This autumn, a selection of Michael Landy’s (b.1963) drawings of iconic buildings in ruins will be brought together for the first time in the Museum, where the artist was first inspired to begin his meticulous series.
Michael Landy, Oh! What a falling off do these ruins present. Sir John Soane’s Museum as a ruin, 2026, watercolour, permanent pen on paper © Michael Landy. Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery. Photo: Prudence Cuming Fine Art Photography
Michael Landy says:
“Many artists have been fascinated with ruins since the Renaissance. I’m one of them. Everything – no matter how important, valuable or cared for now – will eventually fade, crumble, be reclaimed by nature, or disappear. Imagine your home or place of work as a ruin. That is what Sir John Soane did when he wrote ‘Crude Hints’ about 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields falling into ruination, or Joseph Michael Gandy did when he imagined the Bank of England as a ruin. It means a lot to me to show these works at Sir John Soane’s Museum, a place and collection that inspired me so much in thinking about and making the Future Ruins.”
Future Ruins at Sir John Soane’s Museum will feature new and recent work showcasing the detailed drawings that continue the artist’s reputation as one of the most talented draughtsman of his generation. For the first time, the works will also be shown in the context of the art that first inspired Landy to create the series, a unique opportunity to see a contemporary great in true dialogue with an important historical collection.
A work from the Museum’s collection – Joseph Michael Gandy’s (1771-1843) watercolour, Architectural Ruins: A Vision (an imaginary view of the Rotunda at the Bank of England in ruins)(1798) – commissioned by Sir John Soane and depicting the then-Bank of England as a Roman ruin, was the inspiration for Landy’s series. Now this work will be displayed in the same building as the artist’s own imagining of a future filled with overgrown nature and crumbling structures, including his own version of Soane’s Bank of England in ruins, where the grand structure has now been hollowed out with a Union Jack still flying over the decaying façade, and an exciting new work depicting visions of Sir John Soane’s Museum itself in ruins.
Architectural Ruins: A Vision (an imaginary view of the Rotunda at the Bank of England in ruins) by Joseph Michael Gandy, 1798. © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. Photo: Geremy Butler
Some of the new depictions on display will imagine US President Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, as an abandoned building through a series of watercolour and pen works. Properties and places from Landy’s own childhood will also be seen, from his favourite childhood art supplies store to his family home in Ilford.
These join recent Future Ruins works depicting the New York Stock Exchange, Chatsworth House, and the Palazzo della Civiltà in Rome, Mussolini’s fascist monument to himself.
Through these drawings, Landy continues his decades-long exploration of capitalism, consumerism and destruction as even the grandest monuments and symbols struggle to endure. He also shows the emotions that architecture embodies over time, from richness to decay, when loss gives way to nostalgia.
Known more for his large installations and participatory works, this exhibition is an opportunity to be reacquainted with an artist celebrated for his innovativeness and singular vision.
Will Gompertz, Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum, says:
“Michael Landy and Sir John Soane is the perfect meeting of two artistic minds. Both have been drawn to the dark romantic notion of the ruin, which has informed their work throughout their careers, albeit over two hundred years apart. Landy’s commitment to drawing is also echoed in Soane’s own draughtsmanship and his collection. I am thrilled we are able to bring these two titans of the pencil together.”
Michael Landy, Imaginary view of The Bank of England in ruins after Joseph Michael Gandy, 2024, lithograph © Michael Landy. Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery.
Michael Landy: Future Ruins, 14th October 2026 – 17th January 2027, Sir John Soane’s Museum
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Mark Westall is the Founder and Editor of FAD magazine –