Exhibitions in London
October 2027
October at a glance: 2 exhibitions opening, 2 closing, and 6 more on view across the city.
Opening in October
David Hockney7 OctTate Britain
A retrospective celebrating the British artist's 90th birthday with over 200 works spanning seven decades, tracing how love, friendship and human connection have shaped his art.
Caroline Walker12 OctDulwich Picture Gallery
New paintings by Caroline Walker documenting two years of daily life at Dulwich Picture Gallery, celebrating the staff, encounters and unseen moments behind the institution.
Closing in October
Thomas Gainsborough10 OctTate 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.
Baya17 OctTate Modern
The UK's first solo exhibition of Algerian artist Baya, featuring over 100 gouache watercolours and ceramic sculptures that trace her impact across North Africa and Europe in the 20th century.
Also on through October
Simone Leighto 12 DecRoyal Academy of Arts
The largest exhibition to date of sculptor Simone Leigh, her first major UK show, bringing bronze and ceramic sculpture together with film in monumental new installations drawing on African cultures and their diasporas.
Nalini Malanito 9 JanTate Modern
A major survey of six decades of work by Nalini Malani, featuring monumental multi-media installations, animations, films and newly commissioned pieces exploring history, mythology and lived experience.
Gavin Turk at the Soaneto 16 JanSir John Soane's Museum · Free
Contemporary artist Gavin Turk responds to the Museum's Building Archive with new sculptural works, including a major installation, "Looking Glass," in the Foyle Space.
Anwar Jalal Shemza: A Circle, A Square, A Puzzleto 16 JanDulwich Picture Gallery
The first major museum retrospective of post-war modernist Anwar Jalal Shemza (1928-1985) in over 30 years, featuring more than 80 works across painting, printmaking, textiles and archival material.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaosto 27 FebScience 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.
Lynda Benglisto 5 MarTate Modern
A retrospective of over 50 works by American artist Lynda Benglis, spanning the late 1960s to the present across video, photography, sculpture and installation.
Stay in the loop on London
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.