The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureArt

Summer Exhibition 2022 at the Royal Academy of Arts

Summer Exhibition 2022 at the Royal Academy of Arts | Exhibition review
15 June 2022
Mersa Auda
Avatar
Mersa Auda
15 June 2022

Exhibition and art

Mersa Auda

Summer Exhibition 2022 at the Royal Academy of Arts

★★★★★

Dates

21st June 2022 - 21st August 2022

Entry

£20-£22

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramWebsite

The Summer Exhibition returns to its intended season after being held in winter for two consecutive years due to the pandemic. One of the most anticipated events in the art world, the exhibition has been running for over 250 years and brings together the works of established artists alongside emerging names. Coordinating the show this year is sculptor Alison Wilding RA. The theme she has chosen is “climate”, a term that can refer to the environmental, political or social state of affairs we live in, but that can be applied in any way the artists choose, and their interpretations are indeed varied.

Many of the exhibitors address global warming. From a polar bear raising his middle finger in Scott Brooker’s Thanks, Man! to an elevated hut for flood refugees by Marina Tabassum, climate change is presented not just as a pressing issue related to our future but as a disaster in progress. Grayson Perry dedicates a cast bronze bell to the victims and survivors of the recent pandemic. The simply named Covid Bell is adorned with coffins, doctors and patients, and it’s a functioning bell that visitors will be able to ring. There are then references to the lockdown, but also to NFTs, crypto, the Ukraine war, feminism and much more. Mostly, however, there are depictions of natural landscapes and playful slogans and images ironically attacking consumerism and unsustainable practices.

With almost 1500 works on display, the exhibition inevitably feels a little cluttered and overwhelming. Covering the walls from top to bottom, paintings of different styles compete for the viewer’s attention and sculptures of varying sizes are scattered around the rooms. Quirkiness abounds – but what the exhibition could do more of is work that is truly striking, not just superficially so. While each piece has a message, many seem to lean into clichés and banal concepts. It’s certainly fun, however, to look through the myriad creations by Royal Academicians and new artists and marvel at the many directions that the word “climate” can lead one. Since most of the exhibits can be purchased, collectors will find such a rich ensemble of artworks particularly enticing. For everyone else, the RA’s Summer Exhibition is, as always, a wonderful opportunity to catch a snapshot of the current art scene.

★★★★★

Mersa Auda

Summer Exhibition 2022 is at the Royal Academy of Arts from 21st June until 21st August 2022. For further information visit the exhibition’s website here.

Related Itemsreviewsummer exhibition

More in Art

Africa Fashion at the V&A

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from Bergen

★★★★★
James White
Read More

Penny Goring: Penny World at ICA

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

Metamorphosis and flow: Orlanda Broom debuts powerful abstract show Shapeshifters at Grove Square Galleries

The editorial unit
Read More

Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic at the British Museum

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Cornelia Parker at Tate Britain

★★★★★
James White
Read More

Our Time on Earth at the Barbican

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms at Tate Modern

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

Walter Sickert at Tate Britain

★★★★★
Sophia Moss
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Exhibition and art

Mersa Auda

Summer Exhibition 2022 at the Royal Academy of Arts

★★★★★

Dates

21st June 2022 - 21st August 2022

Entry

£20-£22

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Brian and Charles
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The End of the Night at Original Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Throne at Charing Cross Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “We really wanted to create a cabbage gun”: An interview with David Earl and Chris Hayward stars of Brian and Charles
    Cinema & Tv
  • Flamenco Festival 2022 at Sadler’s Wells
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Adele lights up Hyde Park for BST Festival
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Adam Handling’s Eve Bar launches new cocktail menu
Cha Cha Real Smooth | Movie review