Art exhibitions to look forward to in 2016
The year 2016 is looking a promising one for art lovers, with a number of significant exhibitions in the making. Here’s our bucket lists for the year ahead and some of the best art exhibitions in 2016 to look forward to.
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
From the 1860s to the 1920s, gardens served as a heavy influence on artists across the world, especially in the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Avant-Garde movements. This exhibition will detail how, with a stunning collection of works from not just the two great painters mentioned in the title – expect works by Renoir, Cezanne, Pissarro, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Klimt, Klee and more.
Where | Royal Academy
When | January 30 – April 20
Find out more | royalacademy.org
Vogue 100 – A Century of Style
It’s the centenary of Vogue magazine so expect this show to be awash with style icons, the height of fashion and brilliant photography. It will feature 280 prints from the Conde Nast archive, revealing the extent of the magazine’s substantial influence on fashion, taste, and culture at large.
Where | National Portrait Gallery
When | February 11 – May 22
Find our more | vogue.co.uk
Georgia O’Keeffe
At Tate Modern it’s a truly whopping great year with new galleries and spaces effectively heralding a new Tate Modern. Created by world-leading architects Herzog & de Meuron, the new extension comes courtesy of the conversion of the old Switch House and will increase Tate Modern’s display space by 60%.
The new look Tate Modern will be unveiled with a complete re-hang, presenting new international perspectives on modern and contemporary art on June 17 2016.
The major summer exhibition is Georgia O’Keeffe which promises to be an in-depth retrospective and the first “important solo institutional exhibition” of the Modernist artist’s glowing landscapes and “feminising” flower canvasses in the UK for a generation.
Where | Tate Modern
When | 6th July – 30th October
Find out more | tate.org.uk
Shakespeare in Ten Acts
The British Library’s Shakespeare in Ten Acts marks the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death and casts new light on how he became the cultural icon he is today through ten key performances.
Expect diary entries, playbills, costumes, the only surviving play-script in Shakespeare’s hand and one of only six authentic Shakespeare signatures, among the many treasures.
Where | British Museum
When | 15th April – 6th September
Find our more | bl.uk
Nikolai Astrup in Dulwich
Dulwich Picture Gallery has what should be one of the best painting exhibitions of the year. The first UK show dedicated to landscape painter and printmaker, Nikolai Astrup Painting Norway will introduce one of Norway’s finest twentieth-century artists to some, and allow those already in thrall to him to feast, on some of the most unusual yet captivating landscapes in twentieth century art.
“He should be as famous as Edvard Munch, but the world seems to have forgotten him – until now” – Jonathan Jones, The Guardian
Where | Dulwich Picture Gallery
When | 18th February – 15th May
Find out more | dulwichpicturegallery.org
Visions of our Solar System
Dramatic photographs from Michael Benson are paired with an original score from Brain Eno in an exploration of our solar system, shown in all its stunning glory.
Where | Natural History Museum
When | January 22 – May 15
Find out more | nhm.ac.uk
Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones
The Saatchi Gallery will be taken over by never-before-seen Stones memorabilia, rare instruments, iconic costumes, album artwork and even the band’s personal diaries. This exhibition will reveal their story from 60s blues band to the world’s greatest rock n’ roll band.
Where | Saatchi Gallery
When | April 5th – September 4th
Find out more | stonesexhibitionism.com
Painters Painting: Van Dyck to Freud
The exhibition investigates artists’ motivations for acquiring other painters’ works – artistic inspiration, scholarly interest, or to support their fellow artists; as status symbols and investments; or even out of obsession. On display here will be works owned by the likes of Lucian Freud, Matisse, Degas, Reynolds and Van Dyck.
Where | National Gallery
When | June 22 – September 4
Find out more | nationalgallery.org.uk
We’d also like to take this opportunity to highlight two of our key exhibitions at our Ealing gallery in 2016 as you might like to put the dates in your diary:
Bruce McLean
Where | For Arts Sake, Ealing
Exhibition | 15th April – 15th May
Private View |14th April
Talk by Bruce McLean | 28th April
Peter Blake
Where | For Arts Sake, Ealing
Exhibition | 9th September – 9th October
Private View | 8th September