Top Must-See London Exhibitions 2022

Words Liv Leftwich 

Along with the­atre and live music events, the art world has been kept to a stand­still for some time, due to the pan­dem­ic. How­ev­er, as the cap­i­tal begins to open up again, we are remind­ed of the cul­tur­al mag­ni­tude the city has to offer. 

From poignant per­spec­tives to immer­sive instal­la­tions, here are our top-three exhi­bi­tions – pro­vid­ing a much-need­ed sense of escapism. 

Sur­re­al­ism Beyond Bor­ders, Tate Mod­ern  

This exhi­bi­tion marks the icon­ic move­ment, which has rev­o­lu­tionised the way in which artists per­ceive and inter­pret real­i­ty. Orig­i­nat­ing in Paris, around 1924 – Sur­re­al­ism is known for its uncan­ny imagery, often sparked by dreams or the sub­con­scious. From Dali’s Per­sis­tence of Mem­o­ry to Réne Magritte’s The Treach­ery of Images, the cul­tur­al impact of Sur­re­al­ism spans half a century. 

As every­day “nor­mal­i­ty” con­tin­ues to be called into ques­tion, this show­ing seems not only fit­ting, but pitiably rel­e­vant. Book your tick­ets now for a thought-pro­vok­ing dis­play — show­ing until the 29th of August 2022. 

  • Helen Lun­de­berg, Plant and Ani­mal Analo­gies, 1933–34
    The Buck Col­lec­tion at the UCI Insti­tute and Muse­um for Cal­i­for­nia Art (Cal­i­for­nia, US)

Fran­cis Bacon: Man and Beast, Roy­al Acad­e­my of Arts

Through­out his 50-year career, Fran­cis Bacon has expressed an unnerv­ing inter­est in ani­mals. His works explore the pri­mal instincts that shape human nature — to strik­ing, unset­tling affect. This show brings togeth­er sev­er­al idio­syn­crat­ic fig­ures – encour­ag­ing view­ers to ques­tion their own fears and beliefs. 

Often draw­ing on piv­otal events, such as WW2 – Bacon’s works rep­re­sent a raw­ness, which, giv­en recent events, will undoubt­ed­ly res­onate with spec­ta­tors. Con­fronting themes such as bru­tal­i­ty, suf­fer­ing, and cru­el­ty, his art begs the ques­tion – how inter­change­able is the human species? 

Vis­it the Roy­al Acad­e­my now to trace this artist’s extra­or­di­nary influ­ence, from the 1930s to 1991. The ret­ro­spec­tive is show­ing until April 2022. 

  • Fran­cis Bacon, Head VI, 1949.
    Oil on can­vas. 91.4 x 76.2 cm. Arts Coun­cil Col­lec­tion, Lon­don © The Estate of Fran­cis Bacon. DACS/Artimage 2022. Pho­to: Pru­dence Cum­ing Asso­ciates Ltd.

Yay­oi Kusama: Infin­i­ty Mir­ror Rooms, Tate Mod­ern 

Step into a world of encap­su­lat­ing reflec­tions at the Tate. Japan­ese artist, Yay­oi Kusama is bring­ing not one, but two iri­des­cent instal­la­tions to the icon­ic venue. Orig­i­nal­ly cre­at­ed for her 2012 ret­ro­spec­tive, also shown at the Tate -Infin­i­ty Mir­rored Room – Filled with the Bril­liance of Life is one of Kusama’s largest instal­la­tions to date. 

The mir­rored mas­ter­piece is paired with the Chan­de­lier of Grief – an equal­ly spec­tac­u­lar space. The lat­ter focus­es on a suc­cinct array of light­ing spec­ta­cles, all of which give an illu­so­ry depic­tion of infi­nite, crys­tal chan­de­liers.  Lock­down com­pound­ed the prospect of space, along with human inter­ac­tion. Kusama’s works bring both fore­fronts to the sur­face, cre­at­ing an envi­ron­ment of won­der and excitement. 

Kusama’s daz­zling dis­play is cur­rent­ly sold out until the end of March. How­ev­er, you can expe­ri­ence the high­ly sought-after exhi­bi­tion right up until the 22nd of June 2022. 

Yay­oi Kusama, Chan­de­lier of Grief 2016/2018, © Tate
Pre­sent­ed by a pri­vate col­lec­tor, New York 2019