For art fans, London Gallery Weekend has become one of the most important and exciting events of the year. Since its inaugural year in 2021, it has grown into the biggest gallery weekend in the world.
In total, 134 galleries across London will be hosting events, performances, curator talks and opening new brilliant exhibitions across three jam-packed days – and best of all, everything is absolutely free.
Initially launched to give London’s galleries a boost in the wake of the pandemic, the project was so successful, and so appreciated, that it has returned annually ever since.
Now, its fourth edition promises even more illuminating shows, ranging from thought-provoking photography series, homages to art critics, and group exhibitions, to sculpture works, transportive paintings and provocative installations.
The artworks explore as many themes as there are artists involved, from meditations on womanhood, anonymity and sexual desire, to reflections on peace, liberation and homeland in the face of world wars.
With so much to look forward to, here’s our guide to the events, curated routes, and exhibitions not to miss.
Curated Routes and Live Tours
Some choose to tackle LGW by trying to see as many exhibitions as possible, darting from one gallery space to another, wolfing down lunch en route. Others choose to meander, stopping off at a restaurant or a café along the way, and selecting just a couple of standout shows.
To help those in the second group, LGW has spoken to a handful of well-known artists and creatives, such as former editor-in-chief of Vogue UK, Edward Enninful, photographer Mary McCartney, Serpentine Galleries director Hans Ulrich Obrist and artist Lubaina Himid, who have shared their own route through London over the weekend for inspiration.
Free live tours (which still need to be booked) will also be running across the weekend. Depending on the area, the tours will take place a couple of times a day – schedules can be found online.
Events
This year’s London Gallery Weekend will include a series of brilliant events, including opening receptions, exhibition tours, talks and a breakfast – some of which begin a little earlier on May 29.
To name just a few: head to The Mayor Gallery to hear art historian Bronac Feran and Analivia Cordeiro discuss Waldemar Cordeiro and the history of art in Brazil; contemporary African photography gallery Doyle Wham is hosting a mysterious ‘Pastry Power Hour’; and Barbican Centre curator, Wells Fray-Smith will be in conversation with philosopher and artist Erin Manning at Richard Saltoun Gallery.
Performances
A number of unique performances will also be running across the weekend, some as part of exhibitions.
Adelaide Cioni’s 30-minute choreographed meditation on playfulness and connection is shaping up into a highlight, as well as an interactive performance from artist Jeremy Hutchison on the trade of secondhand clothes. For those in search of music, watch artist-musician Eddie Ruscha’s proto-techno drum set, celebrating his solo exhibition Seeing Frequencies, or head over to Emalin for a performance of poetry and music, responding to its current exhibition, Adriano Costa’s ax-d. us. t.
And don’t miss a 90-minute performance from pioneering Turkish feminist artist Nil Yalter, during which she’ll share songs, poetry, stories, and some of her research. Yalter, 86, the first ever Turkish female video artist, was recently awarded the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Biennale.
Exhibition Highlights
Central
All the Lovers: Editions from 30 Years of Gasworks
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Gasworks, the London-based contemporary visual art organisation, David Zwirner presents a selection of new and archival works by Gasworks alumni artists, including Pio Abad (who was shortlisted for the Turner Prize this year), Hew Locke, Portia Zvavahera, Gal Leshem, Francis Offman, Gala Porras-Kim and Sriwhana Spong.
May 31 to June 2; davidzwirner.com
Angel With a Gun: Homage to Guy Brett
These extraordinary works, selected from the private collection of legendary British critic and writer Guy Brett, are now on show as part of a special homage exhibition to their owner. Brett, a leading thinker, curator and writer, was particularly engaged in giving a platform to kinetic art and unlike most of his contemporaries, was vocal in promoting Latin American art. The exhibition therefore includes the work of 12 artists from Brazil, Chile and Venezuela including Mira Schendel, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Jesús Rafael Soto and Regina Vater and Carlos Cruz-Diez.
Alison Jacques, to June 15; alisonjacques.com
Amel Bashier: Ward el Juri
Named after her daughter, and translating to ‘damask rose’, Ward el Juri is a series of paintings and works on paper from Sudanese artist Amel Bashier. Reflecting on freedom, female liberation and the persistence of the natural world, particularly in the context of the ongoing war in her home country of Sudan, Bashier’s works feature guns and soldiers and almost mythical women.
Addis Fine Art, to June 15; londongalleryweekend.art
Before Freedom Pt. 2: The Revolution Cannot Be Built on Dreams Alone
Prize-winning architect-curator Lobna Sana, who grew up in a Bedouin village in the Negev, curates a series of photographs by Palestinian-American photographer Adam Rouhana. The photographs, taken between 2022-2024, show a glimpse of everyday Palestinian lives.
“Images like these can help reorient us toward a just future – a Palestine where we can all live together with equality and freedom,” said Rouhana in a recent interview. “A home where I can one day sit with my granddaughter. A place where she has a past and a future.”
TJ Boulting, May 30 to June 22; tjboulting.com; curator and artist-led tour, May 31 11.00-12.00
Sisters, Saints, Sibyls
Pioneering photographer and activist Nan Goldin presents an film installation that explores the institutionalisation of her sister, Barbara, who spent six years in and out of psychiatric detention centers before taking her own life aged 18. And as with all of Goldin’s works, Sisters, Saints, Sibyls promises to be deeply moving and excoriating. Situated in a church, the exhibition is part of Gagosian’s off-site series, in which it presents artworks in unusual contexts.
Welsh chapel at 83 Charing Cross Road, May 30 to June 23; gagosian.com
Matthew Barney: Secondary: light lens parallax
A show in four parts, celebrated American contemporary artist Matthew Barney’s exhibition unfolds across London, at Sadie Coles HQ, Gladstone Gallery, Regen Projects and Galerie Max Hetzler. Exploring the relationship between the body, violence, possibility and change, the four exhibitions all work as extensions of Barney’s 2023 film, Secondary.
Sadie Coles HQ, to July 27; sadiecoles.com
East
Dean Sameshima: Being Alone
This photography series from California-born, Berlin-based artist Dean Sameshima, documents visitors to a Berlin porn theatre, and in doing so asks questions about sexual fantasies, collective behaviour, queer spaces, anonymity and desire.
Soft Opening, to June 8; softopening.london
Magda Stawarska: Drift
In 10 news works created using various media, Poland-born, UK-based artist Magda Stawarska continues her exploration of the way that generational trauma can be found in the architecture of a city.
Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix, June 1 to July 6; yamamotokeiko.com
Boscoe Holder, Geoffrey Holder
Accomplished siblings Boscoe Holder (1921-2007) and Geoffrey Holder (1930-2014) were born in Trinidad and Tobago but settled in the UK and US respectively. Both enjoyed stellar careers as artists, singers, musicians and dancers. Here, some of their exquisite paintings are on show together for the first time ever.
Victoria Miro, May 31 to July 27; londongalleryweekend.art
South
Fani Parali: Children of the Future
Greek artist Fani Parali transforms Cooke Latham Gallery, creating a space that is an alternative reality which has been designed for, and inhabited solely by, children. Inspired by science fiction, stellar constellations and neural pathways, the piece, which includes live performers and a soundscape, asks questions about the future that’s waiting for future generations.
Cooke Latham Gallery, to June 2; cookelathamgallery.com
Searching Minds
This group exhibition brings together pieces by Carole Gibbons, Roy Oxlade and Max Wade; artists from different generations whose abstract and figurative works all reflect on how both narratives and physical spaces change over time.
Sid Motion Gallery, May 31 to July 6; sidmotiongallery.co.uk
Intension
“Intension is a common misspelling of intention, but a beautiful one. Google it,” says Copperfield Gallery, introducing Intension, a show about the extraordinary capabilities of our minds, and the unfortunate way only certain kinds of intelligence are celebrated by society. The artists in the show, many of whom are neurodiverse, can do remarkable things such as see numbers in colour or 3D render in their minds, but were called stupid at school – this show mulls over these kinds of misconceptions.
Copperfield Gallery, June 1 to July 27; copperfieldgallery.com
