London is a veritable hotbed of museums, galleries and cultural attractions, so exhibitions in the capital tend to get the Lion’s share of coverage. Yet there are so many amazing exhibitions in arts institutions, museums and stately homes with galleries and sculpture gardens outside of London worth visiting. I picked out my highlights to see this winter.
Chila Burman at Compton Verney (until 26th January, 2025).
Compton Verney, an 18th Century country estate in Warwickshire with sculpture garden and art gallery, is presenting “Spectacular Diversions”, a major exhibition of works by Chila Kumari Singh Burman. The exhibition includes sculpture, drawings and prints, as well as a series of her signature neons that light up the façade of the historic house depicting animals, ice creams, Hindu deities and mythological creatures. Also on public display in the UK for the first time is “Two Women Wearing Cosmetic Patches” (c.1655), a painting that was saved for the nation in 2023 before undergoing an 18-month conservation and research project at the Yale Center for British Art. Compton Verney purchased the painting by an unknown artist which reveals fascinating insights into 17th Century attitudes to morality and race.