Six must-see London exhibitions coming up in 2019

There are some long-awaited exhibitions coming up in 2019, with a particularly strong programme from Tate across its many exhibition spaces. It promises to be a big year for post-Impressionism and installation sculpture. Women artists also get a satisfyingly significant look-in on major solo shows and retrospectives this year, from sculptor Phyllida Barlow and painter Lee Krasner to photographers Cindy Sherman and Diane Arbus. Here are some of our top picks.

Diane Arbus: In the Beginning at Hayward Gallery

Diane Arbus, Jack Dracula at a Bar, New London, Conn. (detail) 1961

The recently refurbished Hayward Gallery kicks off 2019 with an exhibition of the much-loved photographer Diane Arbus. Exploring the first seven years of Arbus’s photographic career, the show features a number of works that have never been exhibited in the UK before.

Diane Arbus: In the Beginning is at Hayward Gallery from 13^th February until 6^th May 2019. For further information or to book tickets visit the exhibition’s website here.

Phyllida Barlow: Cul-de-Sac at Royal Academy of Arts

Phyllida Barlow, Demo (detail), 2017

Phyllida Barlow is one of the most accomplished British artists working today, unapologetically experimental with her materials and use of scale. Her solo exhibition at the RA is well-deserved and promises immersive sculptural installations as well as insight into the process of an artist who is not often in the public eye.

Phyllida Barlow: Cul-de-Sac is at the Royal Academy of Arts from 23^rd February until 23^rd June 2019. For further information or to book tickets visit the exhibition’s website here.

Van Gogh and Britain at Tate Britain

Vincent van Gogh, Self Portrait, Autumn, 1889

Taking an unusual slant on this famous and loved artist, Van Gogh and Britain examines the influence of Van Gogh’s time spent in the UK as a young, struggling artist between 1873 and 1876. The show will trace both the painter’s key inspirations and his subsequent legacy in this country, where he shot to fame after his death.

Van Gogh and Britain is at Tate Britain from 27^th March until 11^th August 2019. For further information or to book tickets visit the exhibition’s website here.

Lee Krasner: Living Colour at the Barbican Art Gallery

Lee Krasner, Icarus, 1964

Building on an incredibly strong curatorial programme in 2018, Barbican Art Gallery presents Lee Krasner: Living Colour in May, showcasing the life and career of Abstract Expressionist pioneer Lee Krasner. Her career has too often been eclipsed by her marriage to Jackson Pollock, but this show promises to bring her out of the shadows and place her where she belongs as a giant of mid-century painting.

Lee Krasner: Living Colour is at the Barbican Art Gallery from 30^th May until 1^st September 2019. For further information or to book tickets visit the exhibition’s website here.

Cindy Sherman at the National Portrait Gallery

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #15, 1978

The wonderful Cindy Sherman is coming to Britain in the form of a comprehensive retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery that is guaranteed to be unmissable. Sherman’s experimental self-portraits are seen all too rarely in the UK, so this is an opportunity to jump at.

Cindy Sherman is at the National Portrait Gallery from 27^th June until 15^th September 2019. For further information or to book tickets visit the exhibition’s website here.

Olafur Eliasson at Tate Modern

Olafur Eliasson, Your Spiral View, 2002 Installation view at Foundation Beyeler

This summer, the Tate welcomes back Olafur Eliasson, famed for his Weather Project in the gallery’s Turbine hall in 2003. The Danish artist’s environmentally aware work feels particularly appropriate for a year in which it appears ecological concerns will be at the top of the agenda.

Olafur Eliasson is at Tate Modern from 11^th July 2019 until 5^th January 2020. For further information or to book tickets visit the exhibition’s website here.

Gauguin Portraits at the National Gallery

Paul Gauguin, Self Portrait Dedicated to Carrière, 1888 or 1889

The first ever exhibition dedicated to Paul Gauguin’s portraits, this major show will chart the artist’s development and the advent of post-Impressionism. The NPG next door must be a little annoyed that the National Gallery has grabbed such a promising-sounding portrait show.

Gauguin Portraits is at the National Gallery from 7^th October 2019 until 26^th January 2020. For further information or to book tickets visit the exhibition’s website here.

Anna Souter