23 art exhibitions opening in London in September 2023
As summer winds down, September brings a variety of exciting exhibitions to London. From a retrospective of Sarah Lucas's work to a solo exhibition by Marina Abramović, there's also an exhibition at Somerset House focusing on Black British fashion and the return of Frieze Sculptures. Here is our pick of 22 art exhibitions opening in London this September 2023.
Julianknxx: Chorus in Rememory of Flight
Image: Julianknxx, Production still of Chorus in Rememory of Flight, 2023 © Studioknxx.
#FLODown: Through a multi-screen film installation, Julianknxx documents his year-long collaboration with Black choirs across European port cities. The films delve into choral singing as a resistance against cultural erasure, echoing philosopher Édouard Glissant's notion of embracing diverse identities. Spanning cities like Hamburg, London, and Barcelona, the project covers 4000 kilometres, symbolising both historical and ancestral journeys. The recurring phrase "we are what’s left of us" unites the choral voices, illustrating music's role in upholding cultural memory. The exhibition offers novel historical perspectives and culminates in a contemplative space, underscoring the significance of unconventional storytelling. Julianknxx's interdisciplinary approach, rooted in poetry, film, and music, redefines African art and culture through his personal history, captured within transitional spaces.
Date: 14 September 2023 – 11 February 2024 Location: Barbican Centre, Silk St, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: Free. Book now.
Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto
Image: Marilyn Monroe applying Chanel N°5, photograph by Ed Feingersh, 1955, New York. © Ed Feingersh Michael Ochs Archives Getty Images.
#FLODown: The V&A Museum will host a landmark exhibition this September, focusing on pioneering fashion designer Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel. This first-of-its-kind UK exhibit will feature over 200 outfits, accessories, and more, spanning Chanel's 1910-1971 designs. Divided into ten sections, it explores her innovative fashion approach that still influences today. The display includes rare pieces from V&A, Palais Galliera, and Patrimoine de CHANEL collections, highlighting her impact on fashion over 60 years and her British inspirations. A must-visit for fashion enthusiasts and history buffs, this exhibit offers a concise yet comprehensive insight into Chanel's legacy.
Date: 16 September 2023 – 25 February 2024. Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL Price: from £24.Concessions available. Book now.
Marina Abramović
Image: ‘Artist Portrait with a Candle (A)’, from the series With Eyes Closed I See Happiness, 2012.Colour, fine art pigment print. Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives © Marina Abramović.
#FLODown: The Royal Academy of Arts will host a groundbreaking solo exhibition featuring renowned Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović. With a career spanning over 50 years, Abramović has propelled performance art from experimentation to mainstream recognition. The exhibit, curated in collaboration with the artist, will showcase her diverse practice through photographs, videos, objects, and installations. A highlight will be live reenactments of four of Abramović's key performances. Known for transforming everyday actions through repetition and endurance, Abramović's work delves into the interplay between personal and societal, conceptual and existential. From collaborating with Ulay (1975-1988) to solo experiments, she continuously pushes boundaries and has had a profound influence on contemporary art.
Date: 23 September 2023 – 1 January 2024 Location: Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD Royal Academy of Arts Price: from £25.50. Concessions available. Book now.
Benoît Piéron: Slumber Party
Image: Benoît Piéron, (Production Image) (2022) Commissioned and produced by Chisenhale Gallery. Image courtesy the artist.
#FLODown: Benoît Piéron's upcoming exhibition delves into the intersection of art and survival, exploring sensuality, bodily boundaries, and waiting. His creations, from cabins to transformed gardens, draw from his experience with illness, weaving uncertainty, life, and immunity into his work. The exhibition is accompanied by his debut artist publication.
Date: 15 September 2023 - 12 November 2023. Location: Chisenhale Gallery, 64 Chisenhale Road, London E3 5QZ. Price: Free. Website: chisenhale.org.uk.
British Art Fair
Image: Charlie Phillips Notting Hill Couple, Photograph 1967, courtesy James Hyman Gallery.
#FLODown: The 32nd British Art Fair is set to take place at the Saatchi Gallery in September. The event will showcase the finest Modern and Contemporary British Art, featuring over 70 exhibitors including both returning participants like Osborne Samuel and newcomers like The Fine Art Society. One of the highlights is the ‘Crossing Borders’ exhibition, which celebrates international artists who have made significant contributions to British art. Additionally, the fair will introduce the ‘SOLO CONTEMPORARY’ section, dedicated to emerging UK artists and will support WaterAid through a special climate-themed art exhibition.
Date: 28 September – 1 October 2023 Location: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York HQ, King’s Road, London SW3 4RY. Price: from £17. Book now.
Rubens & Women
Image: Peter Paul Rubens and Frans Snyders, Diana Returning from the Hunt, c. 1623, oil on canvas, 136 x 184 cm. Courtesy bpk | Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden | Elke Estel | Hans-Peter Klut.
#FLODown: The Dulwich Picture Gallery will host Rubens & Women, an exhibition challenging the notion that Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) depicted only one type of woman. Featuring over 40 artworks, the exhibition reveals the multifaceted roles of women in his life and work, from patrons and family members to religious influences and personal connections. Notable pieces include portraits of powerful women, depictions of his wives and daughter, and artworks that blend tenderness and depth in portraying both biblical and real women. The exhibition offers a fresh perspective on Rubens's legacy and influence.
Date: 27 September 2023 – 28 January 2024. Location: Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, London SE21 7AD. Price: Adults £16.50 with donation. Concessions available. Book now.
Detour London
Image: Moleskine notebook. Courtesy of Toord Boontje. Toord Boontje.
#FLODown: This exhibition explores the question, "Can creativity change the world?" It presents Moleskine notebooks transformed into art by a diverse group of individuals, including artists, designers, activists, and changemakers such as William Kentridge, Francis Kéré, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Paula Scher, Toyo Ito, Hannah Marshall, and Aida Muluneh. Each notebook shares a unique story, project, or perspective, highlighting how creativity can bring about meaningful change.
Date: 2 September – 15 September 2023. Location: Saatchi Gallery, Duke Of York's HQ, King's Road, London, SW3 4RY. Price: Free. Website: saatchigallery.com
We Are For The Dark
Image: Nicola Turner and Kate McDonnell at Mare Street.
#FLODown: We Are For The Dark is a site-responsive intervention by artists Kate McDonnell and Nicola Turner at the historic building, 195 Mare Street in Hackney. Through sculptures and installations, they unearth forgotten memories of past occupants, exploring the darker aspects of humanity. The exhibition runs three days from 8-10 September and features thought-provoking creations that echo the building's history.
Date: 8 - 10 September 2023 Location: 195 Mare Street, London E8 3QE. Price: Free. Website:195marestreet.co.uk.
The Missing Thread
Image: Eileen Perrier, Untitled 1, Afro Hair and Beauty, 1998 © Eileen Perrier
#FLODown: Somerset House presents The Missing Thread, a new exhibition by BOLD, showcasing the impact of Black British fashion from the 1970s to today. It explores how Black creativity shaped mainstream fashion, bridging style, music, art, and design. The exhibition covers four themes - home, tailoring, performance, and nightlife - placing Black British fashion within its socio-political context. It highlights designer Joe Casely-Hayford and features works by contemporary Black designers, celebrating their lasting influence on British fashion.
Date: 21 September 2023 - 7 January 2024. Location: Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA. Price: from £12.50. Concessions available. Book now.
Unearthed Collective: Where Can We Be Heard?
Image: Studio Voltaire. © MTotoe.
#FLODown: The Unearthed Collective, comprising artists, curators, and neighbours, has dedicated the past ten months to creatively delving into Clapham's lesser-known 20th-century histories. Through research, talks, and visits, they've collected photography, oral recordings, and archival material for an exhibition at Studio Voltaire. Their work questions collective memory, suppressed histories, and the authority behind remembering particular stories and places. Collaborating with local organisations and communities, the collective explores patterns of dispersion and gathering. The exhibition, titled Where can we be heard?, showcases their findings and artistic interpretations.
Date: 23 September – 29 October 2023 Location: Studio Voltaire, 1A Nelsons Row, London SW4 7JR. Price: Free. Website: studiovoltaire.org.
Paula Rego: Letting Loose
Image: Paula Rego, In and Out of The Sea AKA The Raft, 1985, acrylic on canvas, 242 x 192 cm, 95 1/4 x 75 5/8 in, © Ostrich Arts Ltd, courtesy Ostrich Arts Ltd and Victoria Miro.
#FLODown: Victoria Miro presents ‘Letting Loose’, an exhibition featuring Paula Rego's 1980s works. This era marked her creative transformation, shifting from collages to fluid painting, enabling her to explore darker human emotions. Her pieces capture memories, including her husband's illness, and embody a more candid narrative. The collection includes impactful series like ‘Girl and Dog’, ‘Opera’ paintings, and ‘The Vivian Girls’. These works reflect her rise to prominence, culminating in her becoming the National Gallery Associate Artist in 1989.
Date: 22 September - 11 November 2023. Location: Victoria Miro Gallery I, 16 Wharf Road, London N1 7RW. Price: Free. Website: victoria-miro.com.
Claudette Johnson: Presence
Image: Claudette Johnson, Figure in Blue, 2018. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Claudette Johnson.
#FLODown:The Courtauld Gallery is presenting Presence, a major exhibition showcasing the pioneering work of British artist Claudette Johnson, a prominent figure in the Black British Arts Movement. Known for her powerful figurative drawings of Black individuals, the exhibition will feature a range of her works, spanning from early pieces to recent creations. Johnson's art captures intimate yet compelling portrayals, addressing themes of Black presence and identity. The exhibition, curated by Dorothy Price, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art and Critical Race Art History at The Courtauld, offers a significant exploration of Johnson's career and artistic development, accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue.
Date: 29 September 2023 – 14 January 2024. Location: The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN. Price: from £13. Concessions available. Book now.
Gerald Chukwuma: Homeostasis
Image: Gerald Chukwuma, Blue Moon, 2020, Mixed media, 183 x 249 cm, courtesy of the Artist.
#FLODown: Gerald Chukwuma's Homeostasis exhibition at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery will showcase a series of textured wooden panel artworks. These pieces combine elongated figures, animals, and geometric patterns, reflecting the artist's personal growth and exploration of art therapy. The exhibition marks a shift in Chukwuma's style, focusing on inner peace and the healing potential of art. Through abstract and evocative works like To Rule the Day... To Rule the Night and Earth Bring Forth!, Chukwuma invites viewers to contemplate perception and navigate a sensory experience. His intention is to provide solace and beauty in response to the challenges of today's world, ultimately turning his art into a source of peace.
Date: 2 – 30 September 2023. Location: Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, 2 Melior Place, London SE1 3SZ Website: kristinhjellegjerde.com.
The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals
Image: Frans Hals. Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard, 1627. Oil on canvas, 179 × 257.5 cm. © Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem.
#FLODown: The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals at the National Gallery marks the largest Frans Hals exhibition in over thirty years.Co-curated with Rijksmuseum and Gemäldegalerie, it unveils about fifty of Hals' masterpieces from global collections, including the famed The Laughing Cavalier from the Wallace Collection.The exhibition follows Hals's evolution through chronological sections.
Date: 30 September 2023 – 21 January 2024 Location: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN Price: from £20. Concessions available. Book now.
Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas
Image: Sarah Lucas, Bunny 1997. Private collection. © Sarah Lucas.
#FLODown:Tate Britain unveils an all-encompassing journey through the celebrated career of Sarah Lucas. Renowned for her audacious exploration of the human form, sexuality, and societal narratives, the exhibition proudly showcases a collection of over 75 artworks that span four prolific decades, including intriguing new creations.
Date: 28 September 2023 – 14 January 2024. Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG Price: from £17. Concession available. Book now.
Ranjani Shettar: Cloud songs on the Horizon
mage: Barbican Conservatory, Barbican Centre. © MTotoe.
#FLODown: Indian sculptor Ranjani Shettar's site-specific exhibition, Cloud Songs on the Horizon, arrives at the Barbican Conservatory this September. Shettar's debut European show features large suspended sculptures inspired by nature and Indian crafts, in collaboration with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. The exhibit aligns with the Barbican's focus on contemporary art within its architecture.
Date: from 10 September 2023 - March 2024. Location: Barbican Conservatory, Barbican Centre Silk St London EC2Y 8DS. Price: Free. Book now.
Christian Marclay: Doors
Image: Fire, 2020. Christian Marclay.
#FLODown: This September, White Cube will debut Christian Marclay's video installation ‘Doors (2022)’ and a new sculpture series. Marclay's work, spanning four decades, merges visual and audio realms to challenge perceptions of sound and music. The installation features a montage of film clips depicting doors opening and closing, symbolising transitions between films and soundscapes. Marclay's art explores the influence of technology on sonic experiences. The installation creates a metaphorical labyrinth, inviting visitors to navigate and get lost in its intricacies.
Date: 6 – 30 September 2023. Location: White Cube Mason's Yard, 25 – 26 Mason's Yard, London SW1Y 6BU. Price: Free. Website: whitecube.com.
Matthew Hilton: Tough Moment
Image: Matthew Hilton. Big Standing. Fabricated by hand. Welded sheet Corten steel, rusted. Image courtesy of artist.
#FLODown: Prominent British furniture designer Matthew Hilton RDI introduces his debut sculpture collection, 'Tough Moment,' at Paul Smith's Albermarle Street gallery. Aligned with London Design Festival and Frieze London, the exhibit showcases eighteen metal and stone artworks inspired by industry and craftsmanship. Highlights include Walking Woman, a striking 1.7-meter steel figure, and Balance Block, a poignant symbol of relationship dynamics.
Date: 7 September – 31 October 2023. Location: Paul Smith Gallery Space, 9 Albemarle Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 4BL. Price: Free. Website: paulsmith.com.
And As Always, the End Is Everything
Image: Ra Tack. Crawling on the floor to be near you (2023) Oil on Belgian linen. Courtesy of IMT Gallery, London.
#FLODown: The exhibition And As Always, the End Is Everything by Ra Tack and Florence Peake explores the delicate relationship between internal emotions and the external world, using windows, screens, and shifting seasons as metaphors. Their unconventional artworks capture interactions, emotions, and processes, inviting viewers to contemplate the complex interplay between self and surroundings. Tack's paintings, inspired by Iceland's landscapes and emotional journeys, complement Peake's transformative ceramic piece STAGE. Both artists convey a sense of tragedy—Peake symbolising compromise and renewal, Tack candidly portraying ephemeral relationships.
Date: 1 September - 1 October 2023. Location: IMT Gallery,Unit 2, 210 Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9NQ. Website: imagemusictext.com.
Rebecca Hardaker: Find Me
Image: Rebecca Hardaker
#FLODown: Radio London presents Find Me, a preview of Rebecca Hardaker's latest painting series. The title alludes to the ongoing evolution of this body of work, as the featured paintings reflect Rebecca's journey to discover what ignites her creative passion and compels her to paint. Rebecca Hardaker, a tactile artist who employs her hands as tools, merges reality and abstraction, offering viewers abstract landscape paintings enriched with imaginative intricacies. These pieces occasionally incorporate excerpts from inspirational texts.
Date: from 5 September 2023. Location: Radio London, Art House, Unit 1B, 1 York Way, London, N1C 4AS. Price: Free. Website: radiohairsalon.com.
Manu García: Juego
Image: Manu García. Foxes Mates Forever, 2023.
#FLODown: Spanish artist Manuel García's debut UK solo exhibition, Juego, is coming to BEERS London in September. The Spanish word 'juego' translates to 'play' in English, suggesting a sense of mystery and allure. García's works embody this notion of movement and non-linearity, resembling the mind's simultaneous ideas and sensations. The paintings act as palimpsests, where concepts are layered, erased, and reworked, capturing the artist's process and thoughts over time. García's art blurs the lines between abstraction and representation, and the interplay between different techniques, languages, and emotions is evident.
Date: 8 September – 14 October 2023 Location: BEERS London, 51 Little Britain, London EC1A 7BH. Price: Free. Website: beerslondon.com.
Frieze Sculpture 2023
Image: Ayşe Erkmen, Moss Column, 2023, stone, moss and copper, height 5m, Ø60. Courtesy Dirimart and the artist.
#FLODown: Frieze Sculpture, the renowned free public art exhibition, will return to London’s Regent’s Park this September. Curated by Fatoş Üstek, the exhibit will showcase 22 global artists amid the park's historic English Gardens. From established names like Ghada Amer to emerging talents, the exhibition explores transformation, political empowerment, rituals, and social concepts through site-specific projects, enhanced by performances and discussions. Frieze Sculpture coincides with Frieze London and Frieze Masters (11 - 15 October 2023).
Date: 20 September – 29 October 2023. Location: The Regent’s Park. Price: Free. Website: frieze.com.
Revive Fashion and Art Exhibition
Image: Revive Fashion and Art Exhibition. Artist: Danae Patsalou. Photo by Sotiria Dymioti.
#FLODown: Revive Fashion and Art Exhibition is an upcoming exhibition organised by the Cyprus High Commission - Cultural Section. It will feature the creations of 12 young Cypriot fashion designers inspired by their cultural heritage. The exhibition focuses on sustainable art and fashion and aims to revive traditional Cypriot practices, showcasing garments that blend contemporary style with cultural traditions such as harvesting, agriculture, pottery, and weaving.
Date: 26 September - 5 October 2023. Time: 10am - 3pm, Monday - Friday. Location: High Commission Of The Republic Of Cyprus & Consulate-General, 13 Saint James's Square London SW1Y 4LB. Price: Free. Book now.