Tabish Khan, the @LondonArtCritic, picks his top 5 exhibitions to see before the end of 2025. If you are after more exhibitions, check out last week’s top 5.
Paradigm Shift at 180 Studios
A young woman walks joyously down a street before stopping to smash car windows with a flower-shaped poker as a female policewoman smiles and walks on by in a work by Pipilotti Rist. It’s a strong start to a collection of fantastic video art, including Gillian Wearing dancing to no music in a Peckham shopping centre, Arthur Jafa’s film about Black life that swings from the joyous to the disturbing, and Cao Fei’s dancing workers in the style of a music video. It’s a dense exhibition filled with some excellent video art. Until 21st December, ticketed.
Read our interview with the Paradigm Shift co-curator Jefferson Hack & associate curator Susanna Davies-Crook HERE
Alison Wing Yin Poon: A Constructed Home at Tache
Lacquered vases, grand architectural models and broken shards of ceramic are all part of an exhibition that reflects on the artist’s dual Malayan-Chinese and English heritage. Incorporating traditional techniques such as Japanning and faux bois (the illusion of a wooden surface), she uses them to create fantastical narratives, including a snake in a drawer and a curled-up kitten under a sculpture. Until 16th December.
Noemie Goudal: The Story of Fixity at Borough Yards
Structure meets projection in the evolving layered landscapes of Noemie Goudal. The scenes brighten and darken over time, and the dripping water in the space mirrors the falling water on the screen. As with all Artangel projects, the location makes it, as you can smell the dampness in the air while you’re in there. Until 21st December.
Mircea Teleaga: Paradise at LBF Contemporary
I’m a fan of these glowing, surreal landscapes that feel like a dream, or maybe a sci-fi movie. It was my first visit to the gallery, and I arrived on a dark, rainy early evening, which felt like the perfect way to approach these cinematic paintings, filled with intricate details. Plus, I always love discovering a space I’ve not been to before. Until 18th December.
Arch Hades: We’re all just passing through at 8 Berkeley Square
The walls are covered in poetry, but the works look like enlarged pieces of paper that have been screwed up and unfolded. It’s as if they’ve been discarded and rediscovered, whether found or the result of the frustrations of the creative process. This all makes sense given that Arch Hades is a poet turned artist, and her words may also be found in the sculptures on show, as well as plenty of symbolism in the paintings in the rear space. Until 21st December.
Read our studio interview with Arch Hades HERE
All images are copyright of the respective gallery and artist. 180 Studios photo: Feiyang Xue. Noemie Goudal photo: Thierry Bal.
