Five Must-See London Exhibitions in May 2026

London's May 2026 art calendar features five notable exhibitions spanning post-war painting, contemporary photography, and diasporic exchange. At Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert, 'Patrick Heron: Early works, 1950-54' (7 May–10 July) presents works from the artist's estate, including never-before-exhibited pieces, alongside loans from museums and private collections. The show focuses on Heron's transition between figuration and abstraction, influenced by the School of Paris. At 14 Percy Street, 'Rhythm in the Blues' (11–20 May), co-presented by Octavia Art Gallery founder Pamela Bryan and curator Julia Campbell Carter, brings together Alia Ali, Aigana Gali, Azadeh Ghotbi, Naomie Kremer, and Lucille Lewin. The exhibition explores art as connection across borders, drawing on the histories of New Orleans and London. Twilight Contemporary presents 'Catching the Big Fish' (8–30 May), the debut UK solo show of Brooklyn-based painter Ellie Kayu Ng, who examines identity, aspiration, and domestic boredom through vivid, theatrical scenes. At Union Gallery, 'Bunny Hennessey: Radical Happiness' (2–30 May) features the London-based painter's high-chroma works where figuration and abstraction merge, exploring embodied experience and emotional extremes. Finally, GRIMM London presents 'Dirk Braeckman: Although' (23 April–30 May), the Belgian artist's first solo UK exhibition, featuring recent works that embrace analogue photography's materiality and uncertainty.