The Most Coveted Exhibitions In London 2024

For artists and art lovers, collectors and connoisseurs, London offers a concentration of culture that is hard to match. 2024 has delivered some spectacular exhibitions so far, with plenty more to come. And alongside a full calendar in the city, Claridge’s own gallery The ArtSpace is hosting a series of must-see shows, from photography to immersive dance.

Descend the steps at Claridge’s and within a few minutes’ walk in any direction a plethora of galleries can be found. Stroll to Savile Row and explore contemporary works in Hauser and Wirth’s galleries. David Zwiner’s townhouse hosts an exhibition of new paintings by Belgian artist Michaël Borremans this summer, and the Gagosian’s pared-back design is the perfect blank canvas for emerging artists.

Suffice it to say, if an afternoon of art appreciation is on the agenda, London delivers with aplomb. Beyond Mayfair’s local offering, the city is home to a number of world-famous museums and collections.

Here are some of the highlights on the horizon:

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind

Creating powerful works since the 1950s, Yoko Ono’s art is provoking conversation once more in a retrospective at the Tate Modern. Ono spent five years living in London, and this period of work features heavily in the exhibition. Innovative, profound, and often irreverential, Ono’s art aims to stimulate the imagination and encourage participation. Many of the works on display invite the viewer to take part, from classic ‘Instruction’ pieces to a more recent project ‘Add Colour (Refugee Boat)’, where visitors are invited to add their own elements to a white boat and the gallery’s walls. The exhibition runs until September.

Frieze London

As Autumn hits its stride in the capital, all eyes turn to Regent’s Park, where amongst nature’s own colourful exhibition, an art show of epic proportions gets underway. Frieze is part marketplace, part cultural event, where leading galleries, collectors, and artists (living, unless residing at sister-exhibition Frieze Masters) come together to show, buy and appreciate contemporary art from around the world. With a grand pavilion bedecked in works, an outdoor sculpture park, and myriad offshoot events and parties, Frieze week (October 11-15) is the defining date on London’s art calendar.

Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers

The National Gallery has dubbed this show ‘a once-in-a-century exhibition’, as thanks to an extensive loans programme, over 50 of Van Gogh’s most iconic works will be on display together for the first time. Visitors will be able to admire, amongst others, the midnight-blue shimmerings of ‘Starry Night over the Rhône’, and the buttery tones of ‘The Yellow House’, where Van Gogh lived for a time. ‘Sunflowers’ and ‘Van Gogh’s Chair’ from the Gallery’s own collection will also form part of the show, which focuses on the time the artist spent in Arles and Saint-Rémy between 1888 and 1890. ‘Poets and Lovers’ runs from 14 September 2024 to19 January 2025.

RA Summer Exhibition

There are few art shows that can claim the pedigree of the Summer Exhibition. Held every year since 1769, it’s the world’s oldest open-submission exhibition, with established names displayed alongside emerging and first-time artists. Once the arena of painters like Gainsborough, Turner and Constable, the modern show may be the art world at its most accessible. A panel of Royal Academicians whittle down the selection of works from over 16,500 entries, with around 1,500 chosen for the final cut. Vast in scale and eclectic in style, this is a must-see exhibition with a celebratory atmosphere. The Summer Exhibition takes place between 18 June to 18 August.

Turner Prize

The Turner Prize turns 40 in 2024, and to mark the occasion, the exhibition returns to the Tate Britain for the first time in six years. Artists Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas make the shortlist this year, with the winner announced in September. Deeply associated with conceptual art, the Turner Prize remains one of the UK’s most highly publicised awards. The exhibition runs from September 25 until February 16, 2025. 

Exhibitions at Claridge’s ArtSpace

Claridge’s own gallery, ‘ArtSpace’, provides an opportunity for guests to explore the work of leading artists in the heart of Mayfair. Accessed through a restored façade on Brooks Mews, the gallery was added during the hotel’s ground-breaking refurbishment. Finding workable clay during the excavation, the hotel donated the material to artists for use in their ceramics. Since its launch during Frieze London in 2021, it has hosted exhibitions from the likes of Les Lelanne, Damien Hirst and Gavin Bond.

The latest exhibition brings two era-defining British photographers into the space. Curated by Brandei Estes, ‘Double Exposure: David Bailey & Mary McCartney’ is a striking series of works from the 1960s to the present day – exploring a shared aesthetic of reinvention, play and the art of portraiture itself.

The gallery will also play host to a more immersive art experience this summer, in a series of ballet-inspired classes led by renowned performer, Eric Underwood. Formerly of the The Royal Ballet, Underwood’s energising workout is designed to unleash the dancer within. Each class will be followed by a Q&A with Underwood and a limited-edition dining experience, designed as a post-dance restorative. Find out more.