The top critic-reviewed art exhibitions open in London this Saturday and Sunday. Ranked by critic rating and filtered to shows with real reviews behind them — these are the ones genuinely worth rearranging your weekend for.
Showing 10 exhibitions
Until Jun 28
A once-in-a-generation retrospective marking Gwen John's 150th birthday
"She returned repeatedly to the same subjects and compositions – contemplative women, sparsely furnished interiors, still lifes, devoted churchgoers – and each time saw them through fresh and attentive eyes. The result is art that's sensitive but unsentimental, studious, and, yes, strangely beautiful."
— The Independent
Until Jun 21
Rediscovering the 17th-century Flemish artist called the greatest artistic find of the century
"This will probably be the first encounter with Michaelina Wautier's work for UK audiences; grouping all her known works together, having been previously practically nonexistent in the collective imagination, has the uncanny effect of conjuring an entirely new person. An astonishing one of exceptional, fully formed ability."
— The Guardian
Until Nov 15
Unmissable ukiyo-e prints including The Great Wave, still radically modern after 200 years
"There is not enough space (in this article, on the internet) to adequately describe the bands of colour that Hokusai gives to the skies through pine trees and plum gardens (one literal translation of mono no aware is “the ah!-ness of things”, which is perhaps as close as we can get)."
— The Guardian
Until Jul 26
First retrospective of Wes Anderson's cinematic archive — 700+ objects across 30 years
"The Texan is the third film-maker to be given a retrospective at the Design Museum, following Stanley Kubrick and Tim Burton, and this is the pick of the three. Cinema like this can feel incredibly extravagant — some canine puppets for Isle of Dogs took three years to make and were on screen for a matter of seconds. Here, though, you can spend time with it all."
— The Times
Until May 17
First exhibition dedicated to Seurat's coastal Neo-Impressionist seascapes
"A first-of-its-kind Courtauld exhibition brings together the French artist’s haunting seaside paintings."
— The Telegraph
Ending SoonUntil May 10
First major exhibition of Wright of Derby's candlelight paintings at the National Gallery
"Beneath these scenes of educational family entertainment at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution there's a palpable sense of unease, or certainly a questioning, of the idea of the scientist playing God, and manipulating the rest of us in the process. These images couldn't be more painfully relevant to the age of AI, when technology appears in the process of rendering "humanity", in all senses, redundant."
— The Independent
Ending SoonUntil May 10
First UK retrospective of Colombian artist: 150+ works spanning six decades
"If this is Latin American Pop, it's Pop with pathos – and, although this isn't an easy exhibition, it is powerful and affecting. Her paintings are full of flair and subtle, sophisticated aesthetic decisions. These provide succour for the visitor when – as it may do – González's searing content proves too much."
— The Telegraph
Until May 31
Turner Prize-nominated Romany artist's first Manchester solo — immersive feminist mixed-media world
"The Romany artist takes a mural she made for Glastonbury as a starting point, then builds a dizzying series of rooms exploring connection and exclusion"
— The Guardian
Until May 31
First major UK museum show of Opie's 30-year photographic portrait practice
"There’s this constant push-pull between subterfuge and reveal, between tradition and subversion, the collective and the individual, fixity and fluidity, flattery and provocation."
— The Guardian
Until Aug 23
First major solo show of over 80 paintings spanning Anderson's full career
"In Anderson's work, the natural world is almost ominously abundant. Greenery seems to suffocate man-made structures, which often appear dilapidated – like ruined temples in a jungle. The sense of melancholy this generates is offset by the pleasure that Anderson evidently derives from manipulating paint. His compositions – some of which flirt, ingeniously, with abstraction – are awash with attractive blotches and drips."
— The Telegraph
