London art exhibitions coming in autumn 2024 that you won’t want to miss

August is art’s time of slumber, a month absolutely bereft of exhibitions as all the galleries take an entirely undeserved break from the entirely unarduous task of putting on shows. But come September, and everything starts kicking off. Well rested and ready to fight, London's galleries are coming out swinging with a season of genuinely exciting exhibitions. There's impressionist megastars, post-impressionist megastars, expressionists, conceptualists, modernists and photographists. There's post-colonialism, pre-digitalism, post-androidism. There's everything you could possibly want, as long as you want loads of art. 

14 London exhibitions to see this Autumn

Van Gogh: ‘Poets and Lovers’

If you pronounce it like an American, it’s time to Van Gogh crazy and if you pronounce it like the Dutch, then you’re going to need some Van Gogh syrup, because everyone’s going to absolutely lose it for Vincent this autumn. The National Gallery is going big on one of art history’s megastars, and they are not holding back. ‘Starry Night’? Got it. ‘The Yellow House’? It’s in here. Big hits, big ticket prices: welcome to 2024’s biggest blockbuster exhibition. 

‘Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers’ is at the National Gallery, Sep 14 2024-Jan 19 2025. More details here.

Frieze Sculpture at Regent’s Park

Once again this October, Regent’s Park will play host to Frieze art fair and its calmer, more mature sibling Frieze Masters. But before the hordes of facelifted art fiends descend on London, Frieze will be filling the park with its annual free display of outdoor sculptures. This year’s line up includes work by Leonora Carrington, Theaster Gates, Zanele Muholi and Yoshitomo Nara.

Frieze Sculpture is at Regent’s Park, Sep 18. Free. More details here. 

Geumhyung Jeong: ‘Under Construction’ at the ICA 

Uncomfortably, uncannily human robots fill Geumheung Jeong’s world. The Korean artist dances with the animatronic figures, interacts and communicates with them. The result is an uncomfortably emotional exploration of consumerism, technology and desire. Can’t wait. 

Geumhyung Jeong: ‘Under Construction’ is at the ICA, Sep 25. £6. More details here.

‘Monet and London. Views of the Thames’ at the Courtauld Gallery

Claude Monet loved foggy old London. Between 1899 and 1901, the pioneering French artist came to the city three times, painting stunning, incandescent visions of views across the Thames. And now, for the first time, they’re going to be shown here when 21 paintings of Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Houses of Parliament will go on show at the Courtauld Gallery, just a few hundred metres from the Savoy where many of the works were painted.

‘Monet and London. Views of the Thames’ is at the Courtauld Gallery, Sep 27-Jan 19 2025. £10. More details here. 

Mike Kelley: ‘Ghost and Spirit’ at Tate Modern

In a dizzying collision of sculptural installations, found objects, performance and sound work, American artist Mike Kelley (1954-2012) tore apart ideas of America and youth. The results are often disconcerting, filled with stuffed toys and grime, but always about something essential, important, underground, powerful. This is art for the punks, the hobos and the freaks, so you normies better beware.

Mike Kelley is at Tate Modern, Oct 2 2024-Mar 9 2025. More details here.  

Lygia Clark and Sonia Boyce at Whitechapel Gallery

Forget boring old paintings on walls and sculptures on plinths, leading Brazilian modernist Lygia Clark wanted viewers to get properly involved in her art, to become active participants. That’s what this Whitechapel show is all about: her attempts to reduce the gap between the work and the viewer. Occurring at the same time, British artist Sonia Boyce’s show will be ‘in dialogue’ with Clark’s, exploring themes of influence, communication and synergy across generational and international divides. 

Lygia Clark: ‘The I and the You’ and Sonia Boyce: ‘An Awkward Relation’ are at Whitechapel Gallery, Oct 2 2024-Jan 12 2025. More details here. 

Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst: ‘The Call’

Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst are artists at the forefront of AI-experimentation. ‘The Call’ will see them creating voices out of data collection and AI model-training, exploring the idea of the choir as an ancient form of primal human cooperation. 

Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst: ‘The Call’ is at the Serpentine, Oct 3-Feb 2 2025. Free. More details here.

‘The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975–1998’ at the Barbican

25 Indian artists are being brought together for this exploration of art, love, friendship and society in a time of massive turbulence and upheaval. The period of 1975-1998 saw India go through untold changes, and these artists were there to document and react to all of it. 

‘The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975–1998’ is at the Barbican, Oct 5-Jan 5 2025. More details here. 

Haegue Yang: 'Leap Year'

Expect 'sensorial installations' and 'performative sculpture' in this major show by South Korean artist Haegue Yang, featuring work from throughout their career. Domestic items get transformed, folk traditions get morphed and politics get twisted into mind-bending immersive artworks. This show will see the world premiere of 'large-scale Venetian blind installation' which will almost certainly be more exciting than it sounds. 

Haegue Yang: 'Leap Year' is at the Hayward Gallery, Oct -Jan 5 2025. More details here. 

‘Francis Bacon Portraits’ at the National Portrait Gallery

Can you ever have too much Bacon? My cardiologist thinks so, but the National Portrait Gallery heartily disagrees. So get ready to gorge yourself on Francis Bacon’s finest portraiture in this big ambitious blockbuster show of, you know, his portraiture. Could most of his work be considered portraiture? Yes, probably, but don’t let that stop you from getting your fill. 

‘Francis Bacon Portraits’ is at the National Portrait Gallery, Oct 10 2024-Jan 19 2025. More details here.

Hew Locke: ‘What Have We Here’ at the British Museum

Hew Locke’s last outing in a big London art institution saw him fill Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries with a raucous, kaleidoscopic carnival. Now he’s turning his colourful, critical eye on the British Museum’s collection, for a major new exhibition exploring the complex, often shocking stories of imperialism and colonialism told by the museum’s objects.

Hew Locke: ‘What Have We Here’ is at the British Museum, Oct 17-Feb 9 2025. £12. More details here. 

‘Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael’ at the Royal Academy of Art

With their big Autumn exhibition, the Royal Academy’s almost gone full Ninja Turtle. Only Donatello is missing as they take a look at the work of three giants of the Renaissance - Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael – and how for a brief time they weren’t just contemporaries, but rivals. Here’s hoping 2025 sees them doing a show about April O’Neil and her impact on the development of early conceptual installation art. 

'Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael' is at the Royal Academy of Art, Nov 9-Feb 16 2025. More details here.

‘The 80s: Photographing Britain’ at Tate Britain 

The 1980s was a decade of massive social upheaval around the world, but especially in the UK. It was also an era which coincided with the mass proliferation of personal cameras. That means that photographers were there to capture the chaos. This show explores how long before they were just used for taking pictures of your dinner, cameras were used for artistic exploration and as a tool for social change and political activism.

‘The 80s: Photographing Britain’ is at Tate Britain, Nov 21-May 5 2025. More details here. 

‘Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet’ at Tate Modern 

In a post-Photoshop age, it’s hard to imagine how they made digital art before computers were good, cheap and widely available. But make it they did, and the Tate is celebrating those early innovators of optical, kinetic, programmed and digital art. There’ll also be the chance to try out pre-internet tech in each room, so you can what it was like to send memes via fax machine. 

‘Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet’ is at Tate Modern, Nov 28-Jun 1 2025. £22. More details here.

Can't wait? Here are the top ten exhibitions you can see right now.