If you have any time off work this summer, please visit these art exhibitions, which are due to close in August. All the exhibitions have been singled out by the Artlyst team as well worth a visit.
Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat, 2025
Victoria Miro 40 Years
Victoria Miro
Closes 1 August
This special exhibition celebrates the extraordinary artists who have shaped the gallery since its founding in 1985.
On view across all the London spaces and waterside garden, this expansive exhibition features works by gallery artists, including new paintings, sculptures and installations created for this occasion, alongside a curated selection of recent and historical works.
Artists include Chantal Joffe, Sir Isaac Julien, Chris Ofili, Doug Aitken, Elmgreen & Dragset, Alice Neel, Paula Rego, Celia Paul, Conrad Shawcross, Grayson Perry and many more.
Ugo Rondinone: the rainbow body
Sadie Coles HQ Kingly Street
closes 2 August
Ugo Rondinone’s latest exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ, the rainbow body, features a series of figurative sculptures within a fluorescent environment.
There is an allusion to the ‘rainbow body’ phenomenon of Buddhism and its antecedents, the highest level of spiritual attainment, whereby the elements of the mortal body transform into the lights of the spectrum before evanescing into pure light.
The rainbow shades bind the figures into an immersive system, acting as a “bridge between everything and everyone”, in Rondinone’s words, with the colour-filled gallery coming to resemble a stage – a site of possibility.
Encounters: Giacometti x Huma Bhabha
Barbican Art Gallery
Closes 10 August
This is the first of three exhibitions as part of Encounters: Giacometti, a series that brings together the practices of three contemporary artists known for their originality and ingenuity alongside historic works by the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966).
Contemporary artist Huma Bhabha’s monumental sculptures forge new dialogues with Giacometti’s works.
The sculptures on show span nearly a century of artmaking, their mediums ranging across plaster, bronze, terracotta, and found objects. Works from across Bhabha’s career are displayed alongside iconic works by Giacometti made mostly in the aftermath of World War II.
Anselm Kiefer
White Cube Mason’s Yard
closes 16 August
In this selection of recent works, exhibited at White Cube Mason’s Yard, Anselm Kiefer rekindles an artistic kinship first ignited in his youth, paying homage to the landscapes of Vincent van Gogh. Although more than a century separates the two artists, Kiefer – like Van Gogh – approaches the landscape as a resonant site of artistic and philosophical enquiry, where the material presence of paint serves as both medium and agent, summoning a poetics of remembrance, affect, and metaphysical reflection.
See also Kiefer / Van Gogh at Royal Academy of Arts, 28 June 2025 – 26 October 2025
RA Summer Exhibition
Royal Academy of Arts
Closes 17 August
This is the last chance to visit the Royal Academy’s annual summer exhibition, which brings together well-known artists invited to participate alongside Royal Academicians and works selected through open submission.
See Oliver Malin’s top picks from the show:
Leigh Bowery!
Tate Modern
Closes 31 August
A celebration of the boundary-pushing career of artist Leigh Bowery.
Leigh Bowery’s short but extraordinary life left a distinct, undeniable mark on the art world and beyond.
An artist, performer, model, TV personality, club promoter, fashion designer and musician, Bowery took on many different roles, all the while refusing to be limited by convention.
James Payne knew Bowery and is even listed on the guest list from Taboo – read his review
Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture
Saatchi Gallery
Closes 31 August
Flowers have, throughout history, inspired artists, writers and creatives. FLOWERS – FLORA IN CONTEMPORARY ART & CULTURE seeks to reveal the myriad ways that flowers continue to be depicted by artists and their omnipresence within our contemporary culture. Occupying two floors and over nine major gallery spaces, this exhibition features large-scale installations, original art, photography, fashion, archival objects and graphic design, exploring the ongoing influence of flowers on creativity and human expression.
Yoshitomo Nara
Hayward Gallery
Closes 31 August
The largest European retrospective of one of Japan’s most celebrated artists.
Featuring more than 150 works in drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and ceramics, this comprehensive exhibition offers audiences the opportunity to immerse themselves in Nara’s personal and creative worlds.
Read Paul Carter Robinson’s review
Tags
8 Art Exhibitions Not To Miss Closing August 2025, Anselm Kiefer, Barbican Art Gallery, Hayward Gallery, Saatchi Gallery, Tate Modern, Victoria Miro, White Cube
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