As we enter the second month of 2025, riding high on the momentum of the London Art Fair, we’re excited to present our Five Exhibitions To See In London In February 2025, guaranteed to guide you smoothly through London’s dynamic art scene. This selection highlights a mix of posthumous tributes to abstract and feminist artists alongside pioneering abstractionists and rising stars.
First up on Exhibitions To See In London In February is a master of quiet contemplation. British painter Peter Joseph’s 17th solo exhibition at Lisson Gallery offers a rare opportunity to trace his artistic evolution from the 1960s to the ‘70s. The show presents 12 key paintings, including early geometric compositions rendered in striking primary colours and shaped canvases, alongside his later, more muted rectangular works that came to define his oeuvre. Also featured are previously unseen sketchbooks, shedding light on Joseph’s explorations of form and structure. The exhibition highlights pivotal moments in his career, including his groundbreaking 1966 exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre and Kenwood House. For admirers of colour theory and minimalist abstraction, this is an essential visit.
Next on our Five Exhibitions To See In London In February 2025 is Hauser & Wirth, where few artists have interrogated the intersection of counterculture and institutional power as relentlessly as Mike Kelley. Hauser & Wirth presents an incisive exhibition centered on Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #36 (Vice Anglais) (2011), one of the last videos the late artist created before his passing.
A critical examination of social rituals and authority, the exhibition pairs this final EAPR video with a companion piece, Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #36B (Made in England), alongside previously unseen paintings, sculptures, and a lightbox still. The show offers a gripping insight into Kelley’s obsession with memory, trauma, and the performative nature of culture—an unmissable experience for those interested in the subversive edge of contemporary art.
For decades, Hélène de Beauvoir’s artistic legacy remained eclipsed by the towering literary presence of her sister, Simone de Beauvoir. Amar Gallery seeks to correct this oversight with The Woman Destroyed, the first-ever solo exhibition of the artist’s work in London. Spanning paintings and works on paper from the 1950s to the 1980s, this meticulously curated show took three years to assemble, drawing together pieces from around the world. Amar Singh, the gallery’s visionary founder, has been instrumental in reintroducing overlooked artists to the global stage, and with this exhibition, he unveils de Beauvoir’s vital contributions to feminist discourse and modern art. A revelatory showcase of a long-neglected talent.
Then, we head over to Dover Street for the next selection in Five Exhibitions To See In London In February 2025 at The Arts Club London, which turns its attention to two undersung pioneers of abstraction: Frederick J. Brown and Judith Godwin. Lands of the Mind (Brown) and Reflection (Godwin) explore the distinctive approaches of these artists within the wider context of 20th-century abstraction. While Brown’s rich, expressive canvases reflect an engagement with both jazz and spiritual traditions, Godwin’s gestural compositions channel a radical energy shaped by her interactions with modern dance. Together, these tandem exhibitions offer a compelling reassessment of abstraction’s diverse trajectories. Complementing the main displays is a curated selection of Abstract Expressionist works on paper, forming a bridge between the past and present of one of art history’s most influential movements.
Swiss-born artist Angela Santana takes on the visual tropes of art history with a provocative new body of work at Saatchi Yates. Engaging with contemporary representations of the female form, Santana reclaims and reconfigures the image of the body in a way that challenges historical objectifications. Her layered, highly textured paintings navigate themes of digital culture, transformation, and identity, positioning the female figure as an agent of power rather than passive spectacle.
In an era increasingly shaped by screens and shifting notions of selfhood, Santana’s work feels urgent, reflective, and deeply resonant. A vital exhibition for those interested in the evolving discourse of gender and representation in contemporary art.
Here are our Five Exhibitions To See In London In February 2025
Dark Grey Colour with Black Grey Border (1978)
Acrylic on cotton duck
157.3 x 205.6 x 3.7 cm
61 7/8 x 81 x 1 1/2 in
© Peter Joseph, courtesy Lisson Gallery
Peter Joseph: The Early Works
British painter Peter Joseph’s 17th solo exhibition with Lisson Gallery presents a selection of early and rare works from the 1960s and ‘70s that track Joseph’s development from vividly coloured, geometric compositions and shaped canvases through to the muted rectangular and square paintings that would define the following decades of his career.
Spanning the years from 1964 to 1978, the exhibition features 12 paintings, as well as previously unseen sketchbooks, which chart Joseph’s experiments with colour and form. The presentation journeys from earlier paintings that focus on vibrant primary colour and performativity – for which he received wide critical and institutional acclaim, including exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre and Kenwood House in 1966 – to his Cinema Paintings which pre-figure Joseph’s signature Border paintings of the 1980s and 90s.
Peter Joseph: The Early Works
7th February, 2025 – 15th March, 2025
Lisson Gallery
67 Lisson Street
London
Mike Kelley: Vice Anglais
Over the course of his four-decade career, Mike Kelley (1954 – 2012) consistently addressed the relation of establishment culture to counterculture. He shed light on social rituals and subcultures, whilst simultaneously parodying the imposition of institutionalized power and instruction. With his Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction (EAPR) series (2000 – 2011), Kelley set out to make 365 videos and video installations, one for each day of the year.
The EAPR series came to an early end with ‘Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #36 (Vice Anglais)’ (2011), one of the last videos Kelley ever made. The exhibition centres on this final EAPR, which will be shown alongside related works. These include a series of never-before exhibited paintings of the cast of transgressive characters, as well as a lightbox still from this EAPR and sculptures made using props from the video.
The show will also present ‘Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #36B (Made in England)’ (2011), a companion video to ‘Vice Anglais.’
Mike Kelley: Vice Anglais
4th February, 2025 – 17th April, 2025
Hauser & Wirth London
23 Savile Row
London
W1S 2ET
Hélène de Beauvoir: The Woman Destroyed
Hélène de Beauvoir: The Woman Destroyed, the first-ever solo exhibition of Hélène de Beauvoir’s work in London. Often overshadowed by her older sister, the writer Simone de Beauvoir, this exhibition features paintings and works on paper from the 1950s to 1980s. Amar Gallery’s founder, Amar Singh, was recently described by The Telegraph as a “farsighted art dealer” for consistently discovering overlooked artists and being the first gallerist to show work of artist Lynne Drexler in London.
The Woman Destroyed is an exhibition that took Singh three years to put together, sourcing works from around the world, meeting patrons of de Beauvoir, and discovering how important de Beauvoir was to her sister and the global feminist movement.
Hélène de Beauvoir: The Woman Destroyed
24th January, 2025 – 2nd March, 2025
Amar Gallery
12–14 Kirkman House
Lower Ground
Whitfield Street
London
W1T 2RF
Courtesy of The Arts Club
Frederick J. Brown: Lands of the Mind and Judith Godwin: Reflection
The Arts Club London announces two new exhibitions celebrating the work of Frederick J. Brown and Judith Godwin, whose significant but frequently overlooked contributions have played a key role in the 20th century turn towards abstraction. Open to both members and the public from 13 February to 25 May, Lands of the Mind and Reflection present an unmissable opportunity to rediscover the achievements of Brown and Godwin within the broader context of one of art history’s most influential periods of creative experimentation.
These tandem exhibitions bring renewed focus to voices often overlooked in art history. Lands
of the Mind will feature the works of Brown and be displayed across the club’s Drawing Room,
whilst Reflection will present Godwin’s work in the neighbouring Ante Room. Complementing
these shows are a curated selection of works on paper by Abstract Expressionist artists
showcased on the club’s grand staircase. Together, the shows provide a nuanced lens on the
wider movement’s legacy, offering insights into its evolution and the varied practices of its
artists.
Frederick J. Brown: Lands of the Mind
Judith Godwin: Reflection
13 February – 25 May 2025
The Arts Club
40 Dover Street
Mayfair
London, W1S 4NP
Pussyfooting, 2024
Oil on canvas
87 x 77 in. 221 x 195.6 cm
Angela Santana at Saatchi Yates
Saatchi Yates presents a new exhibition by Swiss-born artist, Angela Santana. The show will comprise a new body of work that redefines the representation of the female body in contemporary art. Deeply engaged with the re-appropriation of canonical dimensions of the female form, Santana’s practice challenges traditional depictions of the female form, delving into themes of identity, transformation, and the ways the body is represented in our digital age.
Angela Santana at Saatchi Yates
15th January, 2025 – 20th February 2025
Saatchi Yates
14 Bury Street
St James’s, London
SW1Y 6AL
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