Art & Literature
Unmissable Exhibitions | Summer 21
Article By Sahara .
May 19, 2021
Discover our series Where to Book, a curation of cultural activities, entertainment, and escapism to act as a helpful guide as we embrace our newly reinstated freedoms and celebrate rediscovering our social lives.
To say that the efforts of artists, creators, and creatives to reach us in our homes and share their work throughout the pandemic is heart-warming would be an understatement. To say that its necessity has been heart-breaking would be underplaying it even further. Yet the day has finally come where we can experience arts, culture, and its accompanying, almost-painful sense of human connection once more. And so here you find us, ready to lace up our sandals (weather permitting) and dust off our handbags for a day out. A plethora of incredible exhibitions and events have risen to meet the wave of pent-up demand, but where to book?
Below are a few highlights of upcoming exhibitions set to open later this spring and into summer. As our diaries begin to tentatively fill, these are the shows, in London and beyond, worth pencilling in.
Veronica Ryan, Along a Spectrum
Gallery: Spike Island, Bristol
Dates: 19th May – 5th Sept
Best known for her sculptural exploration of dichotomous ideas, you can expect playful treatment of materials and thoughtful consideration of what we, as humans, carry.
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Celosía XI & Vegetation Room III by Cristina Iglesias
Gallery: Sainsbury Centre Sculpture Park, Norwich
Dates: Currently Available
Internationally acclaimed Spanish installation artist and sculptor, Cristina Iglesias has two major sculptures installed for free viewing on the West Lawn of the Sculpture Park. Her large-scale work draws on poetry, literature, and architectural theory to create immersive and experiential environments.
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Helen Frankenthaler: Radical Beauty
Gallery: Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
Dates: 15th Sept – 17th April
Throughout her long career pushing the boundaries of abstract art during the 20th century, she has become a noted trailblazer of the printmaking movement, who endlessly explored possibilities through her multi-media experimentation.
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Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms
Gallery: Tate Modern, London
Dates: 18 May – 12 June
This immersive installation using mirrors, crystal chandeliers, and a small presentation of photographs and moving images will transport you into Kusama’s unique vision of endless reflections.
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Art of Banksy
Gallery: 50 Earlham Street, London
Dates: 20th May for a limited engagement
Browse the largest collection of privately owned Banksy art. On display are prints, canvasses, screen-prints, sculptures, unique works and limited-edition pieces mainly dated between the years 1997 to 2008, the period which resulted in Banksy’s most recognisable and well-known works.
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Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul
Gallery: Royal Academy, London
Dates: 18th May — 1st August
This exhibition features over 25 of Emin’s works including paintings, some of which will be on display for the first time, as well neons and sculpture. These works, which explore the loneliness of the soul, have been chosen by Emin to sit alongside a selection of works drawn from Munch’s rich collection and archives in Oslo, Norway.
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Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020
Gallery: Royal Academy, London
Dates: 23rd May – 26th Sept
Throughout his career, he’s investigated new technologies and explored different ways to make art, beginning with his iPhone in 2007 before adopting the iPad and Stylus in 2010. This new body of work – 116 works in total – has been ‘painted’ on the iPad and then printed onto paper, with Hockney overseeing all aspects of production.
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Edinburgh Fringe
Dates: 6th – 30th Aug
Artists and performers take to hundreds of stages all over the city of Edinburgh to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and includes theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, circus, cabaret, children’s shows, musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions, and events.