Annual Portrait Exhibition, Royal Society of Portrait Painters – This annual exhibition showcases 200 of the very best recent portraits. Featuring a few famous faces, including Tony Blair and Lord King, and with styles ranging from the painstakingly realistic to the painterly, it offers a superb selection. At Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, SW1 until 23rd May. www.therp.co.uk
The Sense of a Moment: Gianni Berengo Gardin – Considered to be Italy’s most celebrated living photographer, the exhibition features previously unseen orginal prints from Berengo Gardin’s personal archive. Highlights include his iconic images of post-war Italy and his first photographic series of rural India. At Prahlad Bubbar, London, W1S 3NQ until 23rd May. www.prahladbubbar.com
Hook, Line & Sinker by Malcolm Taylor – British landscape and still life painter Malcolm Taylor’s exhibition shows the increasingly abstract approach that he has adopted in the past few years. Inspired by his many visits to St Ives, Taylor uses his sketchbook studies as a starting point and allows his artworks to evolve through the painting process. At Cricket Fine Art, 2 Park Walk, Chelsea, London, SW10 0AD until 24th May. www.cricketfineart.co.uk
Nicholas Jones: Light – Abstract landscape paintings. Experimenting with colour, texture and form, the British painter Nicholas Jones is heavily influenced by the landscapes and light of Britain. Using unconventional tools, such as plastic sheeting, syringes and kitchen brooms, these paintings offer a fresh exploration of landscape. At Crane Kalman Gallery, 178 Brompton Road, London, SW3 1HQ from until 30th May. www.cranekalman.com
On Paper – The Fine Art Society present a superb selection of British artists’ work on paper, ranging from the nineteenth century to the present day. Highlights include watercolours by John Frederick Lewis, prints by Walter Sickert and Ben Nicholson, drawings by Edward Burne-Jones, and war works by Eric Ravilious and Paul Nash. At The Fine Art Society, 148 New Bond Street, London, W1S 2JT until 30th May. www.faslondon.com
The Scottish Gallery: May Exhibitions – There are four exhibitions on during May in Scotland’s oldest gallery. Calum McClure’s first major solo exhibition of his landscape paintings and drawings; Dawyck Haig’s vivid watercolours of landscapes, such as Venice and the Scottish borders; the Irish basket maker Joe Hogan’s second solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery of his superb creations, which are constructed from fifteen varieties of natural willow; and the Tales from the North exhibition includes the work of the very best Scandinavian jewellery designers. At The Scottish Gallery, 6 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6HZ until 31st May. www.scottish-gallery.co.uk
Whatever One Longs For, Is by Melita Denaro – Dramatic oil paintings that explore the contrasts of light and dark. Irish painter, Denaro imaginatively paints her daily reality from an island off the coast of Donegal, paying special attention to stormy seas and murky skies. At John Martin Gallery, 38 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4JG until 31st May. www.jmlondon.com
Horse – Comprised of sculptures and drawings, this exhibition celebrates the magnificent equine. A superb selection, with works by Nic Fiddian-Green, Barry Flanagan, Elisabeth Frink, Nicola Hicks, Eduardo Paolozzi and Anthony Scott. At Beaux Arts London, 48 Maddox Street, London, W1S 1AY until 31st May. www.beauxartslondon.co.uk
New Scottish Artists – brings together selected works from the annual Royal Scottish Academy exhibition, New Contemporaries, offering the opportunity to see the best of Scotland’s emerging talent in London. At the Fleming Collection, 13 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8DU until 31st May. www.flemingcollection.com
Gillian Ayres RA: New Works and Woodcuts – One of Britain’s leading Abstract painters, the exhibition features vibrant canvases created especially for the Burton Art Gallery and a series of woodcuts. Her new canvases play around with the colours and shapes of flora and fauna, and the woodcuts take their names from famous gardens. At Burton Art Gallery & Museum, Kingsley Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 2QQ until 1st June. www.burtonartgallery.co.uk
Josef Albers: Black and White – The first exhibition in the UK to focus on the importance of black and white in the work of Albers. Comprised of almost 50 works, the exhibition features paintings, glass works, photographs, engravings and works on paper. An intriguing insight into the work of one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists. At Waddington Custot Galleries, 11 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LT until 4th June.
www.waddingtoncustot.com
Catherine Goodman: Drawing from Veronese – Inspired by the Italian old master, Goodman’s drawings are impassioned and raw. At Colnaghi, 15 Old Bond Street, London, W1S 4AX until 6th June. www.colnaghi.co.uk
John Piper: Painting, Ceramics, Textiles and Prints (above) – Considered to be one of the most significant British artists of the twentieth century, this new exhibition celebrates the diversity of Piper’s work. Featuring his now famous architecture paintings that John Betjeman so praised him for, Piper’s ceramics, textiles, photography and silkscreen prints are also on display at this superb exhibition. At Bohun Gallery, 15 Reading Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1AB until 17th June.www.bohungallery.co.uk
The Years of La Dolce Vita – Capturing what literally translates into ‘sweet life’, this is a glorious celebration of 1960s Italian cinema. Comprised of eighty photographs, showing film stars lounging, drinking, eating and dancing on tables, it provides an insight into the advent of celebrity culture. At Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 39a Canonbury Square, London, N1 2AN until 29th June.
www.estorickcollection.com
ART TO SEE THIS SUMMER
Daniel Weil: The Art of Design – Focussing on the process of design, the exhibition explores Weil’s use of colour, form and his interpretation of sources. Featuring a series of new clocks and his 287 sketchbooks, it offers a witty and thoughtful insight into the fundamentals of design. At Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, London, SE1 2YD until 31st August. www.designmuseum.org
Artistic Exchanges: Corot, Costa, Leighton – A captivating display of 20 landscape sketches and paintings by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Carot, Frederic Leighton and Giovanni Costa (better known as Nino Costa). This intimate exhibition explores how cosmopolitan Rome shaped their approaches to nature, and reveals the profound connections between them. At National Gallery, London from 7th May – 3rd September. www.nationalgallery.org.uk
Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs – The most comprehensive exhibition yet devoted to the paper cut-outs made by one of the leading figures of modern art between 1937 and 1954. Featuring around 130 works by Matisse, the exhibition shows his four Blue Nudes for the first time in the UK. A fascinating reassessment of Matisse’s vibrant final works, which considers them in the context of his methods and materials. At Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG from 17th April – 7th September. www.tate.org.uk
Body & Void: Echoes of Moore in Contemporary Art – The first exhibition to explore how Henry Moore’s sculptures were reinterpreted by contemporary artists, such as Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread and Damien Hirst. Featuring not just sculptures, but also drawings, paintings and installations, works are on display both outside and indoors in the Exhibition Gallery and the carving studio. At The Henry Moore Foundation, Perry Green, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, SG10 6EE until 26th October. www.henry-moore.org
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