The best exhibitions this week in London, from Robert Rauschenberg to Isa Genzken (May 9 to 16)

We pick the best art shows to enjoy this week
Installation view, Isa Genzken, Wasserspeier and Angels, at Hauser & Wirth Piccadilly, London, UK, 2004. © Isa Genzken
All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich

With access to hundreds of museums and galleries a tube ride away, we Londoners are spoilt for choice when it comes to a fun day out. But sometimes the capital’s embarrassment of riches means it’s tricky to pick where to go.

Do you disappear into the National Gallery for an afternoon, pop by some of the independent galleries in Marylebone, explore East London’s exciting offerings, or wander around the Tate?

Look no further every week: here’s our pick of five extraordinary exhibitions to see in London right now.

Robert Rauschenberg: ROCI

Caryatid Cavalcade I / ROCI, Chile 1985
Courtesy Thaddaeus Ropac gallery © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / ARS, New York 2021

Between 1984 and 1991 pioneering American painter and printmaker Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), spearheaded The Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI), an organisation which hoped to boost world peace through mutual understanding.

Now Thaddeaus Ropac brings together a series of work from that ambitious project. Expect illuminating canvases, metal paintings, sculptures and textile works.

Thaddeaus Ropac, to June 15; ropac.net

Uri Aran: zero point everything

Uri Aran, Interiors 2024
Credit: © Uri Aran. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London. Photo: Dan Bradica

Jerusalem-born, New York-based multimedia artist Uri Aran imagines his works – drawings, paintings, sculptures, collages, photographs – as a visual language or a poem, with a rhythm and repeated motifs within. By exploring how these pieces relate to each other, he raises questions about excess, information, history and lexicons.

Sadie Coles HQ, to June 15; sadiecoles.com

Matthew Krishanu: The Bough Breaks

Boy Swimming, 2023, Matthew Krishanu
Courtesy of the artist and Jhaveri Contemporary, Photo: Rob Harris

Bradford-born Matthew Krishanu draws on his childhood in Bangladesh raised by Christian missionary parents to create this new series of paintings and works on paper. Atmospheric and sometimes haunting, the pieces explore memory, religion and history.

Camden Art Centre, to June 23; camdenartcentre.org

Isa Genzken: Wasserspeier and Angels

Installation view, Isa Genzken, Wasserspeier and Angels, at Hauser & Wirth Piccadilly, London, UK, 2004. © Isa Genzken
Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich

Influential German contemporary artist Isa Genzken, best known for her sculptural works, draws on the aesthetics of Minimalism and punk culture to ask questions about society, capitalism, human experience and perception. Here her 2004 installation, Wasserspeier and Angels, is revived to celebrate two decades since its London debut.

Hauser & Wirth, to July 27; hauserwirth.com

Colin Davidson: Silent Testimony

Walter, Colin Davidson: Silent Testimony
Courtesy of the artist and National Portrait Gallery

Quiet, thought-provoking and moving, the exhibition displays 18 large-scale portraits by the Belfast-born artist Colin Davidson. He’s painted individuals who have experienced loss due to The Troubles, Ireland’s 30-year sectarian conflict.