On this dull winter’s morning, as I take my daily dose of vitamin D, there is one supplement not available on the market at the moment of which I am critically deficient. This is Art. I’m craving the beauty, the colours, the creativity and the way it challenges you to rethink your perspectives on the world. No amount of Netflix is going to solve this.

So, I am looking towards Spring, towards jumping on the commuter train to London, and going to see what appear to be some absolutely stonking exhibitions this year.

First a quick note on why the UK, and London in particular, is so internationally applauded for its temporary exhibitions. The answer is because it’s permanent exhibitions, in all national galleries, are absolutely free to enter for the public. So where does the income come from? As government funding trickles away, London’s galleries have to make their own income, through stellar revamped shops (V&A is a particular favourite), upscale F&B outlets and most importantly, paid for exhibitions that people will be clamouring to get tickets for. Every year there will be a number of exhibitions that sell out months in advance, which in turn drives membership, as the only way to guarantee entrance to the exhibition. The stunning 2019 Dior retrospective at the V&A in a case in point, breaking all exhibition attendance records for the museum, and enhancing sales not only of membership, but of private evening hire too.

With galleries limiting their numbers this year, my tops tips are for the following exhibitions and I shall certainly be purchasing my tickets well in advance.

David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring, Normandy 2020

2020 was the year that most of us appreciated the smaller things in life, and noticed how nature was changing around us as the groundhog days passed. The maestro of contemporary English Art, David Hockney, was not in this country, but in his home in Normandy, from where he documented the change of season and the joys of Spring from his iPad. The result is an exhibition of 116 works printed on paper being launched 1 year after the pieces were created. Produced during the pandemic, these pieces promise to bring a rainbow of vivid colours that celebrate the changes to the seasons and share a feeling of joy and hope that nature can bring. To me it looks to be a balm for the soul.

27th March – 22nd August 2021, Royal Academy

Image credit: David Hockney, No. 259, 24th April 2020
iPad painting © David Hockney

Marina Abramović, After Life

This is the one sending tingles down my spine. This one is going to be something very special. Marina Abramovic is a pioneer of performance art and remains today one of the most important artists of the genre. I am particularly excited because of the intense physical involvement of her works, not just of the artist, but of the viewer too. She pushes her physical self to the limits, as well as invoking this experience in others. Performance Art in the past has included Rhythm 0 (1974), performed in Naples, where invited audiences to freely interact with Abramović however they chose – resulting in a loaded gun held to her head. Later works such as The Artist Is Present (2010), where audiences were question their own emotions, as they sat in silence opposite the artist.
This will be a retrospective of her 50-year oeuvre, but will also showcase new works created for the Royal Academy. This is very special for us in the UK as it is her first exhibition here, and one thing is for sure, we are in for a treat, and it’s going to be shocking!

25^th September – 12^th December, Royal Academy

Alice Curiouser & Curiouser

Who doesn’t like Alice in Wonderland? Its crazy, off the wall bonkersness in absolutely what we need right now and this exhibition looks like just the tonic (drink me!).
It promises a journey through the surreal world of Wonderland, through the eyes of Alice, with over 300 objects exploring the origins of the story, its reproductions and ongoing cultural influence. The bit that has really got me curiouser and curiouser is the fact that the exhibition is being deigned by award-winning Tom Piper, famed for the Royal Shakespeare Company stage designs and the unforgettable Tower of London poppies installation. So think theatre, think performance, think fashion, think huge projections and an immersive ambience.
I can’t wait to tumble down that rabbit hole!

From 27th March 2021, Victoria & Albert Museum

Image credit: Alice in Wonderland. The Royal Ballet.
Zenaida Yanowsky ©ROH, Johan Persson, 2011.
Costumes by Bob Crowley

The EY Exhibition: The Making of Rodin

I’m a little bit obsessed with Rodin. He’s obviously an infamous French sculptor, but is one that us British feel very close to, and I’m very glad to see that some of his pieces are leaving the Musee Rodin in Paris for the very first time to come and visit us.

Rodin was appreciated in London from very early in his career and we are forever indebted to him. Rodin gave the V&A museum the greastest ever donation by a living artist, 18 sculptures in honour of the British and French soldiers fighting side by side in WWI. What would he think of Brexit I wonder?
Anywho, this exhibition is taking a new slant, delving into the studio of Rodin and the processes he used to achieve he mesmerizing movement, expression and emotion in bronze and stone and will showcase lesser known pieces, as well as new aspects of some of his most iconic pieces

29 April – 31 October 2021, Tate Modern

Image Credit: 
Auguste Rodin
Main droite de Pierre et Jacques de Wissant 1885–86 
|Musée Rodin, S.00332

Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms

I’m a sucker for a piece of immersive installation art, and there is never anywhere better to see it than the Tate Modern, with its vast industrial spaces. Here I am looking forward to losing myself in two installations exploring endless reflections. Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life was made for the Tate Modern in 2012, whilst it is the first time that we will see Chandelier of Grief, a room which creates the illusion of a boundless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers.

29 March 2021 – 27 March 2022, Tate Modern

Image credit:

Yayoi Kusama Chandelier of Grief2016/2018 Tate
Presented by a private collector, New York 2019 © YAYOI KUSA

Lubaina Himid

Lubaina Himid is an artist that I wish to explore further. With a training in theatre and design, her works appear colourful and playful, which appeal to my aesthetic side, but have a deeper meaning to them, highlighting omissions in Western Art History, where “there was only one story and … the black woman never spoke”. This will be a large scale exhibition from the Turner-winning artist and I hope it to be theatrical, colourful and thought provoking.

24 November 2021 – 22 May 2022, Tate Modern

Image credit: 
Lubaina Himid
 Freedom and Change, 1984
Tate 
© Lubaina Himid