The Autumn is an incredibly busy period in the London art scene. The build-up to Frieze Week, which takes place at the beginning of October, starts with the major galleries tending to exhibit their big hitters. Some galleries are starting their exhibitions in September such as Paula Rego at Marlborough Fine Art and Conrad Shawcross at Victoria Miro Mayfair. Autumn is also the time when the public museums and galleries launch their autumn programmes. The RA is featuring art from Oceania as well as the first exhibition dedicated to Shard architect Renzo Piano; the Whitechapel Gallery has the first survey of Elmgreen & Dragset and the National Gallery welcomes the Courtauld Impressionists. It is such a hectic schedule that Artlyst is providing the guide in two parts: the first covering openings and closings in September while the second will cover Oct/Nov. Look out also for the Artlyst Guide to Frieze Week 2018 and our weekly list of recommended exhibitions.
Free exhibitions Opening September 2018
DRAG: Self-portraits and Body Politics overview at Hayward Gallery until 14 October. Read Edward Lucie-Smith’s review HERE
Joe Tilson at 90 – Alan Cristea Gallery 1-22 September –
groundbreaking screenprints and collages from the sixties alongside recent prints.
Daniel Richter at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac 5-29 September
Large-scale oil paintings by German artist Richter who has shaped painting in Germany since the fall of the Berlin wall.
Paula Rego – drawings at Marlborough Fine Art 12 Sept-27 Oct
An exhibition devoted to Rego’s preparatory sketches spanning the last three decades giving a rare insight into her draughtsmanship and inventiveness.
Conrad Shawcross at Victoria Miro Mayfair 13 Sept-27 Oct
Two new mechanical works plus a new sequence of photographic prints.
Christian Marclay: The Clock at Tate Modern
Christian Marclay’s acclaimed 24-hour installation The Clock 2010 has captivated audiences across the world. Tate Modern is showing it for free but be prepared to queue.
Daniel Silver at Frith Street Gallery 14 Sept-3 Nov
Silver is interested in the mannequin from classical sculpture to such uses today as in window displays. Includes five Herm-like marble and onyx sculptures.
Hugh Mendes at Charlie Smith London 14 Sept-13 Oct
Mendes, recognised for his finely rendered obituary paintings, here concentrates on The Death of the Artist.
Doris Salcedo at White Cube Bermondsey 28 Sep – 11 Nov
Colombian artist Salcedo’s Palimpsest installation focusses on the names of individuals who have drowned in the Mediterranean and Atlantic while attempting to migrate to a better life.
Amy Sillman at Camden Arts Centre 28 Sept – 6 Jan 2019
Abstract paintings by American artist Sillman.
Last of the student MA shows:
Wimbledon MA 6-13 Sept
Chelsea MA 7-13 Sept
City & Guilds MA show 8-16 Sept
First of the Art Fairs
London Art Book Fair at Whitechapel Gallery 6-9 Sept
The Art Car Boot Fair 2018 at a new venue Granary Square King’s Cross – Saturday 16 September
British Art Fair 2018 opens at a new venue – Saatchi Gallery 20-23 September
New Museum Shows with admission fees
Courtauld Impressionists move to National Gallery 17 September -20 January 2019 £7.50
The exhibition centres around the loan of 26 masterpieces from the Courtauld Gallery which is closing for a major transformation project.
Turner Prize is back at Tate Britain for the 2018 edition 26 Sept – 6 Jan 2019. £12.50
The four shortlisted artists are Forensic Architecture, Naeem Mohaiemen, Charlotte Prodger and Luke Willis Thompson.
Space Shifters at Hayward Gallery features 20 international artists on the theme of space disruption and alteration. 26 Sept-6 Jan 2019 £16.50
Elmgreen & Dragset survey at Whitechapel Gallery 27 September – 13 Jan 2019
Artist duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset have been working together since 1995 producing beguiling spatial scenarios that explore social and sexual politics. see website for ticket prices.
1896-99, New Zealand. Oceania, Royal Academy of Arts
Oceania at Royal Academy of Arts celebrates the 250th anniversary of Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific with a look at the dazzling and diverse art of the region of Oceania from the historic to the contemporary. £20
Plus Renzo Piano: The Art of Making Buildings also at the RA 15 Sept – 20 Jan 2019
The RA reveals the vision and invention behind the architect of the Shard.
I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent at the British Museum 6 Sept-20 Jan 2019. Adult £12
The British Museum has invited Private Eye Editor Ian Hislop to have a rummage around the stores and select objects that explore the idea of dissent, subversion and satire.
Last Chance
Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy at Tate Modern closing 9 September £19.70
Tony Bevan at Ben Brown Fine Arts closing 15 September – FREE
Henri Matisse prints at Bernard Jacobson closing 15 September – FREE
Memory Palace at White Cube Mason’s Yard group show closing 15 September – FREE
Vile Bodies at Michael Werner group show closing 15 September – FREE
Johannes Girardoni at Levy Gorvy closing 15 September – FREE
Aftermath: Art in the Wake of World War One – Tate Britain closing 16 September. £16.50. Read Edward Lucie-Smith’s review HERE
Bomberg at Ben Uri Gallery closing 16 September £5
The Art of Campari at Estorick Collection closing 16 September £6.50
BP Portrait Award at National Portrait Gallery closing 23 September. FREE. Read Edward Lucie-Smith’s review HERE
Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art, Tate Modern closing 14 October £17