The Best Exhibitions to See This Spring & Summer

London is home to some of the world’s best art galleries, and with Easter holidays on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to start making a hit list of the best exhibitions to see in the capital over the next few months. From blockbuster shows like Raphael at The National Gallery to the more family-friendly Beatrix Potter at the V&A, we’ve compiled a list of the shows we’re the most excited to see this spring and summer.

The V&A has a series of blockbuster exhibitions this spring and summer, and if you haven’t seen the exhibition celebrating master goldsmith Carl Fabergé, be sure to put it on your list before it ends on the 8th of May. Highlights include his iconic jewelled eggs (of course) but also a range of items including fine jewellery, clocks and small sculptures that showcase the extraordinary craft and artistry of the Fabergé workshops. 

For something a bit more family-friendly, Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature celebrates the life and work of one of the best-loved children’s authors of the 20th century. Pictures and photos are set at varying heights, and children are addressed directly through their own exhibition texts. Alongside illustrations of famed characters like Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, and Jeremy Fisher and Friends, is the enchanting illusion that the space is secretly home to the world of Potter’s little creatures, scuttling behind the exhibition walls. A perfect exhibition for a little cultural outing during the Easter or summer holidays. Until 8th January 2023.

Read more here.

To read about the exhibition private view catered by Rocket, see here.

Though surrealism is a familiar genre, previous exhibitions primarily focused on the artistic movement in Paris in the 1920s. This new exhibition running at the Tate Modern shows how artists around the world have been inspired and united by the movement, from Buenos Aires to Lisbon, all the way from Prague to Tokyo. Bringing together artists from over 50 countries, the show is filled with Freudian dreamworlds, unsettling objects, and impossible juxtapositions. Though there are some works by big names like Magritte, Dalí and Miró, the real highlight is some of the more unknown works, which demonstrates what an incredibly diverse movement surrealism was, emerging after the end of the first world war and continuing throughout the century. While not for the faint of heart, this sprawling exhibition is a fascinating look at the truly global impact of the surrealist movement. Until 29th August.

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Renaissance lovers will revel in the National Gallery’s Raphael exhibition, running from 9th April to 31st July. Originally meant to debut in 2020, this long-awaited exhibition is in honour of the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death and one of the first-ever to explore Raphael’s whole career. Together with Michelangelo and da Vinci, Raphael is known as one of the Renaissance’s most talented painters, celebrated for his refined draftsmanship, his mastery of colour, and his elegant compositions. With works on loan from around the world, this exhibition includes some of his most iconic paintings, drawings and sculptures.

Read more here.

Running from the 8th of April to the 29th of August, Football: Designing the Beautiful Game explores the story behind the world’s most popular sport, unpicking how design has been used to push the game to new limits. With over 500 objects, films and interviews about sporting performance, kit development and stadium design, this exhibition will appeal to fanatical supporters, part-time punters, and even sporting sceptics.

Read more here.

The Royal Academy’s annual celebration of art and creativity is back once again through their much-awaited Summer Exhibition. This year, the exhibition will explore the urgent theme of ‘Climate,’ whether as a crisis or opportunity or simply our everyday experience. What’s particularly unique about the Summer Exhibition is anyone can submit their work for the possibility of being selected to go on display in The Royal Academy’s main galleries. The exhibition features approachable art in all formats, from prints, paintings, film and photography to sculpture, architectural works and more by leading artists, Royal Academicians and new and emerging talent. Don’t miss this annual favourite from 21st June to 21st August.

Read more here.

From 3rd February until 8th May, take advantage of the rare opportunity to see 16 of Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portraits all together for the first time, which have been reunited to map out the artist’s evolution of self-representation. From his early self-portrait with a Dark Felt Hat, created in 1886 during his formative period in Paris, to his still life with a Palette, painted at the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in September 1889, one of his last self-portraits before his death in 1890, this exhibition at the stunning Courtauld Gallery brings together around half of the iconic self-portraits Van Gogh created during his short years as a painter.

Read more here.

At Rocket, we work with a variety of museums and galleries which provide a spectacular backdrop for dinners, parties, and events and offer the unique opportunity to include private views of these exhibitions. To find out more, please email parties@rocketfood.com or call 020 7622 2320