It’s the month of love, and there’s plenty to make your heart swell if you’re an art fan. London’s museums and galleries are in full swing, with shows of everything from impressionism to conceptualism. The days are getting brighter, the art is getting better, things are looking up.
Seven London art exhibition to see in February 2025
Noah Davis at Barbican
Part-pure realism, part-hazy fantasy, artist Noah Davis’s paintings present a dreamlike vision of Black life in modern America. He died in 2015, but not before becoming one of the leading young figurative painters in the US, leaving behind a powerful and often beautiful legacy.
Noah Davis is at the Barbican, Feb 6-May 11 2025. More details here.
Ai Weiwei: ‘A New Chatpter’ at Lisson Gallery
This much-delayed exhibition of new work by dissident art superstar Ai Weiwei promises ‘a provocative exploration of contemporary issues through the lens of historical and artistic references’, and lots of Lego and swearing. One work is called ‘F.U.C.K.’ and another is called ‘Go Fuck Yourself’, so you can be pretty sure that Ai isn’t here to fuck around.
Ai Weiwei: ‘A New Chatpter’ is at Lisson Gallery, Feb 7-Mar 15. More details here.
Theaster Gates at White Cube
Pioneering American artist Theaster Gates returns to London for the first time since his Serpentine Pavilion in 2022 with a show of new work at White Cube Bermondsey. There’s not a lot of information regarding what will be included, but Gates’s community-focused approach to his very modern-take on abstraction and ceramics – filled with tar, clay, music and history – makes him one an artist who’s worth getting excited about no matter what.
Theaster Gates is at White Cube, Feb 7-Apr 6. Free. More details here.
Mickalene Thomas: ‘All About Love’ at the Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is being transformed into an everyday 1970s home for this display of paintings by American artist Mickalene Thomas. She’s been at the forefront of contemporary portraiture for a while now, and this show of images of Black women luxuriating in domestic settings will be her most ambitious UK exhibition to date.
Mickalene Thomas: ‘All About Love’ is at the Hayward Gallery, Feb 11-May 5 2025. More details here.
Donald Rodney at Whitechapel Gallery
In his far too short career, Donald Rodney (1961-1998) created an incredibly varied body of work, using a huge breadth of mediums to confront the prejudices that course through British society. The work here tackles themes of racial identity, chronic illness and colonial history, and are a fascinating window into the issues that mattered in 1990s Britain, and still resonate today.
Donald Rodney is at Whitechapel Gallery, Feb 12-May 4. More details here.
‘Goya to Impressionism’ at the Courtauld Gallery
Oskar Reinhart knew a masterpiece when he saw one. The twentieth century art collector amassed a stunning trove of artworks, and now some of his finest picks are coming to the Courtauld. On display will be an amazingly grim Géricault painting, an incredibly saucy Courbet image of a lady in hammock, a staggering Goya still life and two stunning hospital-era Van Goghs. And then there are some Manets, Cezannes, Picassos and Renoirs to boot. Wowzers.
‘Goya to Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection’ is at the Courtauld Gallery, Feb 14-May 26. More details here.
Leigh Bowery! at Tate Modern
Not many exhibition titles come with an exclamation point, but then not many exhibitions are about artist, performer, model, TV personality, club promoter, fashion designer and musician Leigh Bowery. Sorry, Leigh Bowery! Mashing together performance, club culture and fashion design, Bowery’s ‘Looks’ had a massive impact on the artists and pop stars of today. Subversive, exciting, avant garde fashion that you’d probably feel a bit silly popping to Costa in.
Leigh Bowery! is at Tate Modern Feb 27-Aug 31 2025. More details here.
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