Five must-see London exhibitions in September 2017

September is here, and the art world is revving up again after a quiet summer. Some of the most exciting modern and contemporary art exhibitions of the year are opening this month at some of London’s top institutions. Discover our highlights below.

Rachel Whiteread at Tate Britain

Rachel Whiteread is one of the greatest British artists working today. The first woman to win the Turner Prize in 1993, Whiteread uses industrial materials to create complex casts of everyday objects and empty spaces. The results are unsettling explorations of architecture and objecthood.

Rachel Whiteread is at Tate Britain from 12^th September 2017 until 21^st January 2018. For further information or to book visit here. 

Dawn in Colour: Degas from the Burrell at the National Gallery

This free exhibition at the National Gallery brings together 20 works from the Burrell, one of the most significant collections of Degas’s work in Europe. Exhibited alongside key pieces from the National Gallery’s collection, this exhibition offers a rare chance to see these exciting works outside their usual home in Glasgow.

Dawn in Colour: Degas from the Burrell is at the National Gallery from 20^th September 2017 until 7^th May 2018. For further information visit here.

Basquiat: Boom for Real at the Barbican

This September, the Barbican presents the first ever large-scale solo show of work by Jean-Michel Basquiat in the UK. Currently the art market’s darling, over 100 works of the creative’s art, poetry and music will be on display, exploring his immense artistic influence despite his early death at the age of 27.

Basquiat: Boom for Real is at the Barbican from 21^st September 2017 until 28^th January 2018. For further information or to book visit here.

Jasper Johns: “Something Resembling the Truth” at the Royal Academy of Arts 

Jasper Johns is a pivotal figure in American art history; his experimental approach was to influence the course of painting in the 1950s and 1960s. Working in collaboration with the artist, the Royal Academy presents the first comprehensive survey of Johns’s work to be seen in the UK in 40 years.

Jasper Johns: “Something Resembling the Truth is at the Royal Academy of Arts from 23^rd September until 10^th December 2017. For further information or to book visit here.

Thomas Ruff at the Whitechapel Gallery 

A major retrospective of the photographer Thomas Ruff is opening at the Whitechapel Gallery this month. His acclaimed and striking photographs examine topics and styles as wide-ranging as portraiture, cosmology, suburbia and utopianism.

Thomas Ruff is at the Whitechapel Gallery from 27^th September 2017 until 21^st January 2018. For further information or to book visit here.

Anna Souter
Featured photo: Racing Thoughts by Jasper Johns