Francis Bacon to Women Modernists: introducing our 2022 exhibitions
By RA Digital Team
Published on 31 August 2021
From Francis Bacon's eerie reflections on man and beast, to South Africa’s most celebrated living artist William Kentridge, our 2022 programme gives everyone something to look forward to.
There’s a lot of art to look forward to in 2022
Our galleries will be bursting with art, from the annual Summer Exhibition in the Main Galleries to blockbuster shows exploring the work of Francis Bacon, James McNeill Whistler, Kawanabe Kyōsai and many more. Become a Friend of the RA and see all our exhibitions for free.
Our 2022 exhibitions at a glance:
29 January – 17 April
This powerful exhibition will focus on Bacon’s unerring fascination with animals: how it both shaped his approach to the human body and distorted it; how, caught at the most extreme moments of existence, his figures are barely recognisable as either human or beast.
26 February — 22 May 2022
This exhibition is the first to shine a light on the critical role Joanna Hiffernan played in establishing James McNeill Whistler's reputation as one of the most influential artists of the late 19th century.
19 March – 19 June 2022
Drawing from one of the finest collections of the artist’s work in the world, this exhibition brings together Kyōsai's highly finished paintings, woodcut prints and illustrated books, as well as impromptu paintings (sekiga) created at sometimes raucous calligraphy and painting parties (shogakai).
21 June – 21 August 2022
Our annual celebration of art and creativity continues in 2022. The Summer Exhibition is the world’s largest open submission art show and brings together art in all mediums by leading artists, Royal Academicians and household names as well as new and emerging talent.
15 July — 16 October 2022
This is the first comprehensive exhibition of Milton Avery’s work in Europe. It brings together a selection of around 70 paintings from the 1930s – 1960s that are among his most celebrated. These works typically feature scenes of daily life, including portraits of loved ones and serene landscapes from his visits to Maine and Cape Cod.
24 September — 11 December 2022
This ambitious exhibition – the biggest Kentridge exhibition in the UK to date – spans all 12 rooms in the RA’s Main Galleries, spilling out into our public spaces, and includes new work created in response to the galleries.
Presenting a sweeping overview of Kentridge’s 40-year career, it includes rarely seen works from the 1980s up to the present day, revealing an artist at the height of his creative powers.
12 November 2022 — 12 February 2023
Making Modernism is the first major UK exhibition devoted to the women who pioneered German Modernism: Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kӓthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter, Marianne Werefkin, Erma Bossi and Jacoba van Heemskerk.
It reframes the movement through the experiences and perspectives of these ground-breaking artists who – although less familiar than their male counterparts Kandinsky, Beckmann and Kirchner – were no less central to the development of Modernism.
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