Whether you are drawn to the rawness of street photography, the intricacies of sculpture, or the rich histories depicted through fashion, London art exhibitions offer a diverse palette of visual delights. From high-profile retrospectives to contemporary displays, navigating the best art exhibitions in London now reveals a cultural landscape bursting with creativity.
We've rounded up some of the most anticipated art exhibitions London has to offer, highlighting not only the art but also the unique stories they tell and the global cultures they represent.
1. Frida: The Making of an Icon, Bankside
More than a standard retrospective, this major exhibition tracks how Frida Kahlo became the global icon and a major influence on the art world. Through intimate self-portraits, signature traditional Tehuana clothing, and rare personal artefacts, this exhibition reveals how she masterfully turned personal pain, disability, and political conviction into a revolutionary visual identity that continues to inspire movements and communities to this day.
Details:
Dates: 25 June 2026 – 3 January2027
Location: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Ticket Prices: £25.00 for Adults
More Info: Frida: The Making of an Icon
2. Van Eyck: The Portraits, Trafalgar Square
Early Renaissance artist Jan van Eyck completely revolutionised the art of portraiture, utilising layers of luminous oil paint to capture intense lifelike naturalism. Some of his greatest works include The Arnolfini Portrait, Portrait of a Man in a Turban, and Portrait of Margaret van Eyck. This landmark exhibition brings together all of the artists portraits at the National Gallery. "Breathing life into van Eyck’s world, the exhibition introduces the men and women he spent his life around. They are not kings, queens and aristocrats; they are successful craftsmen, merchants and the artist’s relatives."
Dates: 21 November 2026 to 11 April 2027
Location: National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN
Ticket Prices: £22.00 for Adults
3. Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art, South Kensington
Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli was renowned for her eccentric designs and willingness to challenge the norms of dressing. This dazzling exhibition at the V&A charts her boundary-pushing career through jaw-dropping garments, surrealist accessories, and historic collaborations with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. This showcase beautifully highlights the convergence of high fashion and fine art, making it one of the most stylish art exhibitions in London this year.
Details:
Dates: 28 March 28 - 1 November 2026
Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
Ticket Prices: £28.00 - £30.00
More Info: Schiaparelli at the V&A
4. Nan Goldin: You Never Did Anything Wrong, Southbank
You Never Did Anything Wrong at the Hayward Gallery explores the fragility of the human condition through deeply personal photographs. American artist and activist, Nan Goldin, captures the rawness and complex nature of intimacy, addiction, love, and loss. It marks Goldin's first institutional exhibition in the UK since 2002, and rounds off the Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary year.
Details:
Dates: 24 November 2026 – 7 March 2027
Location: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX
Ticket Prices: £18.00 for Adults
More Info: Nan Goldin at the Hayward Gallery
5. Julio Le Parc, Bankside
Step into a mesmerising labyrinth of colour, light, and continuous motion. This extensive exhibition at the Tate Modern celebrates the pioneering kinetic and op-art of Julio Le Parc, with towering light installations, shifting sculptures, and immersive rooms reigning supreme. By placing the viewer at the centre of the art, the exhibition actively transforms how we experience physical space, turning a standard gallery visit into a playful, reality-bending journey.
Details:
Dates: Now – 3 May 2027
Location: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Ticket Prices: £15.00 for Adults
More Info: Julio Le Parc at Tate Modern
6. Renoir and Love, Trafalgar Square
Marking the first significant Renoir exhibition in the UK for over twenty years, this beautifully curated show focuses on the impressionist artist's lifelong depiction of everyday intimacy, domesticity, and joy. The collection features 40 paintings, including snapshots of Parisian dance halls, sunlit gardens, and the legendary Bal au Moulin de la Galette which depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at an open-air dance hall in the 18th arrondissement.
Details:
Dates: 3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027
Location: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
Ticket Prices: £24.00 for Adults
More Info: Renoir and Love at The National Gallery
7. The Music is Black: A British Story, Stratford
Held at the brand-new V&A East, this landmark exhibition celebrates the undeniable impact of Black British music. Visitors can travel through time via more than 120 tracks played through a headset. From swing and jazz to the chart-topping global influence of contemporary garage, grime, and jungle, it is an essential, high-energy chronicle of how a community's creative heartbeat completely reshaped the sound and style of modern Britain.
Details:
Dates: Now – 3 January 2027
Location: V&A East Museum, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 1JN
Ticket Prices: £22.50 - £24.50
More Info: The Music is Black at V&A East
8. Henry Moore: Monumental Nature, Richmond
Henry Moore’s iconic, smoothly undulating bronze and stone sculptures break free from traditional museum walls in this outdoor exhibition at Kew Gardens. Set among the historic trees, manicured lawns, and Victorian glasshouses, this open-air showcase - comprising 30 works - explores the fluid, organic relationship between sculpture and living form. There is an accompanying indoor exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, featuring more than 90 of Moore’s smaller-scale works.
Details:
Dates: 9 May 9 2026 – 31 January 2027
Location: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AE
Ticket Prices: £20.00 for Adults
More Info: Henry Moore at Kew Gardens
9. Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait, St Martin's Place
Marking Monroe's centenary, this carefully considered exhibition explores the Monroe's journey from early modelling days to becoming a twentieth-century cultural juggernaut through portraits, photos, and rare personal belongings. It brings together works by Andy Warhol, and Pauline Boty, in addition to photography by Cecil Beaton, Philippe Halsman, Bernard of Hollywood, and André de Dienes.
Details:
Dates: Now - 6 September 6 2026
Location: National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin's Pl, London WC2H 0HE
Ticket Prices: £25.00 for Adults
10. Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires, South Kensington
An epic visual chronicle of a historic metropolis that sat at the absolute crossroads of the world. This sweeping exhibition maps the shifting cultural, religious, and artistic identities of the city across the golden ages of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, showcasing rare treasures, illuminated texts, and intricate tile-work.
Details:
Dates: Opens 7 November 2026
Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
Ticket Prices: Approximately £20.00 (TBC)
More Info: Constantinople to Istanbul at the V&A
11. Anish Kapoor, Southbank
Venture into a world of sensory mystery through Anish Kapoor’s monumental, reality-bending artworks. Marvel over flawless steel mirror sculptures, impossibly intense pigments, and an array of sculptures and paintings designed to challenge our perception of reality.
Details:
Dates: 16 June - 18 October 2026
Location: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX
Ticket Prices: £19.00 for Adults
More Info: Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery
12. Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific, South Kensington
This vibrant showcase brings together the most urgent, contemporary artistic voices from across the Asia-Pacific region. Themes include how artists respond to political conditions, artistic heritage, and evolving faith and spirituality, with works spanning textiles, sculptures, and multi-media installations.
Details:
Dates: Now – 10 January 2027
Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
Ticket Prices: £17.00 for Adults
More Info: Rising Voices at the V&A
13. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, South Kensington
The world’s most prestigious nature photography competition returns to London, with more than 60,000 entries each year. From heart-stopping moments of animal behaviour to stark, eye-opening environmental realities, these photos offer a truly unique glimpse into the natural world. It is an exhibition that moves seamlessly between breathtaking beauty and an urgent call to action, reminding us of our crucial responsibility to the wild spaces we inhabit.
Details:
Dates: October 2026 – March 2027
Location: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 5BD
Ticket Prices: £17.50 for Adults
More Info: Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Natural History Museum
14. James McNeill Whistler, Millbank
This major Tate Britain showcase displays American artist James McNeill Whistler's highly atmospheric portraits, prints, and designs. Celebrated for prioritising tone, colour harmony, and emotional mood over rigid realism, the exhibition demonstrates how Whistler laid the foundations for modern abstract art.
Details:
Dates: Until 27 September 2026
Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
Ticket Prices : £24.00 for Adults
More Info: James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain
15. Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends, Bethnal Green
Perfect for film buffs, design lovers, and families alike, this highly interactive exhibition peels back the curtain on Bristol's legendary animation studio. Visitors can see the actual tiny, hand-sculpted clay models, intricate miniature sets, and original concept sketches behind beloved classics like Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, and Chicken Run. It is a delightful celebration of British eccentricity, painstaking craftsmanship, and the enduring magic of tactile, stop-motion storytelling.
Details:
Dates: Until 15 November 2026
Location: Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA
Ticket Prices: £12.50 for Adults
More Info: Inside Aardman at Young V&A
16. Tracey Emin: A Second Life, Bankside
A deeply personal, monumental retrospective spanning forty years of Tracey Emin's uncompromising, confessional artwork. Moving seamlessly between paintings, video, textiles, neons, writing, sculpture, and installation, it stands out among the best art exhibitions in London right now, and serves to cement Emin's status as one of Britain’s most important artists.
Details:
Dates: Until 31 August 2026
Location: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Ticket Prices: £22.00 for Adults
More Info: Tracey Emin at Tate Modern
17. Waldmüller: Landscapes, Trafalgar Square
The National Gallery is presenting the UK’s first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to the Austrian 19th-century master, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. Brought to London in an exclusive partnership with Vienna's Belvedere Museum, these exquisite works showcase the artist's striking, hyper-realistic control of brilliant Alpine light, shadow, and intricate botanical detail. It offers a breath of fresh European air in the heart of London, celebrating a master of realism whose work captures the absolute, unblemished purity of the natural world.
Details:
Dates: 2 July – 20 September 2026
Location: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
Ticket Prices: £16.00 for Adults
