London Exhibitions Opening in October

A guide to art exhibitions opening in London in October, covering new museum shows, gallery exhibitions and critic-reviewed openings across the city. Updated monthly.

Showing 32 exhibitions

Nicola Turner: I Tear Secrets From Your Yielding Flesh
Annely Juda Fine Art

Nicola Turner: I Tear Secrets From Your Yielding Flesh

Oct 1 to Nov 7

InstallationSculptureContemporary Art

Debut solo show tracing a Georgian townhouse's hidden history of shame

Yuko Mohri: In Concert
Barbican Art Gallery

Yuko Mohri: In Concert

Oct 1 to Jan 24, 2027

FreeSound ArtInstallationSculptureContemporary Art

A site-responsive commission of light, sound and kinetic sculpture

Korea
British Museum

Korea

Oct 1 to Jan 31, 2027

CeramicsPaintingSculpture

Two millennia of art from the Lee Kun-Hee bequest, mostly unseen in the UK

3.3/5 from 4 ratings

"And then the spell is broken. The show shifts forward suddenly, brutally, into some so-so early 20th-century Korean art. Modern pastiches of traditional art mix awkwardly with European and American-style modernism from the 1900s to 1950s."

The Guardian
Painting the French Riviera
Royal Academy

Painting the French Riviera

Oct 2 to Jan 31, 2027

Painting

160+ works showing how the Côte d'Azur shaped modern art from Monet to Klein

3.3/5 from 4 ratings · 5 reviews total

"The Riviera is left looking about as sublimely erotic and glamorous as a wet day in Margate. Tender Is the Night this is not. I don’t know whether the problem is pretension or, more depressingly, pandering to visitors the RA thinks want nice sunsets without the disturbing desires."

The Guardian
Salman Toor: Someone Like You
Courtauld Gallery

Salman Toor: Someone Like You

Oct 2 to Jan 10, 2027

Drawing & Works on PaperPainting

Toor's first European solo: 20 paintings on queer identity, belonging and community

Ossie Clark / Celia Birtwell
Fashion and Textile Museum

Ossie Clark / Celia Birtwell

Oct 2 to Apr 11, 2027

TextilesDesign

Ossie Clark's rock-and-roll fashion paired with Celia Birtwell's iconic prints

Renoir and Love
National Gallery

Renoir and Love

Oct 3 to Jan 31, 2027

PaintingImpressionismPierre-Auguste Renoir

40 Impressionist paintings showing Renoir at his peak, including Bal au Moulin de la Galette

4/5 from 3 ratings · 4 reviews total

"But in Pierre-Auguste’s paintings, there’s no punishment. Nobody gets syphilis or drinks themselves to death, or drowns in the Seine. This is the happiest art exhibition of the year."

The Guardian
Earthly Paradise: Radical Living in the UK
William Morris Gallery

Earthly Paradise: Radical Living in the UK

Oct 3 to Mar 28, 2027

PhotographySound ArtPainting

Two centuries of British art, activism, and unconventional homes

Inji Efflatoun: The Poetics of Justice
Whitechapel Gallery

Inji Efflatoun: The Poetics of Justice

Oct 7 to Feb 14, 2027

Drawing & Works on PaperPaintingSurrealism

First UK survey of art and radical activism by Egyptian artist Inji Efflatoun

Cecilia Vicuña
Whitechapel Gallery

Cecilia Vicuña

Oct 7 to Feb 14, 2027

PhotographyPerformanceTextilesVideo & Moving ImageInstallationPaintingContemporary ArtCecilia Vicuña

First major UK survey of Vicuña's six-decade practice spanning art and activism

This Must Be the Place: Artists for Whitechapel Gallery
Whitechapel Gallery

This Must Be the Place: Artists for Whitechapel Gallery

Oct 7 to Nov 8

FreePaintingContemporary Art

Twenty-four international painters, all works for sale to support the gallery

Cecilia Vicuña: Foraging Quipu
Whitechapel Gallery

Cecilia Vicuña: Foraging Quipu

Oct 7 to Feb 14, 2027

FreeMixed MediaInstallationContemporary ArtCecilia Vicuña

A participatory installation woven from plant matter foraged by the public

Tim Walker's Fairyland: Love and LegendsComing Soon
National Portrait Gallery

Tim Walker's Fairyland: Love and Legends

Oct 8 to Jan 31, 2027

Photography

Walker's five-year portrait project celebrating queer identity and LGBTQ+ trailblazers

The 90sComing Soon
Tate Britain

The 90s

Oct 8 to Feb 14, 2027

Mixed Media

Edward Enninful curates fashion, art and photography from Britain's defining decade

Robert Ryman: The Real ThingComing Soon
Barbican Art Gallery

Robert Ryman: The Real Thing

Oct 8 to Feb 28, 2027

PaintingMinimalismRobert Ryman

First major UK Ryman retrospective in 30 years — 60+ works

Khalif Tahir Thompson: Send in the ClownsComing Soon
Victoria Miro London

Khalif Tahir Thompson: Send in the Clowns

Oct 8 to Nov 7

Mixed MediaPaintingContemporary Art

New paintings drawn from a Brooklyn artist's family photo archive

Justin Caguiat: Change RingingComing Soon
Serpentine South Gallery

Justin Caguiat: Change Ringing

Oct 8 to Jan 10, 2027

FreeSound ArtVideo & Moving ImagePrintsInstallationPaintingSculptureContemporary Art

Thermochromic paintings and ringing bronze bells transform Serpentine South.

Sabine Moritz: Lie Down in Green PasturesComing Soon
Garden Museum

Sabine Moritz: Lie Down in Green Pastures

Oct 8 to Dec 20

Drawing & Works on PaperPaintingContemporary Art

Her first UK museum show, on memory and the natural world

Firenze LaiComing Soon
White Cube Mason's Yard

Firenze Lai

Oct 13 to Nov 14

PaintingContemporary Art

Debut UK show of new paintings by Hong Kong-born artist Firenze Lai

Cindy ShermanComing Soon
Hauser & Wirth London

Cindy Sherman

Oct 13 to Dec 23

Photography

New photographic works from her Fabric Matrons series

Lorna Simpson: Previous & OngoingComing Soon
Hauser & Wirth London

Lorna Simpson: Previous & Ongoing

Oct 13 to Dec 23

PaintingSculpture

New paintings, collages and sculpture drawing on archival photography

Georg Baselitz: The Heroes 1965–66Coming Soon
Thaddaeus Ropac London

Georg Baselitz: The Heroes 1965–66

Oct 13 to Dec 18

PaintingGeorg Baselitz

The breakthrough Hero paintings, shown together in the UK for the first time

Hyundai Commission: Tarek AtouiComing Soon
Tate Modern

Hyundai Commission: Tarek Atoui

Oct 13 to Apr 11, 2027

FreeSound ArtPerformanceInstallationSculptureContemporary Art

A new sound commission for the Turbine Hall

Sanlé Sory: Colour YearsComing Soon
The Photographers' Gallery

Sanlé Sory: Colour Years

Oct 14 to Feb 21, 2027

PhotographyContemporary Art

A rare survey of Sanlé Sory's colour photographs documenting Burkina Faso

Snap Happy! How Children Became PhotographersComing Soon
The Photographers' Gallery

Snap Happy! How Children Became Photographers

Oct 14 to Feb 21, 2027

Photography

The history of children as photographers, from clubs to cameras

William EgglestonComing Soon
The Photographers' Gallery

William Eggleston

Oct 14 to Feb 21, 2027

PhotographyContemporary ArtWilliam Eggleston

Fifty years of Eggleston's democratic eye on everyday American colour

Light and Magic: The Birth of Art PhotographyComing Soon
Tate Modern

Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography

Oct 14 to Feb 21, 2027

Photography

Over 50 artists trace pictorialism from the 1880s to the 1960s

Winifred Gill: A Bloomsbury PioneerComing Soon
Courtauld Gallery

Winifred Gill: A Bloomsbury Pioneer

Oct 14 to Jan 20, 2027

Drawing & Works on PaperPrintsPaintingPost-Impressionism

An overlooked innovator of the Bloomsbury group and Omega Workshops

Akiko Hirai: Things that disappear when touchedComing Soon
Contemporary Ceramics

Akiko Hirai: Things that disappear when touched

Oct 15 to Nov 7

CeramicsContemporary Art

Fragile, imperfect forms exploring quiet equilibrium and delicate imbalance

FOCUS Asian Contemporary Art: Cultural DialogueComing Soon
Saatchi Gallery

FOCUS Asian Contemporary Art: Cultural Dialogue

Oct 15 to Oct 18

Mixed MediaContemporary Art

A global art fair of artists from across Asia and the Asian diaspora

LAIKA presents Wildwood: The ExhibitionComing Soon
Design Museum

LAIKA presents Wildwood: The Exhibition

Oct 15 to Jan 10, 2027

DesignSculpture

Behind-the-scenes props, puppets and sets from LAIKA's Wildwood film

Hokusai: Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji from the Iuchi CollectionComing Soon
Dulwich Picture Gallery

Hokusai: Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji from the Iuchi Collection

Oct 20 to Jan 17, 2027

PrintsKatsushika Hokusai

The complete Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji shown in the UK for the first time, including The Great Wave.

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