A whistle-stop tour of contemporary art galleries in London
London abounds with contemporary galleries. Now's your chance to ditch the big giants and try new spaces that have more shows, support emerging artists, and best of all, are free!
Top tip for staying up-to-date with contemporary art galleries in London: subscribe to Seb’s Art List for the weekly exhibition opening roundups. These are carefully organised geographically so you can plan your route accordingly. Thanks, Seb!
Private views are great for free booze and a bit of an awkward chat, but with so many people stuffed into what are usually tiny venues, seeing the artwork can be a tough gig. If you can go in the day, I would.
It's also important to remember that the gallery week is Tuesday to Saturday. Turn up on a Monday and you'll be faced with lights off and a locked door. Come back the next day, be brave, ring a doorbell, and keep up to date with the up-and-comers.
Blue Shop Gallery
Blue Shop Cottage was founded in 2016 during a shop renovation on Camberwell High Street. It became a cocktail bar, a flower shop, and a community hub before finding its feet as a contemporary gallery space. Big on nurturing fresh talent and championing female artists, the gallery quickly gained recognition and expanded into Blue Shop Gallery on Brixton Road.
A recent jam-packed exhibition, Orla Kane’s second show, More Moons Than Suns, was a plethora of dreamlike paintings seen through her poetic recollections of rural Scotland, overseen by gallerist Ocki, and her friendly sidekick, Mole, the gallery dog. There's no doubt Blue Shop’s next exhibition will be just as stunning.
Camberwell, SE5 | blueshopcottage.com
Sid Motion Gallery
In 2019, Sid Motion Gallery moved across from the glossy Coal Drops Yard to the Penarth Centre. The former industrial estate is set up halfway between Bermondsey and Peckham, with the gallery integrated into a block of artistic studios. It's undoubtedly a clever move to close the void between working artists and gallerists.
Sid herself is the daughter of a former poet laureate and the arts editor of the Financial Times, so it's no wonder she's got an eye for the arts. Often showcasing first-time show-ers, Sid’s few and well-selected artists bring the crowds. The location may be unconventional, but people will travel to see it.
Current exhibition: Contour Lines is on until 15 March 2025
Peckham, SE15 | sidmotiongallery.co.uk
Alma Pearl
Stories of arty folk and their dogs are as old as time. The Wallace Collection even dedicated their 2023 show to portraits of dogs. Alma Pearl is no different, with Celeste Baracchi naming her space after her beloved pooch.
This clean-cut Haggerston spot overlooks Regent’s Canal and at only 2 years old, is part of a new movement of young gallerists reinvigorating the slightly stale art scene. The current group show, Porous Abstraction, touches on themes of identity and family through culturally charged materials.
Current exhibition: Porous Abstraction is on until 22 March 2025
Haggerston, N1 | almapearl.com
Maureen Paley
Beginning as an indie project space in 1984, longstanding East London resident Maureen Paley is a leader of the contemporary scene. Paley leans heavily towards solo shows and was early to exhibit Turner Prize winner Wolfgang Tillmans and a favourite of mine, painter Kaye Donachie, who has shown no less than seven times with the gallery.
The Bethnal Green space is light and industrial, with the air of New York cool. Despite its international reputation, the gallery has remained modestly intimate with its expansions: a smaller Studio M project space in Shoreditch, and Morena di Luna in Hove (which translates to ‘dark-haired one of the moon’, the nickname given to Paley by Tillmans himself).
Current exhibition: Liam Gillick: The Sleepwalkers is on until 1 March 2025
Bethnal Green, E2 | maureenpaley.com
Lisson Gallery
This contemporary giant is often forgotten due to being slightly off the beaten gallery track, but its 50-year history of mixing big names with lesser-known artists ensures it is one to make a detour for. It's a two-for-the-price-of-one kind of thing, as Lisson’s two sister galleries, only a street apart, hold separate shows simultaneously, and they are both free.
Its vast, well-lit spaces have seen the likes of Donald Judd and introduced Anish Kapoor to the world. They welcome Ai Wei Wei next month whose work promises a relentless inquiry into politics, identity, and cultural heritage.
You may have to hunt in the shadows of the Marylebone flyover, but it's well worth finding.
Current exhibition: Ai Wei Wei: A New Chapter is on from 7 February - 15 March 2025
Marylebone, NW1 | lissongallery.com
Alveston Fine Art
Imagine Portobello Road: bustling, colourful, and buzzing with energy. All those words could be used to describe the work at Alveston. Moreover, it's fun – something that is strangely hard to find in the art world.
This eclectic space was founded in 2016 in defiance of conventional art forms. Its open-door policy encourages buyers to purchase through visual encounters with the works, rather than as an investment commodity. How nice?!
Minimalism is a far cry as the space is stuffed with ceramic cats, tufted rugs, and surreal paintings. The work makes you smile and is intended to be taken at face value, and sometimes, that's completely enough.
Notting Hill, W11 | alveston.london
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