Must See: London Winter Shows

Rachel Whiteread at Tate Britain
September 12, 2017—January 21, 2018
This is the most comprehensive show in Rachel Whiteread’s over-30-year career. In 1993 the British artist, who is known for her sculptures in a range of materials, was the first woman to win the Turner Prize. On view will be works like Untitled (100 Spaces) (1995) and Untitled (Staircase) (2001), as well as new work shown for the first time.

Jasper Johns at Royal Academy of Arts
September 21—December 10
“Something Resembling Truth” is a landmark survey of work by Jasper Johns, an Honorary Royal Academician. More than 150 works will be on view, spanning 60 years and including drawings, sculptures, and prints as well as new work. The title references something the artist said in 2006: “One hopes for something resembling truth, some sense of life, even of grace, to flicker, at least, in the work.”

Thomas Ruff at Whitechapel Gallery
September 27, 2017—January 21, 2018
This is the first major retrospective of work by the German artist Thomas Ruff in London. Curated by Whitechapel director Iwona Blazwick, the show is organized thematically, showing the artist’s fascination with both the cosmic and the everyday. Visitors are taken from Ruff’s questioning of scale to his series of passport-style portraits, to his study of buildings, and on to his more recent exploration of press photography.

Torbjørn Rødland at Serpentine Sackler Gallery
September 29—November 17
Full of allegory, lyricism, and humor, the work in Torbjørn Rødland’s show “The Touch That Made You” keeps viewers engaged. The Los Angeles–based photographer is a master at his craft, moving between landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and seemingly commercial scenes that feel familiar yet unsettling and are at times lovely and at others disquieting.

Gary Hume at Sprüth Magers Gallery
September 23—December 23
Spüth Magers’s London gallery reopens on Grafton Street with an exhibition of new works by Gary Hume. His first solo show in the U.K. since 2013, it will showcase an entirely new painting method for Hume, marking a shift in his practice. His paintings on paper deal with memory, referencing images from things like family photos.