dance Reflections festival has brought two of his works back to life performed by the Lyon Opera Ballet at Sadlers’ Wells…
Born in 1937 in what is now West Bengal, Arpita Singh is one of India’s pioneering post-independence artists. Remembering marks her first institutional solo exhibition outside India, featuring key works from her prolific six-decade long career…
Tate Modern’s 25th anniversary will be marked with a free four-day celebration in May 2025, featuring art displays, live performances, music, workshops, and family activities….
There were two compelling reasons to attend this performance: the venue itself and the cutting-edge artist collective known as (LA) HORDE. Sadler’s Wells’ newest state-of-the-art venue is a welcome addition to Stratford, boasting rehearsal studios…
Gabriele Beveridge is known for her sculptural and conceptual practice that combines materials as diverse as hand-blown glass, photo chemicals, and found images…
The legacy company of the pioneering American choreographer Trisha Brown opened the Van Cleef & Arpels Dance Reflections Festival at Sadler’s Wells with a striking performance…
Design and Disability will showcase the radical contributions of Disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent designers, exploring accessibility, innovation, and identity through 170 objects spanning fashion, art, architecture, and technology…
Robyn Orlin is a South African dancer and choreographer born in Johannesburg. Nicknamed in South Africa "a permanent irritation", she is well known for reflecting the difficult and complex realities in her country. Robyn integrates different media into her work (text, video, plastic arts) to she investigates a certain theatrical reality which has enabled her to find her unique choreographic vocabulary…
Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles · The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent · Collective Joy – Learning Flamboyance! · The People of the North · Corps et âmes · Louvre Couture: Art and Fashion—Statement Pieces · David Hockney 25 · Paris Noir · Olga de Amaral · Azzedine Alaïa / Thierry Mugler: 1980-1990 – Two Decades of Artistic Affinities
Katrina Palmer, an artist known for exploring materiality, absence, and dislocation, recently spoke to us following her year-long residency at the National Gallery about her exhibition The Touch Report…
The British Pavilion at the 2025 Architecture Biennale in Venice will explore the role of architecture in addressing the legacy of colonial geological extraction through innovative, earth-based repair practices in a UK-Kenya collaboration…
Lola Young at O2 Forum Kentish Town · British Pie Week · Romeo and Juliet at The Royal Opera House · Weather Girl at Soho Theatre · Czech Philharmonic with Sheku Kanneh-Mason · Jasmin Vardimon: NOW at Sadler’s Wells East · Mitsuko Uchida · Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2025 · Jorge Jobim: Fantastical Autonomy · Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300‒1350· Art After Dark…
Leigh Bowery (1961-1994) packed more into his brief life than most would manage in two lifetimes. He passed away from an AIDS-related illness in 1994, at the age of just 33….
For the first time in the UK, the Royal Academy of Arts will present an exhibition exploring the lasting influence of Vincent van Gogh on Anselm Kiefer Hon RA. Running from 28 June to 26 October 2025…
AllBright’s Step Forward Summit · Firebird & Friends with Savannah Hagendijk · Art Exhibitions Celebrating Female Artists · Art After Dark · Marylebone Village Celebrates Female Founders · International Women’s Day Dinner at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu · WOW at 15 with Angela Davis · Boxcar Bar & Grill x Sara Dongiovanni · International Women’s Day Art of Self-Connection Workshop…
Arments Pie and Mash · Holborn Dining Room at Rosewood London · The 411 · The Audley Public House · The Devonshire · St John · Three Cheers Pubs · The Georgian at Harrods · The Marksman · The Connaught Grill · Quo Vadis…
The British Council has announced that Lubaina Himid CBE RA will represent Great Britain at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2026…
Enej Gala is an artist who splits his time primarily between London and his hometown of Nova Gorica, Slovenia. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and the Royal Academy Schools (2023), Gala first gained our attention with Neighbour’s Harvest, an installation that cleverly combined puppetry and conceptual art…
Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (Goldsmiths CCA), located on the campus of Goldsmiths, University of London, has announced its exciting exhibition programme for 2025. From immersive digital worlds to poignant reflections on the female experience…
babirye bukilwa’s debut play is an unflinching expose of psychosis and manic depression, and the impact it can have on our relationships, love and identity…
Collect Art Fair · Flavour&Some X Control Room A · Highsnobiety’s Not In London · Paavo Järvi Conducts Stravinsky’s The Firebird · Young Barbican Takeover Festival 2025 · Winter Sculpture Park · Leigh Bowery! · Claudia Pagès Rabal · Ella Kruglyanskaya · Dada Khanyisa · The Arts Society…
Feel the Sound, a new multi-sensory exhibition opening at the Barbican Centre in May 2025, will feature 11 installations, including six new commissions, and a new club space in the Centre’s car park…
The timing of this exhibition could not be better. At the end of a long winter, and egging on London’s reluctant spring, the Saatchi Gallery brings us FLOWERS in full bloom…
Little Simz, one of the UK’s most innovative and celebrated artists, has been announced as the curator for the 30th edition of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival, set to take place in June 2025…
David Ottone is a Founding Member of Award-winning Spanish theatre company Yllana and has been the Artistic Director of the company since 1991. David has created and directed many theatrical productions which have been seen by more than two million spectators across 44 countries…
Darren Appiagyei is a London-based woodturner whose practice embraces the intrinsic beauty of wood, including its knots, cracks, bark, and grain. Highly inspired by Ghanaian wood carving, Darren explores raw textures and new woods in his work…
Huimin Zhang is an artist specialising in 22K gold, known for her innovative craftsmanship. She combines various cultural techniques, including filigree, engraving, and European gold and silver thread embroidery, to create unique works…
Photo London returns to Somerset House from 15-18 May 2025 to celebrate its tenth anniversary with a special edition that honours both London and its long-standing photographic traditions…
