United Kingdom

UNIQLO Tate Play: Oscar Murillo, The flooded garden. Tate modern, London, until 26 August 2024. 

Oscar Murillo is encouraging people to unleash their creativity this summer through his expansive, interactive art project that will convert the Turbine Hall into an enormous painted garden.

Drawing inspiration from Monet’s renowned panoramic paintings of his garden in Giverny, Murillo has provided oil paints in comparable hues of blue, yellow, and pink. Visitors are invited to grab a paintbrush and contribute their own touches to the extended canvases.

Beneath the Surface | George Stubbs & Contemporary Artists. Wentworth Woodhouse , Rotherham, until 3 November 2024.

Celebrate the 300th birthday of George Stubbs, famed for his magnificent 18th-century paintings of horses. In 1762, the equine artist worked on his pieces at Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire, and these paintings are now returning to the historic site for its most extensive exhibition ever. Alongside Stubbs’ works, the exhibition also features pieces by contemporary artists such as Tracey Emin, Ugo Rondinone, and Mark Wallinger, which similarly explore animal and human experiences.

Queens: The Exhibition. The Lowry, Salford, until 3 November 2024. 

Sing, dance, play games, and take selfies like royalty at this exhibition celebrating the hit musical SIX, which reimagines the lives of Henry VIII’s wives through pop music. Admire the stunning costumes and fan art from the show, and find out what kind of Queen you are.

Awaken, Metamagical Hands. Gazelli Art House, London, until 28 September 024. 

Gazelli Art House and Verisart present their collaborative exhibition, “Awaken, Metamagical Hands,” showcasing groundbreaking artists who explore the intersection of human creativity and computational potential. Curated by John Maeda and Robert Norton, the exhibition features works by Robbie Barrat, Joshua Davis, Golan Levin, LIA, Lauren Lee McCarthy, John Maeda, and Helena Sarin.

Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens. National Portrait Gallery, London. Until 8 September 2024. 

Tudor paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger and contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto converge in the National Portrait Gallery’s first exhibition of historic portraiture since reopening. This exhibition explores the lives and legacies of the six women who married Henry VIII.

Camilla Marie Dahl: The Way Home. Unit, London, until 11 August 2024. 

Camilla Marie Dahl’s debut solo exhibition with Unit, “The Way Home,” invites viewers on a tranquil journey back to her serene farmstead in the Spanish countryside. The series is imbued with tones of yellow, pink, purple, and orange, evoking the warmth of Mediterranean summers.

In the Blood. Tiwani Contemporary, London, until 14 September 2024. 

Tiwani Contemporary presents the group exhibition “In the Blood,” showcasing both represented and associate artists dedicated to the art of painting. This show reviews their methods of capturing life and emotions, exploring how these influences and reflections are expressed through gesture, material, figuration, and abstraction.

Kate Lyddon: Sagger, Sinker, Wrinkler. Cob Gallery, London, until 10 August 2024.

Cob presents “Sagger, Sinker, Wrinkler,” a solo exhibition featuring painting, sculpture, and site-specific installation by British artist Kate Lyddon. This show coincides with the release of Lyddon’s monograph, which includes a commissioned essay by curator Elaine ML Tam.

Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024. National Portrait Gallery, London, until 27 October 2024. 

The Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award is making a highly anticipated return to the National Portrait Gallery in 2024. This esteemed competition highlights the finest examples of contemporary portrait painting. Established over 40 years ago, it has received more than 40,000 submissions from over 100 countries, and its exhibitions have been viewed by over 6 million people.

Germany

Andy Warhol – Late Works. Galerie Bastian, Berlin. Until 7 September 2024. 

Andy Warhol (1928–1987) is a key figure in 20th-century art, renowned for revealing the uniformity behind seemingly unique images. His later works explore the “myths of everyday life” (Roland Barthes), reflecting American consumer culture and the merging of art with digital and social media. Warhol’s drawings, based on reproductions and advertisements, employ ink and acrylic to create strong black-and-white contrasts, pushing the boundaries between painting and drawing. His innovative approach marked a departure from his early screen printing techniques.

Jeremy Demester: Teratology of Love. Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin, until 3 August 2024. 

Galerie Max Hetzler is presenting a solo exhibition by Jeremy Demester at Bleibtreustraße 45, Berlin. This marks Demester’s eighth solo show with the gallery. The exhibition, inspired by the concept of “teratology”—which encompasses marvels, mutations, and extraordinary phenomena—features paintings that explore universal themes of time, consciousness, and human experience. Demester’s work delves into the primal, abstract origins of forms and emotions, bridging the gap between artistic expression and the natural world. His paintings invite viewers to contemplate life’s boundless motion and the connection between love, beauty, and attention.

Italy 

Ambienti 1956-2010. Environments by Women Artists II. MAXXI Museum, Rome, until 20 October 2024. 

At the MAXXI Museum in Rome, visitors can explore a women’s space through an exhibition initially curated by the Haus der Kunst in Munich. This showcase features environments crafted by female artists from 1956 to 2010, including renowned figures like Judy Chicago, Lygia Clark, and Marta Minujín, along with Pipilotti Rist, Martha Rosler, Nalini Malani, and Kimsooja, among others. Curators describe these immersive works as designed to be “activated by audience interaction and enhanced by human presence.”

Julie Mehretu. Ensemble. Palazzo Grassi, Venice, until 6 January 2025. 

“Ensemble,” the largest exhibition of Julie Mehretu’s work in Europe, is on display at Palazzo Grassi from March 17, 2024, to January 6, 2025. Curated by Caroline Bourgeois and Julie Mehretu, it features over fifty works spanning 25 years, including recent pieces from 2021-2024. The exhibition, spread across two floors, includes 17 works from the Pinault Collection and loans from international museums and private collections.

The exhibition also features works by Mehretu’s close artist friends, fostering a dialogue that highlights shared concerns and influences. It showcases Mehretu’s collaborative spirit and her connection to other artists, particularly those who have experienced significant displacements, reflecting the importance of these relationships in her creative process.

Willem de Kooning, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, until 15 September 2024. 

The Gallery dell’Accademia in Venice presents “Willem de Kooning and Italy,” a groundbreaking exhibition exploring the artist’s decade-long stay in Italy from 1959 to 1969 and its influence on his work. This is the largest presentation of de Kooning’s art ever held in Italy, featuring around 75 pieces. Highlights include the “Black and White Rome” drawings and 13 small bronzes created during his initial extended visit to Rome. This exhibition is a must-see for enthusiasts of abstract art.

France 

Comic Exhibition 1964 – 2024. Pompidou Center, Paris, until 4 November.

The Centre Pompidou is hosting “Comics (1964-2024)” on level 6, a comprehensive exhibition celebrating the ninth art form. This major show offers an immersive exploration of modern and contemporary comic history, showcasing everything from the classic Franco-Belgian style and Japanese manga to underground graphic art and abstract contemporary works. The exhibit features a diverse array of plates, cover art, sketchbooks, and documentary materials, highlighting the richness and variety of the medium.

Matisse: The Red Studio. Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, until 9 September 2024.

The Fondation, in partnership with MoMA, New York, and SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, presents “Matisse: The Red Studio.” This exhibition delves into the creation and significance of the 1911 masterpiece, a MoMA icon since 1949. The large canvas showcases Matisse’s studio, filled with his artworks, sculptures, furniture, and decorative items. For the first time since leaving Matisse’s studio in Issy-les-Moulineaux, the exhibition reunites the original works depicted in “The Red Studio” and includes archival materials, related paintings, and drawings.

Spain 

The Berlin Wall: A Divided World. The Castellana 214 Hall at the Canal Foundation, Madrid, until September 2024.

This exhibition explores the history of this iconic Cold War barrier, emblematic of the global struggle between capitalism and communism. Featuring over 300 original items and personal testimonies from residents on both sides of the Wall, This exhibition provides a gripping look into the experiences of life in a divided city.

The Prado from the Female Perspective. Artistic Patrons of the Museum’s Collections (1602-1700). Prado Museum, Madrid, until 8 September 2024. 

Featuring 41 paintings across four sections, the exhibition highlights the patronage of Isabella of Bourbon, Maria Anna of Austria, Maria Luisa of Orleans, and Maria Anna of Neuburg. It examines the role of women from the House of Austria as key artistic and cultural figures in Baroque European courts. The exhibition also celebrates Queen Cristina of Sweden, who donated some of the Prado’s most valuable works, including Dürer’s *Adam and Eve* panels.

Exhibitions you can’t miss this August in Europe. Prado Museum, Madrid, until 22 September 2024.

The rise of social painting reflects significant social changes, with artists exploring new themes through naturalistic styles (Rusiñol, Casas, Sorolla) or innovative expressiveness (Regoyos, Nonell, Picasso, Solana). This shift also influenced sculpture and graphic arts, which saw substantial growth. Additionally, photography emerged as a key tool for objectively and efficiently spreading these new visual narratives, thanks to advancements in photoengraving and phototypography.