Art exhibitions to see in London in April 2023

This April, London offers an exciting array of art exhibitions. Highlights include Ai Weiwei at the Design Museum and an Andy Warhol textile works exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum. Additionally, Gabriel's first exhibition at 180 Studio promises to be a must-see. Don't miss out on exhibitions coming to an end, such as Africa Fashion at the V&A and Spain and the Hispanic World at the Royal Academy of Arts. Discover the vibrant and diverse art scene in London this April. To help you get started, we've put together a list of our top picks for exhibitions to see this month.

Stanley Whitney: There will be song

Image: Stanley Whitney. By the Waters of Manhattan, 2022. © Stanley Whitney. Photo: Rob McKeever. Courtesy Gagosian

#FLODown: Gagosian presents an exhibition of new paintings by Stanley Whitney called There Will Be Song. This marks the gallery's first exhibition of Whitney's paintings since becoming his representative. Whitney's paintings consist of rectilinear, predominantly monochrome blocks of oil colour in three or four registers demarcated by horizontal bands. His paintings reveal the active trace of his hand through variations in the direction of application and opacity of pigment. Whitney's process-based approach has evolved over the course of three decades, influenced by ancient Roman murals, artists such as Piet Mondrian, Giorgio Morandi, and Mark Rothko, and American quiltmakers. Whitney's use of colour evokes a synesthetic merging of the senses. The exhibition showcases a range of Whitney's works, including his largest painting to date.

Date: 30 March – 13 May 2023. Location: 20 Grosvenor Hill, London W1K 3QD. Price: Free

RESOLVE Collective: them's the breaks

Image: Them's the breaks exhibition, Resolve Collective, The Curve, Barbican Centre © MTotoe

Them's the breaks is an innovative installation by the renowned interdisciplinary design practice, RESOLVE Collective. Located at The Curve, this immersive landscape is crafted entirely from repurposed materials, inviting visitors to engage and interact with it on a tactile level. The exhibition's overarching mission is to bridge the gap between the public and art, promoting inclusivity and sparking critical discussions about society's institutions. To further this aim, RESOLVE will co-curate a series of thematic events that explore the exhibition's themes from multiple perspectives. With a four-phase structure, this events programme will provide a dynamic platform for the production of new knowledge and ideas, tackling social challenges and fostering an exchange of innovative solutions. Finally, in July, the exhibition will conclude with a ‘Closing Down Sale,’ where everything must go, culminating in a thought-provoking finale that promises to leave a lasting impression.

Date: until 16 July 2023. Location: The Curve, Barbican Centre, Silk St, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: Free

All the Flowers are for Me and Plants of the Qur’ān  

Image: All the Flowers are for Me, Anila Quayyum Agha. Installation at Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens. © MTotoe.

Renowned artists Anila Quayyum Agha and Sue Wickison are set to unveil their latest works at Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens this week. The exciting dual exhibition centres around the theme of faith and cultural exchange and showcases contemporary sculptural works and intricate botanical paintings that are sure to captivate visitors. Among the striking pieces by Anila Quayyum Agha is All the Flowers are for Me, a large laser-cut steel cube that draws inspiration from patterns found in Islamic art and architecture, as well as Stealing Moments (After Morris and Dürer), I and II, a wall-mounted piece that takes inspiration from Albrecht Dürer's Great Piece of Turf. Sue Wickison's exhibition, Plants of the Qur’ān, features an impressive collection of new botanical paintings that beautifully depict plants mentioned in the Qur'an and highlight their cultural, agricultural, and botanical significance.

Date: 1 April - 17 September 2023. Location: Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens. Price: from £12. Book now. Admission to the exhibition is included in a ticket to Kew Gardens. 

Andy Warhol: The Textiles

Image: Ice Cream Desserts © 2022 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Licensed by DACS, London.

Discover a new facet of the legendary artist Andy Warhol with the Andy Warhol: The Textiles exhibition, featuring over 60 unique fabric lengths and garments adorned with Warhol's captivating textile patterns. This exclusive exhibit marks the first-ever showcase dedicated to Warhol's commercial textile designs, shedding light on how this lesser-known work played a pivotal role in the artist's oeuvre and gained global collector appeal. Co-curated by renowned collectors and design historians, Richard Chamberlain and Geoff Rayner of Target Gallery, this exhibit explores Warhol's unknown and unrecorded world of textile design, offering a fresh perspective on his creative vision. Visitors to the exhibition will witness Warhol's fascination with everyday objects and his artistic relationship with mass production, as evident in his textile designs. The exhibit also delves into Warhol's development as a Pop Artist and his elevation of subject matter through repetition. Expect to see many pieces never before exhibited, setting this exhibition apart from previous Warhol showcases.

 Date: 31 March - 10 September 2023. Location: The Fashion and Textile Museum 83 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XF. Price: from £12.65. Concession available. Book now.

Ai Weiwei: Making Sense

Image: Image: © Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio

Ai Weiwei, a renowned artist and activist, will be opening his first exhibition in the UK in eight years at the Design Museum this month. The exhibition, titled Ai Weiwei: Making Sense, will showcase his works on design and architecture, including both recent works and newly commissioned pieces. The exhibition will feature large-scale works installed outside the exhibition gallery as well as outside the museum building, and will also display never-before-seen collection-based works. The exhibition will be centered around a series of major site-specific installations, including five expansive 'fields' of objects collected by Ai Weiwei since the 1990s. These objects range from Stone Age tools to Lego bricks, and will be used to explore the tensions between past and present, hand and machine, precious and worthless, construction and destruction. The exhibition invites visitors to meditate on value and humanity, art and activism.

Date: 7 April - 30 July 2023. Location: 224-238 Kensington High Street, Kensington, London W8 6AG. Price: from £16.50/Concessions available. Book now.

Gabriel Moses: Regina

Image: © Gabriel Moses

#FLODown: Gabriel Moses, a London-based photographer and filmmaker, will debut his first exhibition, Gabriel Moses: Regina, at 180 Studios in April 2023. The exhibition will feature around 50 photographs from his career, including never-before-seen images, and two new short films, including Ijó, commissioned by 180 Studios. Moses' works are emotionally resonant and draw inspiration from his South London roots and Nigerian heritage. He is a self-taught photographer and has collaborated with numerous brands and designers, including Nike, Dazed, Adidas, Dior, and Burberry. His works have been featured in several publications, such as Harper’s Bazaar, i-D, and The New York Times.

Date: 5 April – 30 April 2023. Location: 180 Studios, 180 The Strand, London, WC2R 1EA.  Price: from £10. Concessions available. Book now.

Thin Air

Image: 404.Zero, 3.24, photography Jesse Hunniford

#FLODown: Experience a groundbreaking fusion of art and technology at Thin Air, a captivating exhibition showcasing the works of seven contemporary artists and collectives from around the world. Spanning an impressive 55,000 square feet of interconnected environments, the exhibition will transport you to a world of hidden complexities and intricate details that shape our everyday experiences, through the use of light, sound, atmospherics, and experimental new media.Curated by renowned digital artist and curator Alex Czetwertynski and produced in collaboration with That Right There, a leading arts and culture consultancy, Thin Air represents the inaugural visual arts programme at Beams, an exciting new cultural venue brought to you by Broadwick Live - the creative force behind some of the UK's most iconic venues, events, and development projects. Whether you're an art enthusiast, a tech aficionado, or simply curious about the intersection of the two, Thin Air is a must-see experience!

Date: 17 March – 4 June 2023. Location: The Beams, Factory Rd, E16 2HB. Price: from £20. Concessions available. Book now.

Last chance

 Africa Fashion

Image: Africa Fashion exhibition, Victoria & Albert Museum, March 2023, © MTotoe

#FLODown: Africa Fashion celebrates the creativity and global impact of contemporary African fashion. It is the UK’s most extensive exhibition of African fashions to date, featuring 45 designers from more than 20 countries across the continent, alongside personal insights from the designers, sketches, editorial spreads, photographs, film and catwalk footage.The exhibition will also feature influential contemporary African fashion designers and brands including Imane Ayissi, IAMISIGO, Moshions, Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo. It will showcase a selection of garments from the personal archives of a number of mid-twentieth century African designers – Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansah and Alphadi – which will be the first time their work will be shown in a London museum.

Date: until 16 April 2023. Location: Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL. Price: from £16. Concessions available. Book now.

WEIRD SENSATION FEELS GOOD: The World of ASMR

Image: Neumann KU 100 Dummy Head. With Binaural Stereo Microphone (1992) Ed Reeve for the Design Museum.

#FLODown: Have you ever heard a sound that has brought you a sense of calm? Or even made your skin tingle? Millions around the world are part of an online community who experience ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response): a physical sensation of euphoria or deep calm, sometimes tingling in the body, triggered through sound, touch, and movement.This is the first exhibition of its kind to lift the world of ASMR out from your screen and into physical space. This month is your last chance to step into this immersive environment of relaxation!

Date: until 10 April 2023 Location: 224-238 Kensington High Street, Kensington, London W8 6AG. Price: £10.90/£9.50 (Weekend/Weekday).Book now.

Spain and the Hispanic World

Image: Joaquín Sorolla,Vision of Spain (sketch) (detail), 1912-1913.

#FLODown: Don't miss out on Spain and the Hispanic World at the Royal Academy of Arts, as this month marks your final chance to witness this stunning collection. Featuring over 150 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, textiles, ceramics, and manuscripts, the exhibition is a true celebration of the rich history of Spanish culture. Spanning an incredible four millennia of diverse cultural and religious influences, from Celtic, Islamic, Christian, and Jewish, to American, African, and Asian, Spain and the Hispanic World offers a captivating journey through time and space, leaving a lasting impression on all who experience it.

Date: until 10 April 2023. Location: Main Galleries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Price: £22-24. Book now.