Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2025 review

Arriving right on cue with the first wafts of summer London heat, the Royal Academy Summer Show has returned for its 257th exhibition. Curated under the theme of ‘Dialogues,’ the 2025 edition is coordinated by internationally acclaimed architect and Royal Academician Farshid Moussavi and explores art’s capacity to forge dialogues and build sensitivity towards societal concerns such as ecology, survival and living together. As Moussavi explained: “These dialogues can be between people of different races, genders, or cultures; between humans, all species, and the planet; or across different disciplines - art, science, politics for example.”

Gallery view of the Summer Exhibition 2025, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 17 June - 17 August 2025. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry.

Always key to setting the tone for the Summer Show is the Annenburg Courtyard commission, and every year it's a joy to discover what will greet you. This year’s playful installation by Ryan Gander RA couldn’t be a further cry from last year’s Meddling Fiend by Nicola Turner, a dark, writhing and textural creature with its spindly legs rising up to meet the central Sir Joshua Reynolds. This year, Gander presents us with five 3m diameter inflatable balls, some on the ground, others peeking out from between turrets on the Royal Academy rooftop. The inflated balls are inscribed with absurd questions developed with children, to represent the inquisitiveness of children who ask what grown-up minds often dismiss as nonsensical or illogical. “What do animals dream of?” “How much is a lot?” “Do all doors open?” All excellent questions, when you come to think of it. Introducing the theme of ‘Dialogues’ then, in a light-hearted way, the installation also integrates the work immediately with the iconic architecture of Burlington House – a perfect introduction to one of the most anticipated features of this year’s exhibition, which is for the first time to bring together architecture with the artworks throughout the show, creating conversations with art rather than being confined to its own space.

Entering the main exhibition, a sixth Gander ball (“When do you know you’re right?”), wedged into an archway between the Wohl central hall and Gallery VI. Taking over the central space of this entrance hall is Alice Channer’s Body Shop, a large-scale installation suspending heavy metal chains and large ostrich feather ‘flowers’ like industrial daisy chains from the glass dome. The installation was developed after the artist visited a luxury car factory, where she learned that within this sterile and masculine environment, female ostrich feathers are still required to remove dust particles between applications of paint – an example of how a highly industrialised and high-cost process still depends on nature. The huge black feathers and silver chain stand before a similarly monochrome backdrop – dramatic, unexpected and a foil to the more colourful and often graphic works within. Here, there are prints and paintings in black and white, including works by Royal Academicians Rebecca Salter, Cornelia Parker, Tracey Emin, as well as works in memoriam to the late Norman Ackroyd RA, including Windemere on 27th January 1996, the largest etching he ever produced.

Gallery view of the Summer Exhibition 2025, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 17 June - 17 August 2025. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry.

Onward into the largest and most dramatic displays, where you are immediately struck by several large-scale installation pieces, including Brazilian artist Antonio Tarsis’ work created especially for the show, consisting of a 4.5m high and 7m wide wall made from deconstructed matchboxes from his hometown of El Salvador, Brazil, a powerful visual narrative about survival, resilience and cultural identity. Also, an installation of textile carcasses by Argentine American artist Tamara Kostianovsky. Suspended from the ceiling, they are created using recycled clothing and textiles to created grotesque shapes that explore ideas of decay, consumptionand regeneration. Contrasting with these bodily forms is JA Projects’ large steel sculpture Thunder and Śimśek provides an interactive opportunity for invited participants to bang at given intervals.

Gallery view of the Summer Exhibition 2025, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 17 June - 17 August 2025. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry.

Nature seems to have pride of place throughout the exhibition, both in subject matter and execution – even in the display of the architectural models and objects, often hemp blocks are used instead of white plinths, to reflect some of the more renewable and versatile material being used in the construction industry. Religious art is largely absent, apart from a stand-out and strangely moving crucifixion by Tracey Emin, shocking, passionate, raw and so very Emin. Politics does not appear at the forefront, but there is some, largely in a room selected by Sikelela Owen RA. As in her own works, there are themes of family and childhood, such as in Eugene Palmer’s Late Evening depicting a cross-generational gathering, Jane Hughes’ The Couches capturing a group of children in a lost moment in time, and works centred on play such as Bunny by Oscar Connelley. Alongside this you have Hurvin Anderson’s The Harder They Fall, a view of an overcrowded concrete bridge over a river, which can be seen as a warning of the climate crisis and humanity’s inevitable fall. Jock McFadyen’s Somewhere in Ukraine presents a view of a battered apartment block with battle smoke on the horizon, while sculptures by invited artist EVERWRIGHT explore value, trade, and slavery in relation to modern-day migration. Matthew Krishanu’s paintings invite the viewer to consider the presence of Europeans – particularly the British – in Bangladesh today, and Larry Achiampong’s Pan African Flag for the Relic Traveller’s Alliance (What I Hear I Keep),suspended above, highlights the significance of African diasporic identity.

Gallery view of the Summer Exhibition 2025, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 17 June - 17 August 2025. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry.

Overall, it is no secret that the RA’s Summer Show is often met with derision – critics curling their toes at the thought of once again putting their critical chops to work at Burlington House’s annual jamboree. There is a lot to wrap your head around and not all of it is good – of course, in 1,700 pieces of art, you are inevitably not going to like everything. But among the less considered, it is noticeable that there are some excellent works on show by some excellent world class artists (in many ways, it’s a shame that most of the stand-out pieces are by the big-hitters). Aside from the major commissions and installations, there are works by Royal Academicians including Rana Begum, Frank Bowling, Grayson Perry, Lubaina Himid, Cornelia Parker, Veronica Ryan, Conrad Shawcross, Yinka Shonibare and Rose Wylie. Honorary Royal Academician Jenny Holzer is showing at the Summer Exhibition for the very first time. Other Honorary Royal Academicians include Marina Abramović, El Anatsui, Marlene Dumas, William Kentridge, Mimmo Paladino and Kiki Smith.

Gallery view of the Summer Exhibition 2025, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 17 June - 17 August 2025. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry.

And the point really is that there is no opportunity like it for an unknown – even hobbyist – artist to be hung alongside them. It is, as usual, open to all. It’s a unique and institutional celebration of contemporary art and architecture, providing a vital platform and support for the artistic community. Most of the works are available to buy and sales support the exhibiting artists as well as the RA’s charitable work, including training the next generation of artists at the Royal Academy Schools. So go along, let some pieces truly blow you away, be baffled by others. But long may the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition continue.  

Date: 17 June – 17 August 2025. Location: Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Price: from £23; concessions available; under 16s go free. Book now

Review by Tani Burns