Contemporary art Archives

October 4, 2026 — No Comments

Louis Fratino at David Zwirner Review

Last updated: 4 October 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Exhibition reviewMayfair

Saunas, subway cars and a lot of skin in Mayfair

Louis Fratino at Zwirner is the American painter's first solo show in London, and his first with the gallery since it began representing him. I went on a Saturday afternoon in early October to see fifteen new paintings by a painter who is very open about who he borrows from.

Cool Factor: 4/5

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, LGBTQ+, London, Reviews

October 2, 2026 — No Comments

Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery Review: Is It Worth £22?

Last updated: 2 October 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor: 3/5

The Anish Kapoor Hayward Gallery show is his first solo exhibition there since 1998. It fills the whole building, both outdoor terraces included. I went on a Wednesday afternoon at the end of September. It starts strong, with a ballooning red inflated piece so big you can't walk round it. By the final room, though, it felt like a somewhat confused show. It comes from an artist who was once at the top of his game, and who now feels like he's slid into a late stage of dabbling in every medium.

It runs until 18 October 2026 and tickets cost £22. In the final weeks, the gallery stays open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: Anish Kapoor, art review, Contemporary art, Exhibition review, Hayward Gallery, London exhibitions, sculpture, Southbank Centre

October 1, 2026 — No Comments

Frieze London 2026: Tickets, Frieze Masters and What to See

Last updated: 30 September 2026. I checked every price, opening time and date in this Frieze London 2026 guide against Frieze's own ticket and visitor pages that day.

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

Coming into London for Frieze?

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Frieze Week2026 Edit

Frieze London 2026 and Frieze Masters run in The Regent's Park from Wednesday 14 to Sunday 18 October 2026. Wednesday is invitation only, so the public gets four days. Frieze London shows art made mostly since 2000. Frieze Masters shows work made before 2000, from ancient Egypt to the late 20th century, and the two tents sit about 15 minutes' walk apart at either end of the park.

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London

Tags: Contemporary art, London exhibitions, Regent's Park

September 26, 2026 — No Comments

Soho Home Art: The Rise Art Collection and the Artists Worth Knowing

Soho Home art is chosen by Rise Art and runs from £295 to £10,000. Six artists worth knowing, editions versus originals, and when the member discount pays.

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, New home

Tags: Andrew Crane, art and interiors, Avant Arte, buying art, Contemporary art, Day Bowman, Henry Ward, Katja Beckman Ojala, limited edition prints, Lobo Velar de Irigoyen, Richard Cook, Rise Art, Soho Home, Soho House

July 10, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Jack White Exhibition Review: These Thoughts May Disappear

Our honest Jack White exhibition review of These Thoughts May Disappear at Newport Street Gallery. Derivative, forced, and a rare Cool Factor 1/5.

Published by Tristan in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, Reviews

Tags: AiWeiwei, Contemporary art, Damien Hirst, Exhibition review, hardware store art, HENI, Jack White, London Art, Newport Street Gallery, These Thoughts May Disappear

May 31, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Flare-Up Goldsmiths CCA Review: London’s First Crip Art Survey

Last updated: 31 May 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor: 5/5

I went to Flare-Up at Goldsmiths CCA on a hot day in late May, and I left certain it is one of the shows everyone should see this year. This Flare-Up Goldsmiths CCA review is my first-hand account of the most ambitious group show on illness, disability, neurodivergence and Deafness that a London institution has yet staged. Nineteen artists. One former Victorian bathhouse, its galleries carved out of the old water tanks and plant rooms. A premise built on the flare itself: the symptom that intensifies, the burst of light, the surge of sound.

Curated by Natasha Hoare and Mariana Lemos, Flare-Up runs from 21 May to 16 August 2026 at Goldsmiths CCA in New Cross, and entry is free throughout. What follows is what I actually saw and felt walking the galleries, a short explainer on crip art for anyone new to the term, the works that floored me, an honest account of what did not quite land, and why it still earns a full Ice cold score from me.

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: angela de la cruz, art, Contemporary art, crip aesthetics, crip art, derek jarman, disability art, Exhibitions, freestylers, goldsmiths cca, group exhibition, jesse darling, london, mariana lemos, reviews

May 3, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Katharina Grosse at White Cube Bermondsey Review

Last updated: 3 May 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

Cool Factor

★★★★★

5 out of 5 – Ice cold

Katharina Grosse at White Cube Bermondsey is, hand on heart, the most spectacular free exhibition currently on in London. I Set Out, I Walked Fast opened on 22 April 2026 and runs until 31 May, and it delivers something genuinely rare: a show that is immersive, generous, and varied enough that you walk back out onto Bermondsey Street feeling slightly rearranged. We visited this week, and we have a lot to say about it.

Published by Tristan in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, Reviews

Tags: abstract painting, art review, Contemporary art, free London exhibitions, immersive art, Katharina Grosse, London exhibitions 2026, White Cube, White Cube Bermondsey

April 30, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Ruba Nadar at Pipeline: ‘I Saw Myself Playing on The National Team’ Review

Last updated: 30 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5 – Stone cold

The best reason to climb several flights of stairs on a weekday afternoon is the possibility of a genuine discovery. Ruba Nadar's first solo exhibition at Pipeline Contemporary is exactly that. Running until 23 May 2026, I Saw Myself Playing on The National Team is a debut that announces an artist with real conviction, curated by someone who, show by show, is becoming one of the more interesting voices on London's emerging art scene.

Published by Tristan in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: art review, collage, Contemporary art, emerging artists, Fitzrovia galleries, London exhibitions 2026, mixed media painting, Pipeline Contemporary, Ruba Nadar

April 27, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Amalia Pica: Daisy Chain at Herald St Review

Last updated: 27 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★☆☆☆

2 out of 5 · Lukewarm

Amalia Pica: Daisy Chain arrives at Herald St as the Argentine-British artist's fourth solo show with the Bethnal Green gallery. On paper, it sounds genuinely promising. Community, memory, coded language, and a monumental installation of interconnected watercolour paintings winding around the main space. In practice, though, the Amalia Pica Daisy Chain exhibition is a quietly pretty experience that leans more heavily on sentiment than on substance.

Published by Tristan in Arts & Culture, Exhibitions, London, Reviews

Tags: Amalia Pica, Bethnal Green, Contemporary art, Daisy Chain, Exhibition review, Herald St, London galleries

April 10, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Chiharu Shiota & Yin Xiuzhen Hayward Gallery Review 2026 – Worth It?

Last updated: 10 April 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Our Chiharu Shiota Hayward review covers two concurrent exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery on London's Southbank: Threads of Life and Yin Xiuzhen's Heart to Heart. For £19 you get entry to both shows, and honestly, that felt like a steal. One of these exhibitions left us speechless. The other left us a little lukewarm. Together, they make for a genuinely memorable afternoon.

Cool Factor: Chiharu Shiota — 5/5 | Yin Xiuzhen — 3/5

Published by Tristan in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews

Tags: art review, Chiharu Shiota, Contemporary art, Hayward Gallery, Heart to Heart, immersive art, London exhibitions, Southbank Centre, Threads of Life, Yin Xiuzhen