School is almost back in session, and you know what we think the curriculum needs more of this term – fantastic art! Gift yourself a little artistic education this month with a visit to some of the best UK art exhibitions in September 2024.
You’re in for a real treat this month, with great art shows opening their doors featuring everything from the work of Old Masters to the most cutting-edge contemporary artists.
Without further ado, here is our run-down of the best UK art exhibitions happening this month…
Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers – The National Gallery
14th September 2024 – 19th January 2025
The National Gallery have been very busy this year, packing their schedule full of incredible exhibitions in celebration of their 200th anniversary. One event has been perhaps the most highly-anticipated of them all - Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers.
In what they are billing as a ‘once-in-a-century exhibition’ The National Gallery has gathered Van Gogh masterpieces from around the globe, some of which have rarely been seen in public. The show will also feature extraordinary and lesser-known drawings by the legendary Dutch artist.
The exhibition focuses on Van Gogh’s two years in Arles and Saint-Rémy in the south of France – a period when, inspired by poets, writers and artists, Van Gogh completely revolutionised his style into a symphony of colour and texture.
Unmissable highlights of the exhibition include his Starry Night over the Rhône, The Yellow House, Sunflowers and Van Gogh’s Chair.
Glenn Ligon: All Over The Place - The Fitzwilliam Museum
20th September 2024 – 2nd March 2025
The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is hosting a landmark exhibition from American contemporary artist, Glenn Ligon.
Known for text-based paintings which immortalise the wise words of such cultural icons as Gertrude Stein and James Baldwin, Ligon’s important work explores social, cultural and political constructions of race.
All Over the Place will feature 15 of Ligon’s original sculptures, paintings and prints paired with site-specific interventions curated by the artist and placed throughout the museum. These interventions are aimed at peeling back layers of history and meaning to reveal a new perspective on The Fitzwilliam Museum’s current collection.
Michael Craig-Martin – Royal Academy of Arts
21st September – 10th December 2024
Michael Craig-Martin, Common History: Conference (1999)© Michael Craig-Martin. Courtesy Gagosian.
Just a short stroll away from the Van Gogh exhibition, the Royal Academy of Arts is honouring trailblazing contemporary artist, Michael Craig Martin, with the largest exhibition of his work ever seen in the UK.
Craig-Martin is a key figure in British conceptual art and one of the most influential artists and teachers of his generation. As a teacher at Goldsmiths University, Craig-Martin was a guiding light to many of the biggest artists of the last 40 years, including the notorious Young British Artists of the 1990s, that consisted of his students, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Gary Hume and more.
This extensive exhibition explores Craig-Martin’s prolific career and distinctive style, incorporating artworks that are alive with colour alongside thought-provoking installations.
Turner Prize 2024 – Tate Britain
25th September – 16th February 2025
Jasleen Kaur, Alter Altar. Courtesy Tramway and Glasgow Life. Photo: Keith Hunter.
The winner of this year’s Turner Prize will be announced on 3rd December 2024. From September 25th, you can experience the eclectic art of the four shortlisted artists on display at the Tate Britain.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the prestigious competition, which sees £40,000 awarded to a British visual artist. Previous winners have included Damien Hirst, Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin.
This year’s nominees include Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas. Why not check it out and decide who you think deserves to be the victor!
Charleston in Lewes
25th September – 2nd March 2025
Grayson Perry, 'Searching For Authenticity', 2018. Courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro.
The Charleston in Lewes is opening two exciting exhibitions this month chosen to reflect on the intersections between art and home. With a cost of just over a tenner – it would be rude not to do them both!
First off, we have Grayson Perry: A Temple for Everyone – a show featuring over 30 of Perry’s artworks spanning textiles, ceramics, tiles and woodcuts. The exhibition brings together some of the artist’s most seminal works, from A Map of Days (2013) and Our Town (2022), to elements from A House for Essex (2015), for which he designed a chapel dedicated to fictional Essex everywoman, Julie Cope.
Alexei Jawlensky, Blue Street, Oil on Canvas, 1916. All rights reserved. Courtesy of Norman Coates.
Perry’s show is accompanied by Collecting Modernism: Pablo Picasso to Winifred Nicholson – a show mapping the extraordinary story of how an impressive art collection was passed on between three queer homes.
The notable collection is one of the most important groupings of modern British art to be found in Britain. This is your chance to see work by some of the most influential artists of the 21st century, including Pablo Picasso, Graham Sutherland and Winifred Nicholson.
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