Defiant women and daring paintings: Emin, Webster and Wylie create a buzz in the UK's exhibition calendar

The UK art scene is currently dominated by major survey exhibitions from three prominent female artists: Rose Wylie, Tracey Emin, and Sue Webster. Rose Wylie, at 92, makes history as the first woman painter to occupy the Royal Academy’s main galleries, while Tracey Emin presents a raw, thematic survey at Tate Modern reflecting on her life before and after cancer. Simultaneously, Sue Webster marks her institutional solo debut at Firstsite, showcasing a transition from her famous collaborative practice to deeply personal oil painting.

Tate Modern to Mount Its First Monet Show Ever

Tate Modern has announced its 2027 exhibition program, headlined by "Monet: Painting Time," the museum's first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to Claude Monet since it opened 26 years ago. The show, opening February 27, 2027, will feature rarely seen works from global lenders and new research, following an initial presentation at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris opening this September to mark the centenary of Monet's death.

Congress Adopts HEAR Act, Hockney to Celebrate 90th Birthday at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall: Morning Links for March 17, 2026

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the HEAR Act, a bipartisan bill designed to extend and strengthen laws for the restitution of Nazi-looted art. The bill's new amendments, which declare looted art a violation of international law and expand U.S. jurisdiction, have drawn both praise for aiding restitution and concern over potentially unfair burdens on current owners.

Pioneering Modernist Fahrelnissa Zeid Returns to the Spotlight in London

The Turkish-Jordanian modernist Fahrelnissa Zeid is the subject of a new solo exhibition titled "Immersion" at Dirimart London, curated by art historian Adila Laïdi-Hanieh. This marks the artist's first gallery solo show in the United Kingdom this century, featuring several works from her estate that have never been publicly exhibited. The selection spans various periods of her career, highlighting her transition from monumental geometric abstractions to her late-career expressionist portraits.

Tracey Emin’s Cult of the Self

A major retrospective of Tracey Emin's work, "A Second Life," is on view at Tate Modern in London. The exhibition presents the artist's deeply personal and confessional body of work, including iconic pieces like "My Bed" and "Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made," which chronicle intimate experiences of love, trauma, and self-exploration through text, objects, and raw imagery.

London’s Most Talked-About Art Exhibitions Close This Weekend: Don’t Miss Your Final Chance to See Turner, Picasso, and New Contemporary Talent

Four major art exhibitions across London are entering their final weekend, with closing dates set for April 12, 2026. Highlights include Tate Britain’s face-off between landscape masters J.M.W. Turner and John Constable, and Tate Modern’s dual offerings: a deep dive into Pablo Picasso’s theatrical influences and Máret Ánne Sara’s monumental Hyundai Commission installation in the Turbine Hall. The South London Gallery is also concluding its showcase of the New Contemporaries, which highlights emerging artistic talent.

Last chance! Four excellent London exhibitions close this weekend

Four major art exhibitions are scheduled to conclude their London runs on Sunday, April 12, 2026. The closing shows include the high-profile 'Turner & Constable: Rivals and Originals' at Tate Britain, the 'Theatre Picasso' centenary celebration at Tate Modern, and the 'New Contemporaries' showcase of emerging talent at the South London Gallery.

NGV Has Been Named As One Of The Most Visited Art Museums In 2025, Ranking Among Other Notable Sites Like The Louvre And Tate Modern

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has secured its position as Australia’s most visited art museum, ranking 25th globally in The Art Newspaper’s 2025 attendance report. The institution welcomed over 3 million visitors across its two Melbourne locations, bolstered significantly by a record-breaking Yayoi Kusama retrospective that drew 570,537 attendees. This blockbuster exhibition became the most popular ticketed show in the gallery's history, attracting international celebrities and a high percentage of overseas tourists.

At the Tate Modern, the Moving Renaissance of Tracey Emin

À la Tate Modern, la bouleversante renaissance de Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin has returned to the Tate Modern for a major retrospective titled "A Second Life," marking a poignant milestone in her career. The exhibition features over a hundred works, including the iconic and once-scandalous "My Bed," which first catapulted her to international fame during the 1999 Turner Prize. This survey explores her evolution from the "enfant terrible" of the Young British Artists to a Dame of the British Empire, showcasing her multidisciplinary practice across painting, sculpture, and installation.

Joachim Trier on the Art of Calculated Chaos

A major retrospective of Tracey Emin's work has opened at Tate Modern in London. The exhibition presents a comprehensive overview of the artist's career, featuring her confessional and often provocative works that have defined her public persona.

Marie Zolamian’s Paintings Remain Little Mysteries

A retrospective of Tracey Emin's work at Tate Modern reveals how her art, frequently interpreted as raw personal confession, is deeply intertwined with the broader cultural and social forces of her time. The review argues that her oeuvre serves as a witness to a specific era, moving beyond purely autobiographical readings to reflect wider societal currents.

Post-Mortemism: An Autopsy of “Nigerian Modernism: Art and Independence” at Tate Modern.

A critical essay by Ayọ̀ Akínwándé performs a forensic 'autopsy' of the Tate Modern exhibition 'Nigerian Modernism: Art and Independence.' The review dissects the show's structure, arguing it fails in its curatorial framework by isolating Nigerian artists within a regional category, using ethnographic display methods, relying on incomplete research, and excluding key artists and historical context.

OSCAR MURILLO: PAINTING AS A WELL OF ACCUMULATION

ÓSCAR MURILLO: LA PINTURA COMO POZO DE ACUMULACIÓN

The article profiles Colombian-born artist Oscar Murillo and his expansive, socially-engaged practice. It details his rise to international prominence in the early 2010s with large-scale paintings that incorporate text, textiles, and studio detritus, and highlights his ongoing, collaborative project 'Frequencies,' which involves students from over thirty countries creating works on canvases attached to school desks. The piece also references his major solo exhibitions, including 'El pozo de agua' at kurimanzutto in Mexico City (2026), 'Masas' at WIELS in Brussels (2024), and 'The flooded garden' at Tate Modern (2024).

Tate announces major David Hockney, Edvard Munch and Sonia Boyce exhibitions for 2027

Tate has announced its 2027 exhibition program across its four UK sites. Major shows include a Lynda Benglis exhibition and an Edvard Munch show at Tate Modern, a Sonia Boyce retrospective at Tate Britain, and two exhibitions celebrating David Hockney's 90th birthday. The program also features Tate Modern's first Monet exhibition, the UK's first solo show for Algerian artist Baya, a survey of Nalini Malani, and a major exhibition on Asian ink painting.

Morad Montazami appointed artistic director of 2026 Dakar Biennale

Morad Montazami has been named the artistic director for the 16th edition of the Dakar Biennale, scheduled to run from November 19 to December 19, 2026. Titled "(Anti)Fragility: Arts of Repair and Counter-Shock Strategies," the exhibition will explore themes of community-led restoration and the transformation of vulnerability into collective strength. Montazami, a former Tate Modern curator and founder of the platform Zamân Books & Curating, brings an extensive background in postcolonial art histories and global modernisms to the prestigious African forum.

Morad Montazami Named Artistic Director of 16th Dak’Art Biennial

Morad Montazami has been appointed as the artistic director for the sixteenth edition of the Dak’Art Biennial, scheduled to run from November 19 to December 19. Titled "(Anti)Fragility: Arts of Repair and Counter-Shock Strategies," the upcoming biennial will focus on themes of community, co-creation, and the transformation of vulnerability into artistic strength. Montazami, an esteemed art historian and curator known for his work on global modernism and postcolonial narratives, brings extensive experience from previous roles at Tate Modern and various international exhibitions.

The Art Exhibitions and Museum Openings Worth Traveling For in 2026

The global art calendar for 2026 is set to feature a series of high-profile retrospectives and monumental installations across Europe's major cultural hubs. Highlights include a career-spanning reckoning of Tracey Emin’s work and a deep dive into Frida Kahlo’s iconicity at Tate Modern, a rare dialogue of Henri Matisse’s late-period works in Paris, and the historic loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum. Additionally, site-specific experiences such as Mark Rothko’s canvases in a Florentine palazzo and James Turrell’s largest museum 'Skyspace' in Denmark offer immersive encounters designed to draw international travelers.

In London, Tracey Emin is Concerned with Death and Resurrection

In London geht es Tracey Emin um Tod und Auferstehung

Tracey Emin has opened a major exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. The show, which follows her battle with an aggressive bladder cancer diagnosed in 2020, presents a new chapter in her work, focusing on themes of trauma, triumph, and the body.

Market Maker

Amrita Jhaveri, a Brown University alumna, has transitioned from a pioneering role at Christie’s to becoming a central figure in the global promotion of South Asian art. After launching Christie’s Mumbai office in the 1990s—a time when modern Indian masterpieces sold for a fraction of their current multi-million dollar values—she co-founded Jhaveri Contemporary with her sister Priya. The gallery has gained international prestige by placing works by overlooked, female, and queer South Asian artists into the permanent collections of major institutions like the Tate Modern, the Met, and MoMA.

Tate Modern opens largest ever exhibition of Tracey Emin's work

Tate Modern has launched the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the work of British artist Tracey Emin. The show brings together a vast range of her pieces, spanning several decades of her provocative and confessional career.

The World's Most-Visited Museums – and Why Germany is Falling Behind

Die meistbesuchten Museen weltweit – und warum Deutschland hinterherhinkt

The Art Newspaper's 2025 ranking of the world's most-visited museums reveals a global landscape dominated by institutions in Paris, Seoul, London, and New York. The Louvre leads with just over nine million visitors, followed by the Vatican Museums and Seoul's National Museum of Korea, which doubled its attendance to 6.5 million. Notable trends include strong post-pandemic recoveries at New York's MoMA and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, while London's Tate Modern and National Gallery still lag significantly behind their 2019 numbers.

In the Studio With Rama Duwaji

Syrian-American artist Rama Duwaji discusses her evolving art practice and her new role as the First Lady of New York City following her husband Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory. Known for her distinct illustrations and animations for major institutions like the Tate Modern and the New Yorker, Duwaji is now transitioning into a more public-facing life while maintaining a studio practice at Gracie Mansion. Her work, which spans hand-drawn animation, ceramics, and paintings on found materials like cardboard, continues to blur the lines between commercial illustration and fine art.

Exhibition | Fahrelnissa Zeid, 'Immersion' at Dirimart, London, United Kingdom

Dirimart London has opened 'Immersion,' the first UK gallery exhibition this century dedicated to Turkish-Arab modernist Fahrelnissa Zeid. Curated by Adila Laïdi-Hanieh, the show focuses on her most innovative decades from the 1940s to 1960s, featuring works from Istanbul, London, Paris, and Ischia, with several pieces on public view for the first time.

Queer Art Converges at Art Sonje Center, Opening a New Chapter in Korean Modern and Contemporary Art History

Art Sonje Center in Seoul has launched 'Spectrosynthesis Seoul,' a landmark exhibition featuring 74 artists and collectives that explores the history and current state of queer art. The show, organized in collaboration with the Hong Kong-based Sunpride Foundation, features major international figures like Mark Bradford and Shin Wai Kin alongside prominent Korean artists such as Ayoung Kim and Mire Lee. By moving beyond small-scale independent shows into a major institutional space, the exhibition aims to map a comprehensive landscape of LGBTQ+ artistic practices.

Tracey Emin, the studio and me: inside the wild, passionate process of the artist at work

Harry Weller, Tracey Emin’s long-time creative director, provides an intimate look into the artist’s studio practice ahead of her major exhibition at Tate Modern. Weller describes a high-intensity environment where Emin works without preparatory sketches, often entering a trance-like state of "primal instinct" to produce her visceral paintings and text-based works. His role involves acting as a creative antagonist, challenging Emin during the painting process to push the boundaries of her work while documenting the spontaneous poetic fragments she produces.

Tate Modern opens largest ever exhibition of Tracey Emin's work

Tate Modern has launched "Tracey Emin: A Second Life," the largest survey exhibition of the British artist’s work to date. Spanning 40 years of her career, the show features over 100 works including her iconic 1998 installation "My Bed," early textile pieces, and recent bronze sculptures. The exhibition, supported by Gucci, traces Emin’s journey from the Young British Artists (YBA) era to her contemporary practice, which addresses her recent experiences with cancer and disability.

From Bottle Caps and Seals Has Come Colorful, Cascading Art

Renowned Ghanaian artist El Anatsui is currently experiencing a significant professional moment with concurrent exhibitions at White Cube in Hong Kong and Seoul, timed to coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong. The artist, known for his monumental sculptures crafted from discarded liquor-bottle caps and copper wire, recently saw his 2023 work "G6" sell for $995,000 at Sotheby’s London to benefit the Royal Academy of Arts. Now living back in Ghana after decades teaching in Nigeria, Anatsui continues to explore the fluidity of his medium, which mimics the organic processes of growth and decay.

Frida Kahlo Icon Headlines

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Tate Modern has announced a major exhibition for 2026 titled "Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon," featuring over 130 artworks and archival materials. The exhibition aims to explore the cult-like following surrounding the Mexican artist and how her personal biography became inseparable from her creative legacy. This announcement follows a series of global institutional efforts to deconstruct the Kahlo myth, including recent shows at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Dallas Museum of Art.

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D Lan Galleries is returning to TEFAF Maastricht in 2026 following a landmark debut that generated nearly $1.4 million in sales. The Melbourne and New York-based gallery will showcase 13 masterworks by prominent First Nations Australian artists, including Emily Kam Kngwarray, Sally Gabori, Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula, and Gordon Bennett. The presentation spans works from the 1970s to the present, highlighting the evolution of Indigenous Australian art on the global stage.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art is reportedly planning a major retrospective of the American artist Cy Twombly, scheduled for 2029. Evidence of the exhibition surfaced through a job posting for a researcher, which describes a comprehensive show featuring paintings, sculptures, and drawings that explore Twombly’s career across two continents and the influence of ancient myths and literature on his work. While the Met and the Cy Twombly Foundation have not yet officially confirmed the exhibition, the listing remains active on several professional platforms.