Loading...Iconic: Portraiture from Francis Bacon to Andy Warhol
The Holburne Museum, Bath
January 24 – May 5, 2025
Since the end of January, the Holborn Museum in Bath has been hosting an exhibition exploring the use of photography as a source for portraiture. The exhibition includes works by renowned artists such as Francis Bacon, Peter Blake, Pauline Boty, Richard Hamilton, Gerhard Richter and Andy Warhol, exploring the interplay between static images and dynamics.
The exhibition brings together rare works from private collections and works provided by major cultural institutions. The focus is not only on the use of photography in painting, but also on how photography has influenced the development of artistic language in the last decades of the 20th century. Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased here.
Gladiators of Britain
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, Dorchester
January 25 – May 11, 2025
A much-hyped project of the Dorset Museum in Dorchester, the exhibition Gladiators of Britain, organized (very timely) by the British Museum, takes a fresh look at the history of gladiatorial combat, revealing its profound impact on British culture and society.
Exhibits include unique artifacts such as a vase from Colchester that depicts an actual fight and the Hockedon helmet, the only surviving gladiatorial equipment in Britain. The whole collection covers a wide range of subjects, from the role of amphitheaters as centers of public life to the tragic fate of the very gladiator slaves forced to fight to the death for the satisfaction of the public. Tickets can be purchased here.
Ithell Colquhoun: Between Worlds
Tate St Ives, St Ives
February 1 – May 5, 2025
An exhibition dedicated to Itell Colquhoun at Tate St Ives offers an immersion into the world of the occult and surrealism through the life of the extraordinary artist. An important figure in the world of British Surrealism in the 1930s and 1940s, Colquhoun was one of the most radical artists of her generation.
Featuring over 200 works of art, the exhibition traces Colquhoun’s evolution from her early student work and involvement in the Surrealist movement to her fascination with the intersection of art, sexual identity, ecology, and the occult. The exhibition concludes with a separate room dedicated to the artist’s interpretation of the Tarot deck – her most accomplished synthesis of artistic and magical practice. More information about the exhibition is available on the museum’s website.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
February 7 – June 28, 2025
Dovecot Studios, in partnership with the Fleming Collection, presents an exhibition that opens up the world of Scottish colorists to viewers – and in a new context, placing them alongside their European contemporaries for the first time. С. J.J. Peplow, J.D. Fergusson, G.L. Hunter and F.C.B. Caddell, long recognized as pioneers of the art, appear in the company of key artists such as Matisse, Derain, and Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant of the Bloomsbury Group, offering a glimpse of the influence of the European avant-garde on Scottish painting.
This exhibition explores how a generation of artists working in the early 20th century created a new language of color that changed the face of art at that time. Read more here.
Anselm Kiefer: Early Works
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
February 14 – June 15, 2025
The Ashmole Museum presents one of this spring’s most anticipated exhibitions, “Anselm Kiefer: Early Works,” in honor of the artist’s 80th birthday. The landmark exhibition includes 45 rarely shown works of art from the Hall Art Foundation’s collection created by Kiefer between 1969 and 1982 – paintings, photographs and mixed media works.
Anselm Kiefer is one of the most influential artists of post-war Germany, known for his profound approach to history and symbolism. Combining elements of mythology, culture and philosophy, he creates multi-layered and provocative images that provoke reflection on the complex nature of identity and memory. This exhibition is not to be missed, tickets and details here.
The In Crowd: Mod Fashion and Style 1958-1966
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
May 10, 2025 – January 4, 2026
The mod subculture is one of the most vibrant youth movements of the 1960s. It was a time when young people had the opportunity to protest against the older generation and gain independence by creating a unique identity through music, fashion and culture.
An exhibition at Brighton Museum on the subculture will focus on the period from 1958 to 1966. The exhibition will explore how the look was formed, how it influenced youth culture and why it gained such widespread popularity. In addition to clothing sets, accessories and other closet items, visitors will be able to see photographs, films and episodes that shed light on the origin and development of the mod style. The exhibition is curated by Roger C. Burton, former mod and founder of The Contemporary Wardrobe Collection, and Martin Peel, curator of textiles and costume at Brighton & Hove Museums. More information on the website.
Garden Futures: Designing with Nature
V&A Dundee, Dundee
from May 17, 2025
The exhibition Garden Futures: Designing with Nature explores the future of garden design when art and ecology work in tandem. Featuring projects by internationally renowned landscape artists including Pete Udolph, Derek Jarman and Jamaica Kincaid, the exhibit shows how garden spaces can be not only aesthetically pleasing but also sustainable.
A special focus in the context of the exhibition is on innovations that address global challenges such as the climate crisis and food security. In general, those who are passionate about design, nature and want to explore sustainability issues in more detail will definitely be interested. Read more here.
Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures
The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield
May 17 – October 27, 2025
Helen Chadwig’s exhibition will open at the Barbara Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield in May, and that’s a good thing, because a trip to Yorkshire is best planned well in advance so you don’t miss out on anything important. Especially if you love art – Yorkshire is home to several iconic museums, including the minimalist Hapworth Gallery, designed by British architect David Chipperfield. Chadwig’s exhibition will occupy her space for several months at a time to draw viewers’ attention to Chadwig’s bold feminist art and experimentation with materials. This is the first major retrospective of her work in over 25 years, allowing us to see provocative and vibrant works ranging from In the Kitchen (1977) to Piss Flowers (1991-92).
Chadwig broke traditional art canons by combining beauty with unexpected materials, bringing a witty feminist perspective to her work. The exhibition highlights her influence on British and international art, revealing the artist’s playful and innovative spirit as well as the relevance of her work to the contemporary feminist agenda.
