Tabish Khan, the @LondonArtCritic, picks his top 5 museum exhibitions in London. Check out last week’s top 5 if you’re after more shows.
Anthony McCall: Solid Light @ Tate Modern
This exhibition is a unique experience you’ll remember. Lines of light crisscross in a darkened space and appear solid, but we can move through them, you hesitate before doing so and embracing the mesmerising experience that you could easily while away an hour floating among the beams like ghosts. Until 27th April, ticketed.
Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights @ Wellcome Collection
This is what the Wellcome Collection does best, another fascinating mix of history, science and art. It covers the horrific impacts on the health of slaves on plantations, including how the spread of mosquitos is tied to colonialism, and the fight for greater rights for sex workers today. Until 27th April, free.
Hardeep Pandhal: Inner World @ The Drawing Room
I enjoyed learning about this comic-style world Pandhal has created with references as diverse as his South Asian heritage to video games and music. He’s also expanded to go up the high walls and bring us into his world through small detailed works, and others that are large and expansive. It’s a fun world to get lost in, full of symbolism. Until 13th April, free.
Leighton and Landscape: Impressions from Nature @ Leighton House Museum
This is a completely different side to Leighton who we associate with rich detailed history and mythical scenes. These are some casual studies that feel more Impressionist than the style we associate with Leighton. It’s a subtle and eye-opening side to the great British painter we were unaware of until now. Until 27th April, ticketed.
Versailles: Science and Splendour @ Science Museum
A stunning watch that was thought to have been commissioned for Marie Antoinette and a giant clock of the creation of the world, plus a taxidermied rhino that was pampered at Versailles and plenty of paintings. This is a show of the wonders from the palace that was a place of artistic and scientific splendour, and here’s the bling, beauty and rhino to back it up. Until 21st April, ticketed.
Anthony McCall photo: © Tate (Josh Croll). Leighton image: © The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), Photo: Jaron James. Versailles Photo: copyright Science Museum Group. All other images copyright and courtesy respective museums.
