For visitors from the United States and Canada, the last weeks of August provide a narrow but valuable window to see a range of world‑class exhibitions across London before they close.
David Hockney at the Serpentine
The Serpentine is hosting a 90‑metre‑long frieze titled Normandy, assembled from one hundred iPad paintings printed on a continuous ribbon of paper. Inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry – which will be on view at the British Museum from 10 September – the work records the changing seasons in Normandy. Hockney, who died in June at 88, collaborated with the Serpentine on the presentation. In response to heightened demand, opening hours have been extended to 21:00 on 21 and 22 August.
Barbara Hepworth: colour and form
The exhibition dedicated to Barbara Hepworth highlights the artist’s nuanced use of colour, contrary to the usual association with cool stone and polished wood. Deep blues, vivid reds, greens and yellows appear in both her carved sculptures and drawings, creating an illusion of depth. After moving to St Ives in 1939, Hepworth began to link pale blue with the Cornish sky and sea, while taut red strings suggested wind, water and hills. Earlier influences from Mondrian and European modernism are also evident. Canadian collectors have long valued her work, making the show a draw for visitors from across the border.
Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain
Hurvin Anderson’s retrospective at Tate Britain presents lush greens, electric blues, purples and pinks that evoke tropical landscapes of Jamaica and Trinidad. The paintings are frequently intersected by fences, grilles and chicken wire, visual devices that act as both barriers and concepts. Darker, hazier canvases recall Anderson’s Birmingham childhood in Handsworth, depicting football, swimming pools and makeshift barbershops that served Caribbean immigrant communities. The body of work offers a layered exploration of migration and belonging, resonating with Canada’s own Caribbean diaspora.
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (until 23 August)
The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition continues until 23 August, showcasing 1,851 works that range from light‑hearted sketches to serious contemporary pieces. Comedians‑turned‑artists such as Joe Lycett and Harry Hill have contributed, with Lycett’s portrait of Cilla Black and Hill’s two paintings of burning cars adding a whimsical note. A video of a man performing David Bowie karaoke provides further variety. Among the more established entries, Ugo Rondinone’s LED rainbow sculpture spells “the song is you” in the courtyard, while Frank Bowling offers a multi‑coloured work that commands attention. The show’s overarching theme of interconnectedness is curated by Ryan Gander, and Canadian artists feature regularly in the line‑up, offering another incentive for cross‑border visitors.
Francisco de Zurbarán at the National Gallery
The National Gallery presents the first major UK exhibition of Spanish Baroque master Francisco de Zurbarán, assembling over 40 pieces that include monumental altarpieces and finely observed still lifes. Highlights include the 1627 Crucifixion, where Christ’s pale, muscular form emerges from near‑total darkness, and the 1629 Apparition of Saint Peter to Saint Peter Nolasco, a dream‑like scene of a crucified figure falling through space. The exhibition attracts many visitors from the United States, underscoring London’s role as a hub for transatlantic art tourism.
Tracey Emin at Tate Modern
Tracey Emin’s retrospective at Tate Modern assembles early appliqué blankets, spidery prints and candid videos that discuss her decision not to become a mother, alongside family photographs and handwritten poetry. The iconic work My Bed (1998) is displayed in full, offering a delicate yet powerful presence. Emin’s unflinching honesty has earned her a substantial following in both the US and Canada, where her pieces frequently appear in major museum shows.
Cecily Brown’s London return
After more than two decades, London‑born painter Cecily Brown returns with a major institutional show. Based in New York since 1994, Brown now draws on memories of the English countryside and Kensington Gardens to create a series of landscapes where trees, water, animals and figures emerge and dissolve within gestural brushstrokes. The natural scenes carry an undercurrent of tension; idyllic woodlands shift toward darker, unstable moods, reflecting the current summer heat and wildfires.
Barbican’s Project a Black Planet (until 6 September)
Running until 6 September, Project a Black Planet at the Barbican explores Pan‑Africanism through more than 250 works spanning Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil, North America and Europe. Artists such as El Anatsui, Claudette Johnson and Lynette Yiadom‑Boakye are presented alongside photography, film, posters, journals and archival material, tracing ideas of black identity, resistance, liberation and solidarity. The exhibition offers a powerful context for Black Canadian artists and audiences seeking connections across the diaspora.
Collectively, these exhibitions illustrate why London remains a magnet for North American art tourists in the final days of August, offering a diverse programme that spans contemporary British practice, modernist colour theory, Caribbean narratives and Baroque spirituality.