Don’t miss: Plaster’s art picks

‘Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime’, Sadie Coles HQ

Who doesn’t love a good crime story? Particularly when it’s by Oscar Wilde, and even more so when it’s the basis of an art show. With artists including Cecily Brown, Guglielmo Castelli, Andrew Cranston, Peter Doig, Alexandra Metcalf, Elizabeth Peyton, Jamian Juliano-Villani and Joseph Yaeger, the show takes its cues from the newly acquired gallery and its surrounds; the artists, characters and social quirks that defined Wilde’s satirical take on Victorian Mayfair. – Harriet Lloyd-Smith 

 21st January – 21 March 2026, at 17 Savile Row W1S 3PN

‘Bananna Karenina’, Studio Chapple

A footpath bridge in Archway might not be the most obvious setting for a runway show, but it’s 2026 so anything goes. I was gutted to miss ‘Bananna Karenina’, the fashion show by Alex Heard and The Pegram Collection, staged in all its improbable glory. Thankfully, redemption is possible: ephemera and documentation from the show are on display at Studio Chapple this weekend. Proof that in fashion (and in life), everyone deserves a second chance. – Dora Densham Bond

Opening Friday 16th January 6-9pm, runs on 17th and 18th January 12-6pm at Enclave 7, 50 Resolution Way, SE8 4AL

Barbara Wesołowska, ‘Empty Night’, Michael Werner Gallery

I often don’t like abstract work but Wesołowska’s latest show is a big goopy yes for me. Her colours work together, she processes her canvases a lot, adding in lots of texture, and subtly creates depth, all of which pull focus without shouting, “Here, here, here!” – Isaac Dymond

Until 31st January at 22 Upper Brook St, London W1K 7PZ

James Turrell, ‘Afterglow’, Gagosian

Whenever you see the name James Turrell you must go and see. 

Non negotiable.  – Finn Constantine 

14th January – 20th February 2026 at 28–29 Burlington Arcade, London W1J 0QJ

‘Internet Cafe’, Hypha Studios at No.1 Poultry

Remember when the internet was fun? A bit weird and kooky, not an embodiment of the collapse of civilisation? ‘Internet Cafe’, curated by Juliet Wilson with artists including Honey Baker, Lily Bloom, Naomi Boiko-Stapleton, will ride the wave of Y2K nostalgia and optimism – the “gadgets, gizmos” – and ask, what the hell happened? – Harriet Lloyd-Smith

30th January – 7th March 2026, No.1 Poultry, EC2R 8EN

Nat Faulkner, ‘Strong Water’, Camden Arts Centre

It’s cold and grey, and this is the perfect reason to go somewhere warm and look closely at something quietly beautiful for a bit. – Ella Fanshawe

16th January – 22nd March 2026 at Arkwright Rd, London NW3 6DG

Mary Kelly, ‘We don’t want to set the world on fire’, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery

I can’t wait to see this exhibition before it closes later this month. A fragmented timeline of protest and personal history over 71 years, using archival text and image, Mary Kelly’s work is a timely reflection on the power of protest and the past’s impact on our understanding of the present. – Emma Ralph

Until Saturday 24th January 2026 at 6 Heddon St, London W1B 4BT

Nan Goldin, ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’, Gagosian Davies Street

For a recent birthday, I was given The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, arguably the photography book when it comes to the icon that is Nan Goldin. I remember the excitement I felt as I turned its pages, each one revealing a deeply intimate and emotionally raw scene from 1970-80s New York. This was photography I could get behind. A gift indeed. I can’t wait to see these photographs jump off the page and onto gallery walls. – Livia Magyar

13th January – 21st March 2026 at Gagosian, 17–19 Davies Street, London W1K 3DE

 Lucy Raven, ‘Depositions’, Lisson Gallery

Lucy Raven has some work in a group show at Lisson Street until the end of Jan. Creating small scale floods and dam breaches in her studio, she lets sediment run through silk canvases. These works are then hung in the gallery alongside videos of her studio process. Expect sand, mud and ASMR. – Emma Ralph

Until 31st January 2026 at 67 Lisson St, London NW1 5DA

Toby Cato, ‘Cato,’ Saatchi Yates

If you catch one more exhibition before Christmas, make it Toby Grant, AKA Toby Cato’s exhibit at Saatchi Yates. Cato is one of London’s most significant emerging artists. His work focuses on the Black community that makes up his orbit in South London: “I paint what I want to see. I make these worlds for myself to live in. I’m trying to talk to my heroes”. – Livia Magyar

Until 18th January 2026 at Saatchi Yates, 14 Bury St, London SW1Y 6AL

Noah Merzbacher, ‘To be a nut in the 21st century’ @ Best Wishes @ Next Door

This is only the second exhibition at Best Wishes, which launched during Frieze Week, and already it feels like one to watch. After being won over by a buzzball sculpture – and the sheer novelty of an exhibition staged inside a tiny bike shed next to the curator’s house – I’m curious to see what comes next. – Dora Densham Bond

Until 31st January 2026 at Best Wishes, @ Next Door, E2 7PQ

 Matthias Weischer, ‘Off Target’ at Grimm Gallery

Grimm Gallery is serving up some delicious colour and texture with their Matthias Weischer install. His larger paintings are particularly spanking, with the egg tempera wash lending them an earthy/natural colour palette not too dissimilar to that which you’d find on a sun-washed Chicken Village menu. – Isaac Dymond

Until 17th January 2026 at Grimm Gallery, 43a Duke Street St James’s, London SW1Y 6DD

‘Monument to the Unimportant’, Pace Gallery

There’s a lot of big stuff to think about right now, so I was relieved to see Pace offering an antidote in the form of a show dedicated to the monumentality of the mundane. From Tony Matelli’s bronze weeds to Elmgreen & Dragset’s conjoined urinals – it might make you look twice at the small stuff.  – Harriet Lloyd-Smith

Until 14th February at 5 Hanover Square, London W1S 1HQ

Joy Gregory, ‘Catching Flies with Honey’, Whitechapel Gallery

Containing over 250 works, this mega exhibit celebrates an artist in total command of her craft. The title references the proverb: ‘You catch more flies with honey than vinegar’, something the artist’s mother used to say to her. Personal, political and beautiful, this exhibition should be on every photographer’s – and art lover’s – list! – Livia Magyar

Until 1st Mar 2026 at 77-82 Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX

Karimah Ashadu, ‘Tendered’, Camden Arts Center

Making use of both film and sculpture, Ashadu presents a softened image of hyper-masculine archetypes in a climate of polarised gender identity narratives. Shots of soft-spoken muscle bros, saddled cowboys, and red-tinted industry workers give insight into the post-colonial climate of Nigeria, where self-image and capital are intrinsically linked. – Isaac Dymond

Until 22nd March 2026, at Arkwright Rd, London NW3 6DG 

‘Broken Portraits, Experiments With The Photobooth’, The Photographers’ Gallery

This workshop at The Photographers’ Gallery, run by photographer and photobooth connoisseur Rafael Hortala Vallve and designer and creative director Corinne Quin, coincides with the current exhibition ‘Strike a Pose: 100 Years of the Photobooth’. If, like me, you ever spent any time on CamWow in the early 2010s, or enjoyed a Saturday-morning trip into town, gifting the Apple Store iPads with photobooth selfies, you won’t need any convincing of the cultural resonance of the photobooth – digital or physical. Reserve a space in their workshop before they fill up faster than your iPhone storage after a selfie session. – Dora Densham Bond

4th February 2026 at 16-18 Ramillies Street, W1F 7LW

‘Strike a Pose! 100 Years of the Photobooth’, The Photographers’ Gallery

It’s 100 years since the invention of the photo booth in New York! There’s a small archival display at The Photographer’s Gallery celebrating the much-loved analogue booths that appeared all over cities across the 20th century. – Emma Ralph 

Until 22 Feb 2026 at 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW

Louise Giovanelli, ‘Decades’, St Mary le Strand, Create London and Westminster City Council

Louise Giovanelli is taking on a public space! What’s not to like? – Finn Constantine

Until 18th January 2026 at St Mary le Strand, London WC2R 1ES

Rachel Levitas, ‘Ten Thousand Saints’, Gallery Maison Bertaux 

Great paintings in a great space. Have a cup of tea and a scone and feast your eyes! – Finn Constantine

Until February 2026 at 28 Greek Street, London W1D 5DQ

Caravaggio’s Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist in Room 32 of The National Gallery 

Going very specific this week, but masterpieces deserve to be singled out. Room 32 of The National Gallery has some jaw-dropping pictures but this one takes the crown. – Finn Constantine

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN