Five art openings in London are scheduled for the first week of 2026, split across two nights. On Thursday, January 8, two group exhibitions debut: 'PELT' at OHSH Projects (above Peckham Rye Station) features 19 artists exploring skin as a site of memory and mortality, and 'Connecting Threads' at Great Pulteney Street Gallery presents 11 artists expanding textile art. On Friday, January 9, three solo shows open: Max Boyla's 'Spooky Action At a Distance' at Palmer Gallery, Willa Cosinuke's 'Split Studies' at Chilli, and Sverre Malling's 'At The Mistress’ Request' at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery.
These openings matter because they signal the start of the 2026 exhibition season in London, a major global art hub, and highlight current trends in contemporary art—namely, the focus on collective themes (the body, marginalized materials) and individual practices spanning painting, sculpture, video, and drawing. The diversity of venues, from a historic railway waiting room to established galleries, reflects the city's vibrant and layered art scene, offering audiences a range of conceptual and material explorations early in the new year.