Here’s Love London Love Culture’s guide to some of the exhibitions opening across London next month…
1. The Future Starts Here, Victoria and Albert Museum: bringing together more than 100 objects, this new exhibition will explore the power of design in shaping the world of the future. It will feature a wide range of objects including smart appliances. The exhibition will open to the public on the 12th May.
2. Azzedine Alaia: The Couturier, Design Museum: on display from the 10th May, the Design Museum will present an exhibition exploring the couturier’s journey from sculptor to couturier. It was conceived and curated by him shortly before his death in 2017. The show will combine stories of his career alongside his personally selected garments spanning from the late 1980’s to his recent collection in 2017.
3. Lee Bul, Hayward Gallery: meanwhile, along the Southbank the Hayward Gallery will highlight the career of South Korean artist Lee Bul, concentrating on the artist’s focus on the body and its relationship to architectural space. On display from the 30th May, the exhibition will feature documentation of early performances, sculptural works from the iconic Monster, Cyborg and Anagram series and recent immersive installations, as well as a selection of the artist’s studio drawings.
4. Roman Dead, Museum of London Docklands: over at the Museum of London Docklands, an exhibition will focus on the burials and rituals which took place in Londinium. The exhibition was created following the discovery of a Roman sarcophagus was found near to Harper Road in Southwark which will be on display to the public for the first time as well as the remains of 30 Roman Londoners found during archaeological excavations of ancient cemeteries. It will bring together over 200 objects from burials in Roman London including tombstones, jewellery and cremation urns of varying shapes and sizes. It will be on display at the museum from the 25th May.
5. Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar: Oneness Wholeness, Saatchi Gallery: drawing on thousands of years of Iranian culture, Oneness Wholeness features Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s large scale paintings which he has spent the last few years developing. On display from the 15th May, the exhibition is the artist’s first solo exhibition since The Real Me, his debut in London in 2014.
6. Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art, Tate Modern: opening to the public on the 2nd May, Tate Modern’s latest exhibition explores the relationship between photography and abstract art as seen through the work of artists such as Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Barbara Kasten and Thomas Ruff. Spanning across from 1910 to the present day, the exhibition examines the innovation and originality of photographers over this period.