August has traditionally been a quiet month in the art world. Galleries shut, people go on holiday, and there are few major solo shows debuting during this period. But do not fret. There are still plenty of goings-on in the city. Or use this sleepy season to catch up on longer-running shows you might have missed. From Del La Grace Volcano’s first institutional show in the UK, which explores San Francisco and Santa Fe in the 1970s and 80s, challenging representations of gender and sexuality, to photographer Chardchakaj Waikawee’s exhibition entitled ‘Youth’. Here, the artist explores and expands a simple description of age, capturing an attitude and continual movement. There is also a new retrospective on the Cuban-born American artist Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern, or perhaps immerse yourself in art and pocket Ellen Gallagher’s new work for TfL’s Art on the Underground programme. From group shows to career retrospectives, plan your next visit with our frequently updated guide to the month’s best offerings.
Heading across the pond? Here are the best New York art exhibitions to see this month.
London art exhibitions: what to see in August 2026
‘Sensual / Mutual’: Del La Grace Volcano
Auto Italia 17 July 2026 — 25 October 2026
Del LaGrace Volcano is an American artist, performer, and activist, currently based in Sweden. Across their career, Volcano has crafted a distinct photographic practice which spans portraiture and documentary, producing images that capture queer, trans, and feminist visual culture. ‘Sensual / Mutual’ marks their first institutional show in the UK, showcasing works from San Francisco and Santa Fe in the 1970s and 80s, challenging representations of gender and sexuality.
Bruiseless
Belmacz 17 July 2026 until 7 October 2026
Contemporary art gallery and jewellery showroom Blemacz presents ‘Bruiseless’. It brings together the work by German artist Ja Jess’ and French-Venezuelan artist Andrea Marcellier. Together they explore genetics and the act of giving and losing – captured in Jess’ still lifes of egg donation and Marcellier’s masturbatory sculptures.
Chardchakaj Waikawee: ‘Youth’
Graces Mews from 31 July until 19 September 2026
In Thailand, the phrase ‘wai run’ describes youth as an attitude. As a spirit. This term inspired artist Chardchakaj Waikawee for his first solo show. Through film photography, the artist extends a simple description of age, but instead captures an attitude. The work is set in Bangkok, with photographs taken between 2008 and 2020. The presentation displays people living on the margins of the city’s streets, individuals often rendered invisible due to circumstance or economic position. The imagery is also documented in the artist’s debut monograph charting the decade-long project
Bold Tendencies: ‘Euphoria’
Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park until 12 September 2026
Bold Tendencies – a non-profit arts organisation atop a multi-storey car park in south-east London – is all about exercising your joy. For 2026, the chosen theme is Euphoria, and the line-up includes new commissions by Andreas Gursky, Louis Morlæ, Athen Kardashian & Nina Mhach Durban, Tarek Lakhrissi, and Emma Hart. ‘It’s been reflected in very extreme, different ways with the five. The immediate interpretation is about highs, but you can only know the high if you know the low,’ observes Barry. ‘It’s a theme of contrasts, like the wider reflections I have about Bold: you can't have success without failure, joy without sadness…’
Writer Zoe Whitfield
‘Ana Mendieta’
Tate Modern until 17 January 2027
Cuban-born American artist Ana Mendieta’s multidisciplinary practice encompassed sculpture, film, performance, photography, painting and drawing, but she is best known for her ‘silueta’, or ‘earth-body ', works, in which she outlined her body in nature.
More than 120 of Mendieta’s works are now on view in a new retrospective, including a nude woman’s form in a tomb covered with sprigs of small white flowers, the flaming form of a body on a sandy landscape, and the shape of a body on a shoreline, being slowly eroded by the tide. The exhibition takes us through Mendieta’s practice, from her teenage years up until around 1984, exploring her whole body of work.
Writer: Amah-Rose Abrams
tate.org.uk
Ellen Gallagher: Art on the Underground programme
Ongoing
Transport for London recently revealed the latest in its ongoing series of Art on the Underground commissions for the cover of the pocket Tube map, courtesy of American artist Ellen Gallagher. Her piece, Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish, 2026, is the 42nd commission in the series and is an exploration of the capital’s long maritime history.
Writer Jonathan Bell
Rudy Loewe: Intimacies of Care - Spaces of Grief and Possibility
Wellcome Collection until 7 February 2027
Looking at the lived experience of Black people whose mental healthcare in the UK is shaped by racist discrimination, multidisciplinary artist Rudy Loewe asks viewers to consider alternative approaches to care. Through a collection of paintings and sound, the exhibition reimagines a mental healthcare system that is supportive.
Ashiesh Shah: Taamr
Carpenters Workshop Gallery until 20 September 2026
Taamr is an exhibition that celebrates the revival of Indian crafts. At the heart of the showcase is Shah’s sculptures, which echo symbols of transformation. The work is a combination of aesthetics that captures woven, held, or structured in copper. Collectively, the exhibition is visually tactile and acts as a commitment to long-held traditions with a contemporary visual and sculptural language
The Meeting Ground: Scenes from the KNMA Collection
Christie’s from until 21 August 2026
The Meeting Ground: Scenes from the KNMA Collection highlights contemporary South Asian art across painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and video. Conceived across five sections, the exhibition celebrates evolving visual languages of South Asia through an immersive experience.
nora chipaumire: Gadzi
TATE until 23 August 2026
‘There’s no answer to what I’m doing. It’s a gesture I’m offering – a gesture to save the energy of the landscape, to move this energy, and to protect it,’ says artist nora chipaumire. Her exhibition entitled ‘gadzi (shortened from gadziguru) is the oldest female being and a creative force tied to the legends of Shona people. She is considered the mother of god, who gave birth to the magnificent Balancing Rocks. chipaumire’s gadzi is a ‘living and breathing organism’, constructed entirely by hand using wood, wire and cardboard, giving new meaning to everyday materials.‘I moved away from trying to represent the rocks as they really exist in nature. Instead, we show the process of making.’
Anish Kapoor
Southbank Centre's Hayward Gallery until 18 October 2026
For the Mumbai-born, Turner Prize-winning artist, Anish Kapoor, the scale of his work is important for the physical reaction it incites in the viewer. This is seen in his first retrospective in for 28 years. which squeeze, drip, and disorient in the Hayward’s Brutalist enclaves.
The Trixie Sullivan Archive
Handel Hendrix House, ongoing
Jimi Hendrix's memorabilia goes on show at his former home, Handel Hendrix House. A vast selection of the musician's treasured possessions is displayed. Such is the treasure trove of detail about the legendary musician’s period living in London that’s contained in a cache of paperwork saved by Trixie Sullivan.
Frida: The Making of an Icon
Tate Modern until 3 January 2027
In a major new exhibition, ‘Frida: The Making of an Icon’, Kahlo’s work is presented alongside that of her peers and later artists influenced by her legacy, including Kiki Smith, Judy Chicago, and Ana Mendieta. She created around 150 works in her lifetime, a third of which were self-portraits. More than 30 of these representations are here, tracing the way Kahlo’s self-perception developed, fractured, and rebuilt itself throughout her lifetime.
Project a Black Planet: A Season
Barbican Centre from June until September 2026
The influence of Pan-Africanism on modern arts and culture is explored and celebrated at the Barbican this summer season. The term ‘pan-africanism’ was coined in the early 20th century and is used as an umbrella term for political and philosophical movements advocating for self-determination, anti-colonial resistance, and transnational solidarity among peoples of African descent. Across the summer season, this is unwrapped across thirty events spanning art, cinema, music, performance, and talks.
Hepworth in Colour
The Courtauld Gallery until 6 September 2026
Barbara Hepworth is best known for her sculptural pieces inspired by organic forms and seaside landscapes of Cornwall, where she resided. Discussing her pioneering use of colour in sculpture with her son-in-law, the art historian Alan Bowness, Hepworth stated ‘In a way my colour has been accepted, but never understood’. This exhibition is dedicated to her work in colour, from her early sculptures from the 1940s to drawings, and more renowned pieces from the 1950s and 1960s.
The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial
Saatchi Gallery until 8 September 2026
Spanning across two floors of the gallery this celestial exhibition looks at both sun and moon and how it has inspired creativity across cultures and time. The group show, which is presented as a 24 hour cycle from dawn to dusk, showcases works from emerging and established artists who were invited to interpret the sun and moon.
Paulo Nimer Pjota: Encantados
South London Gallery until 23 August 2026
Working predominantly with oil and acrylic, Brazilian artist Paulo Nimer Pjota creates large canvas paintings which nod to art history and pop culture. Here, he recreates new and imaginary scenarios to conjure a new world that feels mythological. His pieces nod to music, such as a three-headed beast playing the trumpet, horn, drum and sax all at the same time. This reflects the artist’s approach to the sampling and remixing practices adopted in Brazilian hip-hop and rap music, as well as on his experience as a graffiti artist as a teenager.
Nhu Xuan Hua: Of Walking on Fire
Autograph until 19 September 2026
Rooted in language’s inability to fully convey complex family histories, Nhu Xuan Hua reimagines archival photographs from her family’s time in Vietnam and their early years in Europe. Her work, which sits between art and fashion photography, explores how stories are conveyed across generations, and how the memory and recollection of such can be fractured.
Julio Le Parc: Light. Colour. Action.
Tate Modern until 3 May 2027
Argentinian artist Julio Le Parc presents seven decades of works, which invites visitors to join in themselves. His kinetic sculptures uses light and movement across mirrored surfaces to create a mesmerising spectacle. The interactive nature of the installation allows for art to be enjoyed by all.
The Everythingists by Es Devlin
V&A East Storehouse until 18 October 2026
The work by the Russian artist Natalia Goncharova is the inspiration for Es Devlin’s exhibition at V&A East Storehouse. ‘Everythingism’, (Vsechestvo in Russian) was used to describe Goncharova’s work which spanned across painting, theatre design, fashion and performance art. Devlin, who is equally not enclosed to one medium, relates to this terminology. ‘The Everythingists’ showcases Devlin's sculptural drawings inspired by Goncharova’s painted backdrop made for 1926 Ballet Russes production of The Firebird.
T. Venkanna
Studio Voltaire until 23 August 2026
Indian artist T. Venkanna showcases a new series of paintings which question sexual imagination and how this is intertwined with societal norms, freedom and repression. His paintings are also inspired by his recent travels around Europe, nodding to the Early Renaissance devotional panel paintings. This exhibition is the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition.
Donald Locke: Resistant Forms
Camden Art Centre until 30 August 2026
Camden Art Centre deep dives into the work of the late Guyanese-British artist Donald Locke. This exhibition is designed to showcase his significant contributions as a post-war artist of the Windrush Generation and 20th century British sculpture, which has been significantly overlooked. Expect to see his early biomorphic ceramics, large scale paintings, and mixed media.
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
V&A from 28 March 2026
Designer Elsa Schiaparelli wearing black silk dress with crocheted collar of her own design and a turban, photograph by Fredrich Baker, Vogue, 1940
The V&A welcomes the UK’s first exhibition on fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, spanning her work from the 1920s, to the fashion house’s evolution today, under the creative director Daniel Roseberry. His contemporary designs have created conversation in recent years; including a dress with faux-taxidermy lion heads, to a delicate lung dress boasting a string of golden veins.
The Music is Black: A British Story
V&A East Museum from 18 April 2026
Also at the V&A is ‘The Music is Black: A British Story’, an exhibition charting 125 years of Black music-making in the UK. It is a deep dive into how this music shaped British culture.
The Coming of Age
Wellcome Collection from 25 March 2026
At the Wellcome Collection, ‘Coming of Age’ explores the perceptions of aging from adolescence to adulthood. Specifically it looks at how societies can adapt for us all to age better. The exhibition is rooted in the statistic that people are living longer. In the UK one in ten children are expected to live beyond the age of 100. The question the exhibition asks is ‘Who gets to live longer and “age well”?’ Bringing together different perspectives from art, science and popular culture, ‘Coming of Age’ explores the assumptions made about life stages and asks what greater longevity means for all of us.
David Hockney: A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting
Serpentine North until 23 August 2026
In his latest exhibition, and his first at Serpentine, David Hockney presents an exhibition inviting people to slow down and enjoy the beauty within the mundane. New works were created specifically for the showcase, rooted in his belief that beauty is worth celebrating.
Cecily Brown: Picture Making
Serpentine South Gallery until 6 September 2026
Inspired by Kensington Gardens, painter Cecily Brown presents her green compositions which dance with bold brushwork, and colour, resulting in dynamic movement within her pieces. Nature and park life are at the forefront of Brown’s work. Here you will see her exploring this theme through scale and colour, along with a sprinkling of romance from couples, woodland scenes and nature walks. It is a hopeful exhibition, which highlights the beauty within the English landscape, the nostalgia of children’s book illustrations, and has a hint of warning through cautionary tales, all of which are gestures to Brown’s own memories.
Tracey Emin: A Second Life
Tate Modern until 31 August 2026
A much-anticipated landmark exhibition will open this month, tracing 40 years of Tracey Emin’s work, including painting, video, textiles, neons, writing, sculpture, and installation – and spanning unseen pieces as well as some of her most renowned works, such as the radical My Bed from 1998. The exhibition will explore her raw confessional work, which sparked widespread debate when she rose to prominence in the 1990s. Here, she explores themes of love, trauma, passion, pain and healing.
The David Bowie Centre
V&A East Storehouse, permanent
Fashion, memorabilia and personal ephemera from David Bowie, now on view at the V&A East Storehouse in London, are as wondrous in their range as their creator. The pioneering musician's 90,000-item personal archive are equally accessible, and – like the artist at the heart of it – equally wondrous in their range. Bowie was an inveterate curator – you might say hoarder – of his own life, keeping every quicksilver fashion statement, every scrap of paper, every piece of memorabilia, amassing a deeply personal life-map that accompanies the Centre’s 70,000 photographs, negatives and colour transparencies. So, alongside the rejection letters are fan correspondence that he kept with equal assiduousness.
Writer Craig McLean
Read the full review of The David Bowie Centre