Here’s a guide to some of the exhibitions opening in London throughout February.
Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970, Whitechapel Gallery: the Whitechapel gallery explores the work of of 80 international women artists including: Mary Abbott, Etel Adnan, Maliheh Afnan, Ruth Armer, Gillian Ayres, Ida Barbarigo and Noemi di Benedetto. Featuring over 150 works, the display will reveal how these artists worked with gestural abstraction in the aftermath of the Second World War. It is on display to the public from the 9th February until the 7th May.
Alice Neel: Hot Off the Griddle, Barbican Art Gallery: from the 16th February, those visiting the Barbican Art Gallery can immerse themselves in the work of the American artist, who used her work to celebrate those who were too often marginalised in society: labour leaders, Black and Puerto Rican children, pregnant women, Greenwich Village eccentrics, civil rights activists and queer performers.
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig, The Courtauld Gallery: on display from the 10th February, the Courtauld Gallery’s latest exhibition will celebrate the work of the Peter Doig – including paintings and works on paper created since the artist’s move from Trinidad to London in 2021. The display will focus on how the artist uses his work to explore a variety of places, people, memories and ways of painting.
Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, Victoria and Albert Museum: this new exhibition at the V&A will be the first UK exhibition to comprehensively explore the the talents of the world famous sculptor and to offer a new vision of the artist and his ongoing influence on generations of artists. It will be on display from the 11th February until the 11th June.
Ukraine: Photographs from the Frontline, Imperial War Museum: from the 3rd February, the Imperial War Museum will present photographs taken by internationally renowned photojournalist Anastasia Taylor-Lind taken between 2014 to the present day. Highlighting the reality of living amidst conflict. This new exhibition will present her work through three sections: focusing on the 2014 protests in Kyiv, the ongoing conflict for individuals living in eastern Ukraine and the current Russian invasion. It will also include Ukrainian language translations of the exhibition text and image captions.