While London is often lined with inspiring artworks and leading exhibitions, the rest of the UK’s art scene is often left out of the media limelight. Until now. This month we take a look at some of the biggest exhibitions arriving in 2024.
From Beatriz Milhazes’ vibrant works to the exploration of the original selfie, these are the eight exhibitions in the UK to look out for.
David Hoyle: Please Feel Free To Ignore My Work
A Manchester celebrity in his right, David Hoyle heads to the Aviva Studios for three vibrant weeks filled with his eccentricity and brilliance.
Part retrospective, part takeover, Please Feel Free to Ignore My Work is a specially commissioned program of work celebrating the internationally acclaimed artist. He’s a cabaret star, actor and accomplished visual artist, and this collection brings together rarely-seen paintings, slogan works and new commissions.
Alongside, expect to catch a series of his iconic television appearances and films, including his famed alter-ego ‘The Divine David’ that took him from alternative settings to the studios of Channel 4.
Throughout the three weeks, there’ll be a host of talks, live painting sessions and a classic pub quiz hosted by Hoyle himself, as well as a grand opening party of 10th April.
When: 10.04.2024 – 28.04.2024
Where: Aviva Studios, Factory International, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Website: www.factoryinternational.org
Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990
Following a successful run at Tate Britain, Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 will be arriving in Edinburgh from May onwards.
Celebrating the careers and livelihoods of women who challenged and changed the face of British culture, this collection brings together over 100 artists and collectives. The series tackles key issues including the Women’s Liberation Movement, maternal and domestic experiences, Punk and independent music, Greenham Common and the peace movement, the visibility of Black and South Asian women artists, Section 28 and the AIDs pandemic through a series of multi-media practices, from paintings to performances, film to photography.
When: 25.05.2024 – 26.01.2025
Where: The Modern, 73-75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Website: www.nationalgalleries.org
Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction, 1950-1970
Titled Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction, 1950 – 1970, this is a group exhibition exploring “radical global language shared by women artists in the twenty years following World War II”.
Featuring over 80 artworks and sculptures, it brings together the work of over 50 artists, looking at how women have pushed the boundaries of artmaking while facing cultural, social and political shifts.
When: Until 06.05.2024
Where: TURNER CONTEMPORARY, RENDEZVOUS, MARGATE, KENT, CT9 1HG
Website: www.turnercontemporary.org
Happiness!
Looking for a pick-me-up? Museum of Liverpool’s Happiness! is bursting with fun-filled displays and humorous charm.
On display until 7th July, the exhibition celebrates one of Liverpool’s most iconic comedians, Sir Ken Dodd. Honouring the life and career of this legendary name, expect to fall in love with his surrealist and theatrical humour.
The collection brings together memorabilia from Dodd’s personal archive and looks at the role Liverpool played in countless comedians over the years.
When: Until 07.07.2024
Where: Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head, Liverpool, L3 1DG
Website: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: An Untold Story
Over at Charleston in Firle, art enthusiasts have the unique opportunity to discover the untold story of Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece, the duo whose secret artistic collaboration and lifelong romantic partnership remained a secret for decades.
On display from 27th March – 8th September, this inspiring exhibition explores the duo’s remarkable relationship through their paintings and drawings, including works that were made by Hepworth but displayed under her partner’s name, Preece.
When: 27.03.2024 – 08.09.2024
Where: Charleston Trust, Firle, West Firle, Lewes, BN8 6LL
WebsitE: www.charleston.org.uk
Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life
The Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire will be launching a new exhibition centred around the life and world of Jamaican-born sculptor Ronald Moody. A significant figure in the 20th-century sculpture scene, this body of work explores Moody’s development as an artist and his impact on British and international art history.
Expect over 50 Moody works on display, from large-scale figurative sculptures made from wood during the 1930s to his post-war experimentation pieces in concrete and resin casting.
When: 22.06.2024 – 03.11.2024
Where: The Hepworth Wakefield, Gallery Walk, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 5AW
Website: www.hepworthwakefield.org
Beatriz Milhazes: Maresias
Known best for her radiant large-scale canvases, Tate St Ives will be honouring Beatriz Milhazes this spring-summer. One of the greatest abstract artists of our generation, this new exhibition will trace her evolution over her four-decade-long career.
The Brazilian artist was one of the leading figures in the 1980s Geraçāo Oitenta scene, a Brazilian art movement that “saw the return to painting as a dynamic medium for artistic expression”. Expect these giant multi-coloured paintings to come to life in front of your eyes, drawing on influences in Brazilian and European modernism, Catholic iconography, Baroque colonial architecture and the culture and heritage of Brazil.
When: 25.05.2024 – 29.09.2024
Where: Tate St Ives, Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, Cornwall, TR26 1TG
Website: www.tate.org.uk
Art of the Selfie
While the term ‘selfie’ may feel like a more one, the National Museum of Cardiff’s new exhibition is here to prove this theory wrong. Titled Art of the Selfie, this new collection poses the question ‘Is a self-portrait the original selfie?’.
From Rembrandt to Van Gogh, Bedwyr Williams to Anya Paintsil, artists throughout history have used self-portraiture to explore their identities. This exhibition will feature Van Gogh’s Portrait of the Artist (1887), alongside a series of other artists, from Francis Bacon to Brena Chamberlain, to dive into the concept of the self-portrait and selfies.
When: 16.03.2024 – 24.01.2025
Where: National Museum Cardiff, Cardiff, CF10 3NP
Website: www.museum.wales
For more exhibitions in the uk & other upcoming events, check out our what’s on section
