Some gallery visits leave you with a handful of favourite artworks; others leave you thinking differently about art itself. My latest day exploring London’s galleries belonged firmly to the latter. Across six exhibitions, I encountered artists who challenged conventions, expanded the possibilities of painting and sculpture, and invited viewers to see the familiar in entirely new ways.
The day began with Expanding Horizons, a remarkable exhibition of Francis Picabia (1879–1953) at Hauser & Wirth Gallery, which immediately set the tone for what would become an inspiring journey through modern and contemporary art.
My favourite painting was The Red Rocks (1942 – 1943)
A lot of Picabia’s work is often on display at the Guggenheim and MoMA museums in NYC so to have an opportunity to see a free exhibition of his work in London is a great treat to nourish one’s senses.
The exhibition traces Picabia’s career from 1902 to 1951 and reveals a truly versatile artist who refused to be defined by a single style. Picabia was constantly reinventing himself, moving effortlessly between figurative painting and abstraction.
His early work was influenced by the Impressionist landscapes of Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley, before he embraced Fauvism, a movement known for its bold, expressive colours, and Cubism, which broke away from traditional perspective by depicting subjects from multiple viewpoints using simplified geometric forms.
A turning point came in 1913 when Picabia travelled to New York for the legendary Armory Show. The experience inspired him to embrace Orphic Abstraction, a colourful, rhythmic form of abstract art that focused on movement, energy and emotion rather than recognisable subjects.
He later became one of the leading figures of the Dada movement alongside his friend Marcel Duchamp. Born out of the upheaval of the First World War, Dada rejected artistic conventions and celebrated experimentation, humour and the unexpected, challenging audiences to rethink what art could be.
Between 1925 and 1933, Picabia painted his Espagnoles and surreal Monsters, before creating his layered Transparencies. From 1945 onwards, he developed a striking abstract style, experimenting with the texture and surface of paint in innovative ways.
What I loved most about this exhibition was seeing an artist who never stood still. Picabia was always exploring new ideas, taking risks and pushing the boundaries of modern art. It was a wonderful reminder that creativity is about curiosity.
From there, I discovered A Singular Modernist at No.9 Cork Street, celebrating the extraordinary Indian artist A. Ramachandran (1935–2024), presented by Vadehra Art Gallery based in New Delhi.
A. Ramachandran is regarded as one of the most significant figures in India’s modern art history. Best known for his monumental murals and richly layered canvases, his work is filled with vibrant colour, expressive gestures, and intricate compositions that can draw you into immersive visual worlds.
This exhibition explores Ramachandran’s lifelong fascination with Rajasthan, a region he travelled extensively throughout his five-decade career. Inspired by its landscapes and communities, he captured the beauty and cultural richness he encountered, where mythology, music, dance and everyday life exist in harmony.
A Singular Modernist brings together paintings from his celebrated 1980s Puppet Theatre series alongside later paintings, drawings and sculptures. Together, these works reveal his deep connection to nature and his profound empathy for the human experiences.
This was a thoughtful and beautifully curated exhibition that offered a wonderful introduction to one of India’s great modern masters. This was sadly the last day for this exhibition.
I was blown away by the colours and vibrancy of this art.
I can’t choose my favourite one – I was impressed by all the paintings, drawings and sculptures.
At Alison Jacques Gallery, I was introduced appreciation to the experimental and innovative painter, Eileen Agar (1899–1991), one of the most original female artists of Surrealism. Seeing so many of her works together gave me a much greater appreciation of how experimental she was throughout her career. It is important to remember that Agar was a contemporary of Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Frida Kahlo.
Born in Buenos Aires and later based in London, Agar was among the few women selected to participate in the landmark International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries in London in 1936. She subsequently featured in several major international exhibitions, including Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1937) and 31 Women at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century gallery in New York (1943).
Just a reminder that there will be an exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts: “Peggy Guggenheim in London.
The Making of a Collector” between 21 November 2026 and 14 March 2027 where you will be able to see more work of Eileen Agar, Kandinsky, Dali and many more.
This exhibition I saw today brought together paintings and collages created between 1957 and 1985, highlighting the evolution of Agar’s mature work. A recurring theme throughout the exhibition was her enduring fascination with the natural world. Her paintings and collages are filled with shells, birds, flowers, and abstract forms that seem to drift between reality and imagination.
I also loved seeing how she embraced new materials and techniques as she got older. She continued to experiment with acrylics, collage, colour, and texture well into her eighties.
Agar’s work moves between Surrealism and abstraction. I am that her work is receiving renewed recognition today.
For book lovers, just to let you know that Eileen Agar’s autobiography, A Look at My Life, originally published in 1988, has recently been republished by Thames & Hudson.
If you are in London, I highly recommend this exhibition – it’s just a few minutes’ walk from the Royal Academy of Arts and admission is free.
The afternoon continued at Ordovas with RED, a thoughtful exhibition exploring one of the most powerful and symbolic colours in art history through works by artists including Albert Oehlen, Cecily Brown, Joan Miró, Robert Motherwell, Eric Fischl and Bridget Riley.
The paintings that stood out to me the most were:
I ended the day at Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery with Oliver Beer’s The Sky in the Cave, an immersive exhibition that transformed sound, space and perception into something both contemplative and unforgettable.
I absolutely loved this immersive installation and the way it seamlessly brings together art, music and sound. There’s something incredibly calming about Beer’s work. It is an experience that encourages you to slow down, listen and be present. I love the seating area, low light, white floors, and walls and how they contrast the paintings. I spent there so much time.
What makes this exhibition so fascinating is that Beer literally makes sound visible. He harnesses the resonant frequencies of specific spaces to move natural pigments across the canvas, creating mesmerising abstract compositions that are physical impressions of sound itself.
The exhibition was inspired by Beer’s research inside Font-de-Gaume, one of the world’s best-preserved Palaeolithic painted caves. There, he discovered how prehistoric artists may have created their paintings in response to the cave’s unique acoustics, revealing a remarkable connection between sound and image-making that stretches back to the very beginnings of human creativity.
Alongside the paintings, the exhibition features the soundtrack from The Cave, Beer’s video opera, recorded inside Font-de-Gaume. Hearing these voices while surrounded by the artworks makes the whole experience feel deeply immersive and contemplative.
This exhibition was beautiful, thought-provoking and wonderfully peaceful.
These gallery journey across different artistic trends and traditions helped me reflect on the enduring power of art and the ways in which we see the world.
My sixth exhibition of the day was Jewel Tones by Mandy El-Sayegh also at Thaddaeus Ropac. I found it thought-provoking and appreciated the ideas behind the work.
El-Sayegh explores the contrast between the luxury and consumerism we see in the media and the realities of conflict and humanitarian crises happening around the world. Using newspaper clippings, collages and silkscreen techniques, she layers advertisements for high-end jewellery alongside headlines about war and political unrest.
The paintings in Jewel Tones are inspired by the shifting colours and transparency of opals, with shimmering surfaces that gradually reveal fragments of violence and global instability beneath. The exhibition transforms the gallery into a space that is visually seductive but also quietly uncomfortable.
I admired the ambition and conversations this exhibition invites about the realities that often exist just beneath the surface.
