Must-see art exhibitions ending in London this January 2025
As January approaches, London bids farewell to a series of exceptional art exhibitions. From Van Gogh’s emotive landscapes at the National Gallery to Haegue Yang’s immersive installations at the Hayward Gallery, this is your last chance to experience these thought-provoking showcases. Here’s our guide to 22 exhibitions closing across the city, offering everything from photography and sculpture to painting and performance.
Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at the National Gallery
#FLODown: This once-in-a-century exhibition showcases some of Vincent van Gogh’s most spectacular paintings, including Starry Night over the Rhône and Sunflowers. The exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in the artist’s vivid landscapes and intimate scenes, highlighting his connections to poetry and love.
Date: until 19 January 2025. Location: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN. Price: Adults £24; concessions available. Book here
Haegue Yang: Leap Year at Hayward Gallery
#FLODown: Leap Year is a major exhibition featuring over 120 works by Korean artist Haegue Yang. Curated by Yung Ma, the exhibition explores Yang’s diverse practice, which blends industrial and handmade materials to create immersive installations that reference folklore, craft, and the avant-garde.
Date: until 5 January 2025. Location: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX. Price: £15; concessions available. Book here
Installation view of Haegue Yang: Leap Year, 2024. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.
The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975–1998 at Barbican Art Gallery, Barbican Centre
#FLODown: This landmark group exhibition presents over 150 works by 30 artists, exploring India’s changing cultural and political landscape during the pivotal years from 1975 to 1998. The exhibition examines how artists responded to significant events, such as the Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, through various mediums including painting, photography, and installation.
Date: until 5 January 2025. Location: Barbican Art Gallery, Barbican Centre, Silk St, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: £20 + booking fee. Book here
Lygia Clark: The I and the You at Whitechapel Gallery
#FLODown: This exhibition marks the first major UK public gallery presentation of pioneering Brazilian artist Lygia Clark. Focusing on her artistic journey from the mid-1950s to early 1970s, the exhibition highlights Clark’s radical approach to art-making during a volatile period in Brazil’s history, showcasing her interactive and participatory works that challenge traditional boundaries between art and audience.
Date: until 12 January 2025. Location: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. Price: From £15. Book here
Sonia Boyce: An Awkward Relation at Whitechapel Gallery
#FLODown: This solo exhibition by Turner Prize-winning artist Sonia Boyce explores themes of identity, community, and collaboration through multimedia installations and participatory projects.
Date: until 12 January 2025. Location: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. Price: From £15. Book here
Misfits, 2021, Nairy Baghramian.
Nairy Baghramian: Jumbled Alphabet at South London Gallery
#FLODown: Nairy Baghramian presents her sculptural explorations in this exhibition at South London Gallery, combining abstract forms and organic shapes to challenge traditional perceptions of structure and materiality.
Date: until 12 January 2025. Location: South London Gallery, 65 Peckham Rd, London SE5 8UH. Price: Free.
Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection at the V&A Museum
#FLODown: This exhibition showcases compelling photography from the private collection of Sir Elton John and David Furnish, capturing moments of beauty, intimacy, and creativity.
Date: until 5 January 2025. Location: V&A Museum, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL. Price: from £20; concessions available. Book here
Zanele Muholi Qiniso, The Sails, Durban 2019 © Zanele Muholi Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson, New York.
Zanele Muholi at Tate Modern
#FLODown: Celebrating the work of South African visual activist Zanele Muholi, this exhibition showcases intimate portraits and powerful self-representations, challenging social and cultural norms.
Date: until 26 January 2025. Location: Tate Modern, Bankside London SE1 9TG. Price: from £18; concessions available. Book here
Mythic Time / Tens of Thousands of Rememberings by Lina Iris Viktor at Sir John Soane’s Museum
#FLODown: This collaborative exhibition between artist Lina Iris Viktor and Sir John Soane’s Museum presents works that intertwine myth, history, and memory, reflecting on the passage of time and collective remembrance.
Date: until 19 January 2025. Location: Sir John Soane’s Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP. Price: Free.
Jason and the Adventure of 254 by artist Jason Wilsher-Mills at Wellcome Collection.
Jason Wilsher-Mills: Jason and the Adventure of 254 at the Wellcome Collection
#FLODown: Jason Wilsher-Mills uses cutting-edge digital art to tell his personal story, blending humour, resilience, and activism in a vibrant, accessible way.
Date: until 12 January 2025. Location: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE. Price: Free.
Justin Dingwall: I See the Same Sky at Doyle Wham
#FLODown: South African artist Justin Dingwall presents his first UK solo exhibition, I See the Same Sky, at Doyle Wham. Dingwall uses photography to investigate contemporary societal issues and the human experience, offering a profound commentary on shared existence.
Date: until 25 January 2025. Location: Doyle Wham, Third Floor, 91a Rivington St, London EC2A 3AY. Price: Free.
Installation view, <Read-Only Memory> by Amelia Bowles & Caroline de Lannoy at IONE & MANN. Photography is by Matt Spour.
<Read-Only Memory>: Amelia Bowles & Caroline de Lannoy at IONE & MANN
#FLODown: This exhibition features works by Amelia Bowles and Caroline de Lannoy, showcasing their exploration of memory and its preservation through art. Bowles, a graduate of City and Guilds of London Art School, has previously exhibited at IONE & MANN in her solo exhibition “Wayfinding” in March 2024.
Date: until 25 January 2025. Location: IONE & MANN, 1st Floor, 6 Conduit St, London W1S 2XE. Price: Free.
Francis Bacon: Human Presence at the National Portrait Gallery,
#FLODown: This exhibition examines Francis Bacon’s masterful exploration of the human form and condition, showcasing a collection of his compelling portraits and figure studies.
Date: until 19 January 2025. Location: National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN. Price: from £23; concessions available. Book here
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic at Saatchi Gallery
#FLODown: This exhibition features powerful photographic works from the Black Atlantic, offering nuanced perspectives on identity, community, and resilience through the lens of Black artists.
Date: until 20 January 2025. Location: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, London SW3 4RY. Price: from £6. Book here
Tate Britain Commission Alvaro Barrington GRACE at Tate Britain 2024. Photo © Tate (Seraphina Neville).
Alvaro Barrington: Grace at Tate Britain
#FLODown: Alvaro Barrington presents a series of paintings and installations reflecting on themes of community, resilience, and personal history, grounded in vibrant, expressive imagery.
Date: until 26 January 2025. Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Price: Free.
Adaptation by Anastasia Samoylova at Saatchi Gallery
#FLODown: Anastasia Samoylova examines environmental change and human adaptation through striking, thought-provoking photographic works.
Date: until 20 January 2025. Location: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, London SW3 4RY. Price: from £6. Book here
Anastasia Samoylova, Beauty Salon, Milan, 2022 © Anastasia Samoylova.
born on the earth by Muzae Sesay at Tiwani Contemporary
#FLODown: In his UK debut, Muzae Sesay presents a vibrant series of paintings that explore themes of memory, identity, and cultural heritage through dynamic, abstract forms.
Date: until 18 January 2025. Location: Tiwani Contemporary, 24 Cork St, London W1S 3NG. Price: Free.
Es Devlin: Face to Face: 50 Encounters with Strangers at Somerset House
#FLODown: Es Devlin presents an immersive installation that invites visitors to explore themes of human connection and empathy through a series of evocative encounters and reflections.
Date: until 12 January 2025. Location: Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Price: Free.
María Berrío: The End of Ritual at Victoria Miro
#FLODown: María Berrío’s The End of Ritual depicts moments of disquiet within densely populated interiors, where the old world meets the new. The exhibition explores the dynamic between performers and spectators, both within and beyond the frame.
Date: until 18 January 2025. Location: Victoria Miro Gallery, 16 Wharf Rd, London N1 7RW. Price: Free.
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum: It Will End in Tears Works in progress in Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum's studio, The Hague, Netherlands, 2024 Courtesy the artist and Goodman Gallery Photo: Lotte van Uitterst.
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum: It Will End in Tears at The Curve, Barbican Centre
#FLODown: Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s exhibition “It Will End in Tears” at The Curve is a dynamic exploration of the emotional and landscape. The exhibition uses large-scale drawings and installations to evoke a sense of both personal and collective history.
Date: until 5 January 2025. Location: The Curve, Barbican Centre, Silk St, City of London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: Free.
Uncanny Valley by Daniel Silver at Frith Street Gallery, Golden Square
#FLODown: Daniel Silver’s Uncanny Valley is presented at Frith Street Gallery’s Golden Square location. The exhibition delves into the eerie and often unsettling intersection between the familiar and the unknown, a concept central to Silver’s sculptural practice.
Date: until 18 January 2025. Location: Frith Street Gallery, 17-18 Golden Square, London, W1F 9JJ. Price: Free.
Motion in Stillness: Dance and the Human Body in Movement at Victoria Miro
#FLODown: This group exhibition at Victoria Miro Gallery II explores the dynamic relationship between dance and visual art, capturing the human body’s grace and expressiveness in motion. The show features works by various artists who interpret movement through different mediums.
Date: until 18 January 2025. Location: Victoria Miro Gallery, 16 Wharf Rd, London N1 7RW. Price: Free.
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