What’s Debuting at London Gallery Weekend?

Opinion What to See This London Gallery Weekend, According to Ocula Advisory Rory Mitchell

Summer is upon us, and like the sun and heat, it’s time for the U.K. art world’s yearly descent on galleries across the capital with London Gallery Weekend (6–8 June 2025), now celebrating its fifth edition. 

Co-directors Jeremy Epstein and Sarah Rustin called the event a singular moment that reframes London’s dynamic and continuously evolving gallery community: ‘It is forging critical cross-sector initiatives to address the challenging climate we are faced with,’ they said.

But with more than 125 galleries to see across every corner of the city, where does one even start? Ocula has selected some of the most exciting ‘firsts’ among the programme to help you jump in feet first to this weekend’s mega gallery hop. 

First Solo Shows

Gaia Ozwyn: Incantations to a Vague Borderland at lbf contemporary, until 19 June

This Fitzrovia gallery hosts the solo debut of Gaia Ozwyn, where visitors will be immersed in a sculptural installation of her celestial paintings in oil and concrete for the first time. Ozwyn graduated with her MA Painting from the Royal College of Art last year after several years working as a doctor for the National Health Service. This is her first show back after a residency at the G.A.S Foundation in Lagos earlier this year.

Serolod: Reality is Relative at Almine Rech London, until 26 July

Almine Rech debuts newcomer Serolod with the painter's first solo exhibition after group shows in New York and her native Greece. Serolod’s practice looks to Einstein’s theory of relativity and digital prototypes to inspire her uncannily coloured canvases.

Representation Debuts

Michaela Yearwood-Dan: No Time for Despair at Hauser & Wirth, until 2 August

Nearby in Mayfair, Hauser & Wirth opens its first exhibition with British multimedia artist Michaela Yearwood-Dan since announcing her representation in September and her subsequent residency at their Somerset outpost. The show features new paintings and ceramics exploring queerness and femininity—see In these bodies we live, an 11-metre-long panelled abstract landscape. On Friday night, you can also enjoy a talk between Yearwood-Dan and curator Ekow Eshun.

Mark Manders: Three Related Works and Francesca Mollett: Annual Honesty at Modern Art, until 19 July

Across both of Modern Art’s London locations, the gallery welcomes two of its most recent additions with solo exhibitions. In St James’s, you will find installations by Dutch sculptor Mark Manders, while further eastward near Old Street, British painter Francesca Mollett’s newest abstract canvases will be on display.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Rooted in Memory at Stephen Friedman Gallery, until 26 July

From Friday, see the final Tierra Madre paintings by the Native American artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, who died this past January, in a dedicated exhibition for the first time in the U.K. titled Rooted in Memory. It’s Stephen Friedman’s first exhibition of the artist since announcing the representation of her estate. Smith was the first Native American artist to have a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2023, and the U.K. will see her first posthumous institutional exhibition at Fruitmarket in Edinburgh this November.

First Timers

Rae-Yen Song 宋瑞渊 ☁☁☁☁song~xian☁☁☁☁ at William Hine, until 19 July

Among the 15 new participants in London Gallery Weekend, South London-based William Hine aims to give artists from outside the capital their first commercial shows. Located in Camberwell, the gallery joins the weekend with new ceramic work by Scottish artist Rae-Yen Song. Inspired by the Asian immigrant experience and Daoism, this will be Song’s first solo show in London after several solo exhibitions in institutions across the country.

Filippo Antonello: Aufheben at Kearsey & Gold, until 5 July 

Cork Street’s newest addition celebrates its first London Gallery Weekend with a solo debut by Filippo Antonello showcasing the Swiss-Italian artist’s unconventional use of ink and bleach on velvet, denim and corduroy canvases. It’s a year of firsts for the gallery, with 2025 marking the formerly nomadic entity’s first full year of programming since settling into its permanent space. Kearsey & Gold will also be involved with LGW’s live programming, hosting a visit with British multimedia artist Dillwyn Smith at his West Hampstead studio on Friday afternoon.

London Introductions

Leonardo Drew at Goodman Gallery, until 28 June

Also on Cork Street, Goodman Gallery will host a solo exhibition of new works by Leonardo Drew, including wall sculptures and works on paper encompassing wood, glass, and painted plaster. This summer signifies a new chapter for the New York-based artist’s career across the pond, with this show running concurrently with his first institutional solo show in London at South London Gallery. 

Han Ji Min: Time Alone at JD Malat Gallery, until 14 June

Need a break from running around Mayfair? There’s respite in Han Ji Min’s contemplative, muted oil paintings at JD Malat Gallery. Exhibiting frequently in her native South Korea and wider East Asia, Time Alone is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Europe and will feature all new work. 

Dotty Attie: 40 Years at Public Gallery, until 28 June

With work ranging from 1974 to the present, this East London gallery is bringing a long-overdue retrospective of Dotty Attie’s work to London for the first time. Attie’s meticulous grid paintings interrogating the art historical canon made her a pioneering figure in feminist art, as well as co-founding A.I.R. Gallery, the first all-women cooperative in the U.S. This is Public Gallery’s first London Gallery Weekend since expanding their space earlier this year.

Artwork Selection London Gallery Weekend: Ocula Team Picks

Performance Debuts

Ilaria Vinci: Introverse at Alice Amati, until 5 July

Alice Amati will welcome Zurich-based multimedia artist Ilaria Vinci to Fitzrovia for her first U.K. solo exhibition. In addition to her fantastical sculptures, visitors can enjoy the artist’s brand new sound performance in collaboration with bass player Matt Stefanyszyn, performed live in the gallery on Friday morning.

Cell 72: The Cost of Confinement at Harlesden High Street, until 13 July

Round off your London Gallery Weekend with a sombre but important performance at Harlesden High Street in West London. Washington D.C.-based conceptual artists Emmanuel Massillon and Allen-Golder Carpenter will transform the gallery into a prison cell for 72 hours over the full course of the weekend. In that time, Carpenter will live inside the cell, with consulting curator Aziah James Lusala acting as prison officer. 15 percent of sales made during the exhibition will go toward prison reform in D.C. and London. 

On Sunday evening, visitors can join Harlesden High Street and five other West London galleries in celebrating the end of the weekend with music, screenings, a BBQ and bar on the rooftop terrace of the former Rolls-Royce factory in Acton. —[O]

Main image: Leonardo Drew (detail). Courtesy the artist and Goodman Gallery, London.