This is London Magazine May Edition 2026 - Flipbook - Page 6
6
© Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry.
SUMMER EXHIBITION 2026 AT
ROYAL ACADEMY
The Royal Academy of Arts is to
present the 258th Summer Exhibition
from 16 June to 23 August, a unique
celebration of contemporary art and
architecture, providing a vital platform
and support for the artistic community.
The exhibition will feature over 1500
artworks, the majority of which will be
available to buy. Sales will directly
support the exhibiting artists and the
RA’s charitable work, including training
the next generation of artists at the Royal
Academy Schools. Internationally
acclaimed artist and Royal Academician
Ryan Gander has co-ordinated this year’s
Summer Exhibition, which will explore
the theme of ‘Interconnectedness’.
In line with the theme, artworks in
different media, including architecture,
print, painting and sculpture, will be
integrated throughout the exhibition,
creating conversations with each other
rather than being confined to their own
spaces. Gander has introduced an
exhibition device to connect each room
in the exhibition and create cohesion; a
horizontal line that travels at eye level
around the walls of the galleries. This
line will sit two metres above the floor,
with artworks being placed above or
below it.
Artists invited to exhibit work this
year include Alvaro Barrington, Martin
Boyce, Peter Liversidge, Helen Marten,
Paulina Olowska and David Shrigley.
Sculpture will be a key element of the
exhibition, with pieces by artists
including Nina Beier, Kevin Francis Gray,
Thomas J Price and recent Turner Prize
nominee Kira Freije. A 10-metre-high
work by Joseph Grigely will stretch from
floor to ceiling. Paintings by Charles
Avery, Michael Raedecker and new work
by Ragnar Kjartansson will also be on
view.
In addition to the large number of
public submissions, Royal Academicians
will be showing works, including Antony
Gormley, who will present a site-specific
8.2-metre-high piece entitled Hide
(2026) made from cardboard.
V&A CELEBRATES CONTEMPORARY
ART FROM ASIA PACIFIC
The V&A is presenting Rising
Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia,
Australia and the Pacific, a landmark
exhibition bringing together the work of
more than 40 artists from 25 countries
across the Asia Pacific region. A
partnership with the Queensland Art
Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art in
Brisbane, the exhibition draws on more
than 30 years of QAGOMA's Asia Pacific
Triennial of Contemporary Art, offering
an unparalleled view of the region’s
dynamic creative landscape. More than
70 works spanning sculpture,
photography, painting, ceramics,
weaving and body adornment – many of
which have never been exhibited outside
of the region – foreground First Nations’
perspectives and reflect the
interconnected, ever-changing cultures
of the Asia Pacific today.
Home to 60 per cent of the global
population, Australia, Asia and the
Pacific comprise one of the most
culturally and linguistically diverse parts
of the world. The Asia Pacific Triennial
was established in 1993 and remains the
only major recurring series dedicated to
the region’s contemporary makers.
Rising Voices draws on the Triennial’s
legacy, arranged across an introduction
and three thematic sections.
Re-Visioning History demonstrates
how artists respond to political
conditions, from histories of migration
to domestic conflicts and social
upheaval. Enduring Knowledge explores
artistic heritage and ways of making with
local materials, featuring works informed
by long-standing traditions and
ceremonial customs.
Zac Langdon-Pole, Another World
Inside this One, 2024
© Zac Langdon-Pole
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