Ah, London — for all your many charms, you don’t tend to have the most lovely of seasonal shifts as we head into winter!
Luckily for us, we have so many beautiful places in which to while away the oncoming wintery days and escape the chill as the weather turns colder, and this autumn/winter we are spoiled for choice on things to see. Here are a few of the things I’m excited to see before the year is out — let me know if you fancy a gallery date, or five! These are on into the new year, too, so we have plenty of time.
Cézanne at the Tate Modern
(5 October 2022 – 12 March 2023)
I love Cézanne’s expressive brushstrokes, and bold, dark colour palette. This beautiful exhibition has come all the way from another one of my favourite galleries, the Institute of Fine Art in Chicago, to grace us with its presence here on the bank of the Thames. Tickets are free for members (such as moi) so let’s go! And how about lunch with river views at the Tate’s Kitchen and Bar after the exhibition? Or if you’re feeling really fancy, check out the special dinner, A Taste of Cézanne, only on November 18th and 19th.
Making Modernism at the Royal Academy of Arts
(12 November 2022 — 12 February 2023)
The RA describes this as an exhibition of ‘trailblazing women hidden from the history of 20th-century Modernism’ and while I’m not generally a fan of Modernism, I’ve been an admirer of Paula Modersohn-Becker for some time. I’ve but have never seen her work exhibited among that of her female contemporaries, so I’m really excited about this one. Not to mention that I love the RA, and that some of my favourite London restaurants just so happen to be nearby!
Winslow Homer at the National Gallery
(Until 8 January 2023)
The celebrated American Realist painter, straight from another of my favourite American galleries, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. I am not very familiar with Winslow Homer’s work — indeed, this is his first major UK exhibition — so I’m very excited about this one. I have seen so many well-curated exhibitions at the National Gallery over the yers, and I feel that I always leave with a new perspective on the artist and their work. Plus, I’m a member here as well, so tickets are on me!
Intrigued by my date ideas? Check out my guide to the perfect day out with a luxury London escort!
Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art at the Hayward Gallery
(26 Oct 2022 – 8 Jan 2023)
You’d be right in thinking this is not my usual kind of art, but I love the space at the Hayward Gallery so much that I’m always willing to take a chance and see whatever they tell me to see! The exhibit features work by international artists from recent decades, examining ‘the plasticity and the possibilities of ceramics. The artworks on show encompass fantastical creatures and uncanny representations of the everyday ... Strange Clay explores the possibilities of thinking through making.’ Intrigued? I certainly am!
Lucian Freud at the National Gallery
(Until 22 January 2023)
A banger season at the National Gallery! This exhibition, with art joining us all the way from Madrid. spans a lifetime of work, feature seventy years of work in the first exhibit of Lucian Freud’s work in a decade. Lucian Freud is one of the foremost 20th century portraitists, and I love the honesty, the intimacy, in his art. I’m not a huge fan of his early work, but do enjoy the later portraits. Plus, the gift shop at the National Gallery is great — and members get a discount!
And if, on your visit to one of these, you spot a bookish brunette standing as close to the art as she can, wearing jeans and ankle boots, with her hair in a messy bun — throw me a cheeky wink from across the room.
Rachel xoxo
