Exhibitions in London
May 2027
May at a glance: 8 exhibitions opening, 12 closing, and 17 more on view across the city.
Opening in May
Ximena Garrido-Lecca6 May 2027Barbican Centre
Peruvian artist Ximena Garrido-Lecca fills the outdoor Sculpture Court with plants and industrial machinery, reflecting on the extraction of natural resources.
- Summer Exhibition 202718 May 2027
Royal Academy of Arts
The annual open-submission show in the Main Galleries: drawing, painting, prints, sculpture and film by members of the public and artists of global renown, much of it for sale.
Thomas Gainsborough20 May 2027Tate Britain
Marking the 300th anniversary of his birth, 120 paintings and drawings contrast Gainsborough's polished society portraits with the creative chaos of his studio.
- Collected: Centuries of art, saved and shared22 May 2027
National Gallery · Free
Over 40 works acquired for the UK through Acceptance in Lieu and Cultural Gifts, from Rembrandt, Renoir and Freud to a Picasso and an 18th-century goldfish bowl.
David Shrigley25 May 2027Dulwich Picture Gallery
Contemporary artist David Shrigley's specially commissioned works enter into conversation with Dutch and Flemish 17th-century painters including Jan Steen, Rembrandt and Brueghel the Younger, exploring humour across centuries.
- Adrian Piper: I'm This Space, Selected Works 1967–202726 May 2027
Serpentine Gallery · Free
Adrian Piper's irony, humour and audience participation challenge beliefs about how race, gender and truth are constructed, in a survey at Serpentine South.
- Rubens: The Master and his Workshop26 May 2027
Courtauld Gallery
A Rubens display in the Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery on the master and his workshop.
Sculpture in Clay29 May 2027Victoria and Albert Museum
An exhibition exploring the work of British artists from the mid-1980s to the present who use clay as sculpture.
Closing in May
Julio Le Parc: Light. Colour. Action.3 May 2027Tate Modern
An immersive retrospective of seven decades of kinetic and interactive works, with light sculptures and geometric paintings that turn viewers into participants.
Beyond the Streets5 May 2027Saatchi Gallery
Six decades of street culture's influence on art, photography, fashion, music and activism: over 100 creators across ten-plus rooms, from graffiti and hip-hop to 2Tone.
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires9 May 2027Victoria and Albert Museum
A major UK-first exhibition exploring 1,600 years of art and design from one of the world's greatest cities, across the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Jacqueline Marval9 May 2027Dulwich Picture Gallery
The first UK museum exhibition dedicated to French painter Jacqueline Marval (1866-1932), bringing together over 40 paintings and lithographs, many never before exhibited, including one of the earliest known female nude self-portraits.
American Photographs16 May 2027Victoria and Albert Museum · Free
A free display drawn from the V&A's US photography collection, revealing the breadth of the country's photographic traditions from early prints to contemporary work.
- Drawing in the Age of Bruegel: New Discoveries16 May 2027
Courtauld Gallery
A display of drawings from the age of Bruegel with new discoveries, in the Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery.
Dayanita Singh23 May 2027Barbican Centre
Photographer Dayanita Singh transforms The Curve into an evolving landscape of "mobile museums" and newly commissioned prints, drawing on her four-decade relationship with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and the impact of Indian classical music on her practice.
- Paula Rego: Dog Woman23 May 2027
Courtauld Gallery
Pastels by Paula Rego exploring the animal within the human, in the Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries.
- Peter Blake: Pop Art Life23 May 2027
National Portrait Gallery
The first major institutional exhibition devoted to the portraiture of Sir Peter Blake, the British Pop artist.
- Paula Rego: Pendle Witches23 May 2027
Courtauld Gallery
Companion display in the Project Space to Paula Rego: Dog Woman, with her Pendle Witches prints.
Tenderness and Rage30 May 2027Wellcome Collection · Free
A display exploring HIV and AIDS through stories of protest and care, from the UK's 1980s-90s epidemic to global activism today, via photography, film and archives.
Catharina van Hemessen: Signature Works30 May 2027National Gallery · Free
The first exhibition devoted to Catharina van Hemessen, the Renaissance artist who painted herself into history. Free to all visitors.
Also on through May
NINAGAWA Mika: Captive Bloomsto 1 Jun 2027The Photographers' Gallery · Free
A free outdoor exhibition of Mika Ninagawa's vibrant, dream-like photographs of blooming flowers and goldfish that dissolve the boundary between real and imagined.
Sahara Longeto 13 Jun 2027Dulwich Picture Gallery
A solo display responding to Van Dyck's Venetia, Lady Digby on her Deathbed: new figurative paintings by Sahara Longe exploring love, loss, grief and heartbreak.
- Mary Cassatt: Radical Impressionistto 13 Jun 2027
National Portrait Gallery
The first UK retrospective of Mary Cassatt, focused on the women she painted: family, friends, patrons and models. Most works have not been seen in the UK.
Monet: Painting Timeto 27 Jun 2027Tate Modern
Tate's first exhibition devoted exclusively to Claude Monet, bringing together paintings from lenders worldwide to explore his engagement with time, from instantaneous Impressionist moments to the Water Lilies series.
The Bayeux Tapestryto 11 Jul 2027British Museum
The 70-metre tapestry depicting the 1066 Norman invasion, shown in the UK for the first time in almost 1,000 years.
Wildlife Photographer of the Yearto 11 Jul 2027Natural History Museum
Back for another year with 100 new images: the world's best nature photography, from polar landscapes to tropical rainforests, displayed in an immersive exhibition of award-winning shots.
Cao Feito 25 Jul 2027Hayward Gallery
The Chinese multimedia artist's largest UK solo exhibition to date, tracing her practice from the early 2000s to the present across five thematic chapters, including Whose Utopia, RMB City, Asia One and the new work The Birth.
German Expressionism: Modern Painting 1900-1918to 1 Aug 2027National Gallery
Around 50 German Expressionist paintings from collections worldwide, revealing an alternative story of modern art, 1900–1918.
The Nue Black Aestheticto 8 Aug 2027Design Museum
Major exhibition celebrating contemporary Black designers reshaping British design across furniture, architecture, fashion and installation.
Sonia Boyceto 22 Aug 2027Tate Britain
The artist's first major survey: four decades of installation, photography, collage, film and sculpture exploring collective memory, collaboration and authorship.
- Matt Copsonto 22 Aug 2027
Serpentine Gallery · Free
Matt Copson's first major UK solo show at Serpentine North, bringing together laser animation, sculpture, animatronics and sound.
Characters of Fashionto 29 Aug 2027Barbican Centre
Fashion and literature in dialogue: garments, letters and manuscripts of authors from Austen to Baldwin, plus designs by Dior, Erdem and Prada inspired by literary characters.
Inkto 30 Aug 2027Tate Modern
Tate's inaugural exhibition devoted to ink painting, bringing together around 80 works by artists from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, organised around the themes of life, the garden and breath.
- Rembrandt: Radical Printmakerto 19 Sept 2027
Royal Academy of Arts
More than 120 works on Rembrandt's printmaking, a lesser-known side of his practice, organised with the Petit Palais in Paris. In the Sackler Wing.
Punk to Popto 2 Jan 2028Victoria and Albert Museum
Explores the explosion of music, art and fashion from 1972–85, tracing how a generation of self-determined artists responded to austerity, boredom and political turbulence to spark seismic cultural change.
South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design.to 23 Jan 2028V&A East Museum · Free
A landmark exhibition of over 200 works across art, fashion, architecture and design, showcasing the creativity, innovation and global influence emerging from South Asia today.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaosto 27 Feb 2028Science Museum
Blast off into the Solar System in this interactive family show, packed with surprising space science, hands-on experiments and characters from the Horrible Science TV series.
Image credits
26
- Ximena Garrido-LeccaCourtesy of Barbican Centre
- Thomas GainsboroughCourtesy of Tate Britain
- David ShrigleyCourtesy of Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Sculpture in ClayCourtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
- Julio Le Parc: Light. Colour. Action.Lent by the Atelier Le Parc 2026 © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2026
- Beyond the StreetsGOLDIE spraying a can of Buntlack. Photo by Gus Coral.
- Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two EmpiresCourtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
- Jacqueline MarvalCourtesy of Dulwich Picture Gallery
- American PhotographsCourtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
- Dayanita Singh© Dayanita Singh. Courtesy the artist. Photo: National Centre of Performing Arts, Mumbai
- Tenderness and RageGallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. © Wellcome Collection
- Catharina van Hemessen: Signature WorksCourtesy of National Gallery
- NINAGAWA Mika: Captive BloomsCourtesy of The Photographers' Gallery
- Sahara LongeCourtesy of Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Monet: Painting Time© Musée Marmottan Monet / Studio Christian Baraja SLB
- The Bayeux TapestryCourtesy of British Museum
- Wildlife Photographer of the YearCourtesy of Natural History Museum
- Cao FeiCourtesy of Hayward Gallery
- German Expressionism: Modern Painting 1900-1918Courtesy of National Gallery
- The Nue Black AestheticCourtesy of Design Museum
- Sonia Boyce© 2026 Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS
- Characters of FashionSet photograph of Tilda Swinton in Orlando, Sally Potter, 1992 © Adventure Pictures – photo courtesy of Adventure Pictures.
- InkCourtesy of Tate Modern
- Punk to PopCourtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum
- South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design.© Tavish Gunasena for AMESH
- Horrible Science: Cosmic ChaosCourtesy of Science Museum
Stay in the loop on London
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.