Free Exhibitions in London

This is a running list of the free art exhibitions on show in London right now, updated as exhibitions open and close. From major loan shows at museums like the National Gallery and Tate to gallery exhibitions that never charge for entry, there's always something to see.

In addition to this list, most of London's major museums also hold their permanent collections free year-round. And beyond the museum walls, the city is full of free public sculptures and installations. See the full guide at artclub.club/collections/public-sculptures-installations-london.

Showing 11 exhibitions

David Hockney: A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts About PaintingEnds in 3 days
Serpentine North Gallery

David Hockney: A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts About Painting

Until Aug 23

FreePaintingContemporary ArtDavid Hockney

Hockney's 90-metre Normandy frieze and new paintings at Serpentine North

3.5/5 from 4 ratings

"For the past 50 years, Hockney has flitted between these two modes, returning occasionally from noodling to remind us of his gift for direct communication (see his portrait of the performer Divine, the affecting drawings of his ageing mother, or his paintings of the Yorkshire landscape in the 2000s). But, sad to report, it is to the late stages of the jazz tendency that most of this exhibition belongs."

The Guardian
Georg Baselitz: Back AgainEnds in 10 days
White Cube Bermondsey

Georg Baselitz: Back Again

Until Aug 30

FreePaintingExpressionismGeorg Baselitz

Baselitz's final paintings series, a posthumous career summation

5/5 from 1 rating

"I've never been a huge Baselitz fan: I found the whole upside down painting thing an affectation and I would have happily fronted a campaign to have all his work shown the right way up so we can see what it's really about. I also think he churned out the same painting for decades. But this is brutally emotional stuff."

The Guardian
Cecily Brown: Picture Making
Serpentine South Gallery

Cecily Brown: Picture Making

Until Sep 6

FreePaintingContemporary ArtCecily Brown

Cecily Brown's first major UK institutional solo in 20 years at Serpentine South

4/5 from 2 ratings

"And she is magnificent — not merely critically, but commercially. Brown is among the most expensive living female painters in the world, her canvases commanding prices that would make lesser talents weep. The market, for once, is not wrong."

The Standard
Backyard Biennial: East
Whitechapel Gallery

Backyard Biennial: East

Until Sep 6

Free

8-week festival celebrating East London creativity across 40+ venues

1/5 from 1 rating

"It's rare that an exhibition is so bad you feel compelled to text a friend saying "you wouldn't believe the garbage I just saw" as soon as you get out. And if you can walk around this badly explained, undercontextualised, barely linked, poorly thought through mess of a show without getting a migraine, you have a stronger constitution than me."

The Guardian
RPS International Photography Exhibition 167
Saatchi Gallery

RPS International Photography Exhibition 167

Until Sep 11

FreePhotographyContemporary Art

The world's longest-running photography exhibition, now in its 167th edition.

The Raw & The Cooked
Saatchi Gallery

The Raw & The Cooked

Until Sep 11

FreePaintingSculptureMixed MediaCeramicsContemporary Art

Eleven artists channel medieval craft and myth to mirror modern upheaval

Materiality
Saatchi Gallery

Materiality

Until Sep 12

FreeSculptureInstallationMixed MediaTextilesContemporary Art

Contemporary artists turn materiality itself into the subject of their work

Sayuri Ichida: Playing the Piano Upstairs
The Photographers' Gallery

Sayuri Ichida: Playing the Piano Upstairs

Until Sep 13

FreePhotographyPrintsContemporary Art

Handcrafted photogravure prints exploring grief, memory and sisterhood in Japan

Waldmüller: Landscapes
National Gallery

Waldmüller: Landscapes

Until Sep 20

FreePainting

First exhibition dedicated to Waldmüller's landscapes of Austria and Sicily

3/5 from 1 rating

"Certainly, blockbusters showing Van Gogh have the most populist pulling power, but credit is due to the National for truly seeking to provide a fuller geographic and historical view of other artists and movements. To this end, this Waldmüller showcase is the art historical equivalent of eating your greens: it may not quicken the heartbeat but is nonetheless a healthy exercise forming a fully balanced palate."

The Guardian
Kyotographie: Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai
Japan House London

Kyotographie: Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai

Until Oct 18

FreePhotographyContemporary Art

Two generations of Japanese photography, from postwar history to diaspora life

5/5 from 1 rating

"These were revolutionary photographs at the time – and they still feel new in their search to express the inexpressible. The dimly lit, subterranean gallery keeps you cocooned in this elegiac, brooding atmosphere. Kawada is drawn to images that trace the extremities of the Earth, the visible outer edges of our existence – the sky, the horizon, water, burning suns and scorching fires."

The Guardian
Manasa Chitra: the Art of Mental Health from Bengaluru to Bethlem
Bethlem Museum of the Mind

Manasa Chitra: the Art of Mental Health from Bengaluru to Bethlem

Until Nov 14

FreePaintingDrawing & Works on Paper

Indian art on mental health, from 1950s Bangalore to contemporary Bengaluru

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