{"id":667401,"date":"2026-01-01T18:58:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T18:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/667401\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T18:58:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T18:58:16","slug":"the-top-5-exhibitions-to-see-in-london-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/667401\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 5 Exhibitions to see in London in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tabish Khan, the @LondonArtCritic<\/a>, picks his top 5 exhibitions to see in London at the beginning of this year. If you are looking for more exhibitions, check out his previous top 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mia Wilkinson: Head of the Table at SLQS Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

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Distorted versions of the artist and her cat appear throughout these chaotic tableaux, alongside characters designed around terms associated with women \u2013 birds, chicks and cows. It\u2019s all set around tables, something women often prepare but rarely have a seat at. There\u2019s a mix of painting and sculpture in a show that\u2019s bawdy, sinister, and satirical. Until 17th January, free.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seyed Amin Bagheri: Hyle \u2013 Dark Light at Ab-Anbar<\/a><\/p>\n

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A decapitated head, what looks to be a traumatic birth and demonic figures. All of these can be found in the graphite drawings on cotton suspended in the gallery. The images are based on Persian mysticism, and neither shows good nor evil, bringing together the beautiful and the monstrous. They remind me of Goya\u2019s black paintings, but with an Eastern spin.\u00a0 Until 24th January, free.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ryan Gander: I\u2019ve fallen foul of my desire at Camden Arts Projects<\/a><\/p>\n

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Walk past this grand building, and you\u2019ll see a giant black balloon asking why am I so distracted? Or you may not if you\u2019re deep in your phone, despite it being so obvious. There\u2019s social commentary and humour throughout Gander\u2019s<\/a> art, and that extends to a talking harvest mouse who pokes his head out of the wall and talks to visitors, ignored by the sleeping taxidermied cats upstairs. Until 18th January, free.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cato at Saatchi Yates<\/a><\/p>\n

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Based on collaged photographs of people in his community, Cato<\/a> creates painted everyday scenes, including drumming, playing a guitar, or socialising at a barbershop. I enjoy how he makes his work more expressive through exaggerated hands and faces, and with the Kerry James Marshall exhibition nearby, there are similarities to be found. Until 18th January, free.<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Shrigley: Exhibition of Old Rope at Stephen Friedman Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n

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How much would you pay for a pile of old rope? David Shrigley <\/a>is asking for \u00a31m in a hilarious satire of the insanity of the art market. I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s more worrying, that he\u2019s priced it that way or that someone may buy it. The whole gallery also smells of old rope, and the fact that this is so unfitting to a Mayfair gallery makes it all the more fun. Until 17th January, free.<\/strong><\/p>\n

All images are copyright of the respective gallery and artist. SLQS photo: Joanna Wierzbicka. Ab-Anbar photo: George Baggaley. Ryan Gander photo: Tabish Khan.<\/p>\n

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Tabish Khan<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Art Critic for both FAD and Londonist. See as many exhibitions as possible and write reviews, opinion pieces and a weekly top 5 for FAD.<\/p>\n