February is shaping up to be a celebration of counterculture, with some unmissable exhibitions opening across London. The much-anticipated Leigh Bowery show at Tate Modern takes centre stage, alongside Mike Kelley at Hauser & Wirth—both offering a look at underground movements. It’s also a month rich in queer histories and radical expression, from Alice Neel’s intimate portraits to Peter Hujar’s stark, poetic photography.
We’ve rounded up 10 of the most exciting art shows you won’t want to miss—take a look.
AT HOME: ALICE NEEL IN THE QUEER WORLD
VICTORIA MIRO
Old Street I 30 January - 8 March
Alice Neel (1900–1984) is known for her daring honesty in her pursuit of what she termed ‘the truth’ – of the individual and the broader society in which individual lives were lived.
This exhibition focuses on her paintings of people from queer communities and those who were a part of their circle. The works on view include paintings of writers, performers and artists, as well as friends and neighbours – together forming a collective portrait that both embodies and complicates an understanding of the queer world of Neel’s moment and the artist’s place within it.
All details here.

PETER HUJAR: EYES OPEN IN THE DARK
RAVEN ROW
Liverpool Street I 30 January - 6 April
This is the first exhibition to take on the full breadth of Peter Hujar’s later photography. Hujar was a central figure in the downtown scene of 1970s and early 80s New York, but at his death in 1987 from AIDS-related pneumonia his work was largely unknown to a broader art world. Now it is widely admired for its austere elegance and emotional charge.
Hujar’s principal concern was with forms of portraiture – of his friends and denizens of the downtown scene, whom he encountered on the street, shot in his apartment studio or sought out backstage.
Eyes Open in the Darkconcentrates on his later work, when his emergence from a debilitating depression in 1976 brought about a new expansiveness. The exhibition also reveals the darkening tone of his photography in the early 1980s, as the AIDS crisis devastated his community, and his work entered into dialogue with the younger artist David Wojnarowicz.
All details here.

HOLDING THE SHADOW WHILE CALLING BACK THE LIGHT
VSSL STUDIO
Deptford I 31 January - 28 February
This exhibition traces Benjamin Sebastian’s development as a collage, assemblage, installation & performance artist, sculptor and craftsperson. They engage viewers in a multifocal examination of coloniality - acknowledging their position within historic colonising processes (settler heritage) while also holding space for their position as a colonised subject (neurodivergent and nonbinary) - enacting a kind of mirror switch, whereby Sebastian’s personal histories and embodied experiences, become a collective platform, enabling wider social reflection regarding each individual’s position within systems of power, domination, liberation and resilience.
All details here.
Benjamin Sebastian, Holding The Shadow While Calling Back The Light via VSSL Studio website
MIKE KELLEY:VICE ANGLAIS
HAUSER & WIRTH
Oxford Circus I 4 February - 17 April
Over the course of his four-decade career, Mike Kelley (1954 – 2012) addressed the relation of establishment culture to counterculture. He shed light on social rituals and subcultures, whilst simultaneously parodying the imposition of institutionalised power and instruction. With his Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction (EAPR) series (2000 – 2011), Kelley set out to make 365 videos and video installations, one for each day of the year. The EAPR series came to an early end with ‘Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #36 (Vice Anglais)’ (2011), one of the last videos Kelley ever made. In collaboration with Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, the exhibition centers on this final EAPR, which will be shown alongside related works.
All details here.

GALLI: SO, SO, SO
GOLDSMITHS CCA
New Cross Gate I 7 February - 4 May
So, So, So marks the first UK solo exhibition of artist Galli (b.1944, Germany). Spanning painting, books, collages, and drawings, the exhibition includes works from across her decades long practice. After initial commercial success in the 1980s, Galli’s work was little exhibited, but has rightly gained increasing attention in recent years, with work included in the Berlin Biennale (2020) amongst others. Galli’s work is a powerful current position on corporeality in a fractious and violent age that proposes an exhilarating, ribald, and haunting grammar of the body. The exhibition’s title – So, So, So – refers to the melodic cadence of the artist’s speech, and, in both English and German, gestures to openness, something to come, and excess.
All details here.

AI WEIWEI: A NEW CHATPTER
LISSON GALLERY BELL STREET
Edgware Road I 7 February - 15 March
Lisson Gallery is proud to present a compelling exhibition of new works by the renowned artist Ai Weiwei, showcasing a provocative exploration of contemporary issues through the lens of historical and artistic reference. Each piece in this show articulates a dialogue between past and present, revealing the artist’s relentless inquiry into the complexities of identity, politics, and cultural heritage.
At the heart of the exhibition is F.U.C.K. (all works 2024), a striking installation that employs buttons affixed to four Second World War military stretchers to spell out the provocative word. The buttons, sourced from the now-closed Brown & Co Buttons factory, were collected over the years, resulting in an astounding array of more than 9,000 varieties. This piece not only signifies the culmination of Ai’s extensive research into industrialisation and textile history, but also represents a tangible connection to the first industrial revolution.
All details here.

ATHEN KARDASHIAN & NINA MHACH DURBAN : CAPTIVE HEART
FORMA
Elephant & Castle I 8 February - 27 April
Captive Heart continues the artists’ exploration of diasporic identity, personal cultural heritage and popular culture.
Drawing inspiration from Selena, the “Queen of Tejano Music”, the duo reflect on the enduring experiences of the Latinx community along Old Kent Road. Selena was a celebrated Mexican-American musician who bridged Latin music and mainstream American pop culture until her tragic murder at 23 in 1995, and has since become an icon within the queer community.
The exhibition draws on Selena’s legacy to explore themes of love, loss, and cultural transformation, examining how identity, memory, and community persist amid urban change. Reflecting on Bermondsey’s evolving neighborhoods, the artwork invites viewers to consider the interplay between personal histories and collective cultural narratives in the face of urbanisation and erasure.
All details here.

LINDER: DANGER CAME SMILING
HAYWARD GALLERY
Southbank I 11 February - 5 May
From the early photomontages made while she was part of the punk scene of 1970s Manchester, to new work in digital montage shown for the first time, the exhibition presents the breadth of Linder’s artistic output across montage, photography, performance and sculpture.
The body and its photographic representation, from early glamour photography to digital deep fakes, is central to Linder’s approach to image-making.
Often working with a medical grade scalpel, she draws on the creative and violent power of the cut in her forensic examination of our shifting attitudes to aspirational lifestyles, sex, food and fashion.
All details here.

THE FACE MAGAZINE: CULTURE SHIFT
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
Leicester Square I 20 February - 18 May
From 1980 to 2004, The Face played a vital role in creating contemporary culture. Musicians featured on its covers achieved global success and the models it championed. The magazine also launched the careers of many leading photographers and fashion stylists, who were given the creative freedom to radically reimagine the visual language of fashion photography and define the spirit of their times.
This exhibition will bring together the work of over 80 photographers, including Sheila Rock, Stéphane Sednaoui, Corinne Day, David Sims, Elaine Constantine and Sølve Sundsbø, and will feature over 200 photographs – a unique opportunity to see many of these images away from the magazine page for the first time.
All details here.
Lunchtime conversation: Behind the scenes of The Face magazine - Tickets here.

LEIGH BOWERY!
TATE MODERN
Tate Modern I 27 February - 31 August
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.
From his emergence in the nightlife of 1980s London through to his later daring and outrageous performances in galleries, theatres, and the street, Bowery fearlessly forged his own vibrant path.
This eclectic and immersive exhibition is a rare chance to experience many of Bowery’s ‘Looks’ alongside his collaborations with artists providing a fresh insight into the creative scenes in London, New York and beyond.
All details here.
