The Courtauld Gallery in London has announced its 2026 programme, headlined by Pakistani-born, New York-based painter Salman Toor's first solo exhibition in Europe. Titled "Someone Like You," the show will feature around 20 of Toor's emblematic canvases, including "The Bar on East 13th" (2019), which directly references Édouard Manet's "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère" (1882) from the Courtauld's collection. The exhibition will also include a selection of Toor's works on paper, such as "Fag Puddle in Vitrine" (2021), recently acquired by the museum. Toor's profile has risen sharply over the past five years as his intimate paintings of queer, South Asian men have resonated with institutions and the art market.
This exhibition matters because it marks a significant milestone for an artist whose work explores urgent themes of queer and immigrant identity, intimacy, and visibility. Toor's practice has consistently engaged with historical art collections—he previously exhibited alongside Vermeer at the Frick Collection and van Dyck works at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The Courtauld show further cements his place in the contemporary art canon while highlighting the museum's commitment to dialogue between historical and contemporary painting. The timing also reflects growing institutional and market interest in artists who address underrepresented perspectives.