Art critic Tabish Khan brings you ‘The Top Art Exhibitions to see in London’. Each one comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you. Three of his picks from last week are still open to visit as well:
Drawing Biennial 2019 @ Drawing Room
Over 200 works on paper line the walls of Drawing Room to fund raise for this fantastic contemporary art space dedicated to drawing. Big name artists through to emerging artists have donated their works for this impressive show. The democratic decision to list them alphabetically and for all to create works on an A4 piece of paper means we have the likes of Antony Gormley, Grayson Perry and Raqib Shaw in among artists many of us will not have heard of. Plus if any work takes your fancy, then you can bid and hope that you’re bid is the highest come the end of the auction. Until 26 March.
Home Futures @ Design Museum
What will the home of the future look like? Will we have screens on every wall and eschew human contact? That was one vision from the 1980s and it sort of came true the way we’re glued to our phones today. The wraparound screens worn as helmets were predicted in 1968 and now we have Virtual Reality and Google Glass. It’s great to see the future from past eyes and see where we didn’t up – thankfully we’re not all wearing nylon clothes. There are some great designs and plenty of satirical future visions in this fascinating time capsule of an exhibition. Until 24 March.
Patrick Hughes: A New Look at Perspective @ Alon Zakaim
I’m a big fan of the work of Patrick Hughes and its ability to distort vision and makes me disbelieve what I’m seeing. These cleverly constructed paintings seem to sway and swivel as we move from side to side. It’s only close up that the illusion is broken, but step back and be bewitched once more. Whether it be libraries or scenes of Venice these works are beautifully constructed. Until 29 March.
Kindertransport @ Jewish Museum
Read about someone’s lovely childhoods and then flip the label to hear of how their parents were killed in Auschwitz. This important exhibition is filled with stories of grief and loss, but also of hope on how Jewish children built their lives in the UK after such horror. This exhibition marks the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport that offered Jewish children a safe haven in Britain and it’s particularly relevant today given rising anti-immigrant sentiment. Until 24 March.
The Last Tsar @ Science Museum
This exhibition uses evidence to piece together the story of the last Tsar and his family. The political situation in the country and the brutal execution of the royal family, including their children. The haemophilia that affected the Tsar’s son came from Britain’s Queen Victoria’s bloodline and when the remains of the Tsar and his family were found Prince Phillip’s blood was used to confirm it was them. It’s a fascinating investigation that sheds a light on a slice of Russian history that many are not aware of. Until 24 March.
All images copyright the respective artist and gallery. Drawing Room image copyright Grayson Perry.
