Top 10 exhibitions in London (updated for 2026)

A stroll through Tracey Emin: A Second Life is an evocative experience. Positioned as a 40-year retrospective through the pioneering artist’s vast and varied repertoire, the show lays bare Emin’s life through her distinct and often unsettling art, from career highs – such as the iconic, Turner Prize-nominated ‘My Bed’ (1998)– to stark personal lows in work depicting her experiences with sexual violence, abortion and recent life-threatening illness.

Why go: This exhibition perfectly encapsulates Emin’s defiant approach to life and her ability to turn traumatic experiences into mesmerising art. You’ll leave feeling emotionally rung out, but struck by the realisation that ‘Mad Tracey from Margate’ is truly a force to be reckoned with.

Curated by Philippa Adams, who previously served as the gallery’s Senior Director for over 20 years, this expansive nine-room retrospective which aims to both celebrate the past and reiterate the Saatchi Gallery’s commitment to championing innovation in the present and future. A reinvention of the wheel, conceptually speaking, it may not be, but it’s a bona fide feast for the eyes. 

Why go: ‘Fun’ is a quality which seems to be all too frequently forgotten by curatorial teams. But it certainly takes pride of place here. The Long Now is a brilliant showcase of the gallery’s decades-long passion for contemporary art, and knack of making stars out of artists whose work is as thought-provoking as it is visually arresting. 

Featuring 250 objects, including loans from Versailles that have never been exhibited outside of France before now, Marie Antoinette Style takes visitors on a journey through the ill-fated queen’s forward-thinking wardrobe, dizzyingly elaborate jewellery, lavish interiors, huge hairstyles and enduring influence on fashion and art today.

Why go: The show is a joy to experience, and a must-see for anyone with a modicum of interest in fashion. It is a thorough, moving and vivacious display of a young woman with expensive tastes and the budget to match.

‘Exuberance’ is the word of the day at the opening of The Picture Comes First, Rose Wylie’s marvellous retrospective at the Royal Academy. It is referenced in the press materials, and emphasised repeatedly by the show’s curator. After a stroll through the galleries, it is not hard to see why; Wylie’s paintings are unified by a joyful and vibrant energy which beams out from all of them.

Why go: The 91-year-old Wylie is the first female painter to have a full retrospective in the space. Equal parts puzzling, entertaining and thoughtful, this exhibition is a fantastic testament to an artist who has proven tenfold that age is no barrier to reaching one’s full potential.

In a season dominated by major retrospectives of female artists, and the Barbican’s show on trailblazing Colombian artist Beatriz González is an extremely worthwhile addition. Known to many in her home country of Colombia as ‘La Maestra’, González is considered to be one of the most influential artists to come out of Latin America, and this vast collection of over 150 works leaves you with no questions as to how she garnered such a reputation.

Why go: González passed away at the age of 93 in January, making this reflection on her once-in-a-generation career feel all the more poignant. This splendid survey of her most consequential and politically engaged work is the perfect way to pay tribute to an artist who, right up until her death, used her talent to challenge mainstream opinion and shine a light on those who needed it most.

An annual showcase of the UK’s finest emerging artists, New Contemporaries is this year staged at the South London Gallery. It featuring 26 artists working in a multitude of different disciplines, with work tackling such varied themes as dystopian futures, the climate crisis, industrialisation, gentrification, displacement, critical approaches to systems of power, digital technologies, mourning, remembrance, and loss.

Why go: What this exhibition (predictably) lacks in cohesion, it makes up for in the raw talent and ambition evident in each of these nascent artists’ work. The fact that it’s housed in what, despite its deep history, is one of London’s most underrated art spaces is a further incentive to pay it a visit.

It’s hard to know if Italian Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna was issuing a doom-laden warning or just a doe-eyed love letter to history. Because written into the nine sprawling canvases of his ‘Triumphs of Caesar’ (six of which are on show here while their gallery in Hampton Court Palace is being renovated) is all the glory and power of Ancient Rome, but its eventual collapse too.

Why go: Peer into the peak of empire, of grandeur and riches and dominance and avarice and cruelty and subjugation, before an inevitable fall. 

French painter Georges Seurat was dead by 31, but in fewer than 50 canvases he left an indelible mark on art history. By applying thousands of dots and dashes of pure colour right next to each other, he pioneered the technique of Pointillism, which in turn birthed Neo-Impressionism. Focusing on his landscapes, this show features stoic visions of the sea from towns along the northern French coast. Painted over five summers between 1885-90, it tracks you through each stop Seurat made along the coast, as his style becoming more refined with each sojourn.

Why go: There’s an undeniable bliss that comes from being next to a large body of water. If the cold London winter has left you craving a day trip to the seaside, this is the next best thing. 

This ever-so-whimsical retrospective on the manic pixie dream director Wes Anderson is packed full of crowd pleasing-items – from the implausibly cute Fantastic Mr Fox stop-motion puppets, to a huge scale model of the Grand Budapest Hotel that looks like a Barbie dream house on crack. 

Why go: Any Anderson fan is going to absolutely love this Wes-fest, which illustrates just how much painstaking and beautiful detail has been poured into each of his 12 feature films. It’s probably as close as you are going to get to being on a Wes Anderson film set. 

Laura Lima, one of Brazil’s most intriguing artists, brings an absurd and interactive exhibition featuring spanning works from her repertoire, as well as a brand new commission, to the ICA. Featuring nude life drawing models, freezer of trays full of frozen artworks and an upside-down spinning parasol, The Drawing Drawing is full of transforming inanimate objects, and audience participation is highly encouraged. 

Why go: Lima’s work is high-concept, and it will not be everyone’s cup of tea. But it is also a lot of fun to try and make sense of as you make your way through this thoroughly original showcase.