Michael Landy's 'Future Ruins' Opens at Sir John Soane's Museum, London

Michael Landy, a Goldsmiths' College graduate (1988) and key figure of the Young British Artists, presents Future Ruins at Sir John Soane's Museum in London from 14 October to 17 January 2027. The exhibition features detailed drawings and watercolours of buildings in states of decay, including the Bank of England, the New York Stock Exchange, Mar-a-Lago, Chatsworth House, Mussolini's Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the Landy family home in Ilford, and a former art supply shop. Landy cites Joseph Michael Gandy's 18th-century watercolour Architectural Ruins: A Vision, owned by the museum, as the starting point, placing his work in the romantic ruin tradition of Hubert Robert and Piranesi. A new sculptural piece, Broken Column (2026), comprises a giant stack of real outdoor litter bins overflowing with rubbish, echoing his earlier works Break Down (2001) and Scrapheap Services (1995), as well as Art Bin (2010). The show also includes a pencil drawing, Self Portrait at the Age of 62, made in 2025. Landy, born in London in 1963, lives and works in London and is represented by Thomas Dane Gallery and Galerie Sabine Knust. His career includes major shows at Tate Gallery (1995), Artangel (2001), Tate Britain (2004), South London Gallery (2010), National Gallery (2013), Museum Tinguely (2016), Firstsite (2021), and Hastings Contemporary (2025).