10 exhibitions to see in the UK this October

30 September 2024

Autumn’s exhibitions are full of colour, just like the season itself

30 September 2024

Olivia Bax: Handrailing

Old newspapers, turned to pulp and mixed with discarded household paint, give Olivia Bax a ripe material for smearing and pressing onto welded metal frames. The resulting sculptures are curious and colourful assemblages of household objects rendered otherworldly through her unique material treatment.

Until 10 November at the New Art Centre, Roche Court, Salisbury

The Mechanical Circus

Roll up! Roll up! There’s a free exhibition of 10 circus-themed automata in Hove this month, on loan from Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. Kids will especially love this display of delightful kinetic machines that whir into action with the press of a button. There’s also a film revealing the secrets of their making and a hands-on zone to have a go at building your own.

Until 23 February 2025 at Hove Museum of Creativity, Hove

Magdalene Odundo

Revered ceramicist Magdalene Odundo will present a series of new hand-built works in this exhibition at London’s Thomas Dane Gallery, her first solo show in the capital for more than 20 years. Crafted in Odundo’s signature refined style, the pieces will take inspiration from manmade objects, the natural world, and beyond.

From 9 October – 14 December at Thomas Dane Gallery, London

Souvenir 20 (Queen Victoria) by Hew Locke, 2024. Photo by Anna Arca © Hew Locke
Peacemakers, Zac Weinberg, 2024 on show at People's Art. Photo: Colin Davison

Hew Locke: what have we here?

A Barbadian penny, a silver-gilt dish from Ghana and an English creamware jug are just some of the objects that British-Guyanese artist Hew Locke has pulled from the British Museum’s collection for this exhibition, which sets out to interrogate notions of history, identity and ownership. Dotted throughout the show will be sculptural figures from The Watchers, a newly commissioned work by Locke.

17 October 2024 – 9 February 2025 at the British Museum, London

People’s Art

Hidden talents come to light in this exhibition at the National Glass Centre, for which five established artist-makers (including metalsmith Francisca Onumah, and ceramicist Ingrid Murphy) have chosen an object by an unnamed maker from Compton Verney’s folk art collection to reinterpret in their own style. Both pieces will be displayed side by side to spur visitors to re-think the ways in which we ascribe value to art.

Until 1 December at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland

Installation view, Haegue Yang, FURLA SERIES #02, Tightrope Walking and Its Wordless Shadow, La Triennale di Milano, Italy, 2018. © Haegue Yang. Photo: Masiar Pasquali

Haegue Yang: Leap Year

This exhibition will be the first major survey of Korean artist Haegue Yang to take place in the UK, bringing together an expansive selection of her sensorial sculptures and installations. Wide-ranging in terms of theme and materiality, Yang’s work references everything from folklore to modernism, and incorporates items such as light bulbs, drying racks, pom-poms and more.

9 October 2024 – 5 January 2025 at the Hayward Gallery, London

Winifred Nicholson: Cumbrian Rag Rugs

Twentieth-century artist Winifred Nicholson may be better known for her flower paintings, but over the course of her career she also produced several rag rugs (floor coverings made from shreds of disused fabric). They’ll be displayed alongside her canvas works in this exhibition at MIMA, which will additionally showcase Nicholson’s tools, sketches and other items which informed her practice.

25 October – 23 March 2025 at MIMA, Middlesborough

Ian Kirkpatrick uses embroidery, quilting and cardboard as part of his visual language
From Mythomania, an exhibition by Ian Kirkpatrick

Ian Kirkpatrick: Iconoclash

Modern life goes under the microscope in the arresting visual world of Leeds-based artist Ian Kirkpatrick. Through large-scale cardboard sculptures, quilted collages and digitally-informed embroidery, he creates complex works that say something about the current global state, referencing everything from ancient Greek amphorae to graffiti and video games.

26 October 2024 – 5 January 2025 at The Harley Gallery, Worksop

Stitched: Scotland’s Embroidered Art

The full picture of Scotland’s rich history in embroidery is on show at Dovecot Studios this month, in this extensive survey created in collaboration with National Trust for Scotland. More than 80 pieces have been chosen from the last 200 years, including: ornate armchairs, hangings, tablecloths, cushions and more.

25 October 2024 – 18 January 2025 at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh

Guided by Nature

Mu-shim means to ‘empty one’s mind’ in Korean and refers to an egoless way of working embodied by many South Korean artisans. Guided by Nature celebrates makers that put personal will aside and let their process be open to greater forces. Get to know the concept at Lloyd Choi Gallery this month and see a collection of lighting and furniture by Cox London that’s inspired by the craftsperson’s state of flow.

7-17 October at Lloyd Choi Gallery, London