Upcoming Exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts: Kiefer/Van Gogh and BeyondUpcoming Exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts: Kiefer/Van Gogh and Beyond In 2025, the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London will present a groundbreaking exhibition featuring the works of Vincent van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer. Titled Kiefer/Van Gogh, this will be the first exhibition to juxtapose the art of these two influential artists. Developed in collaboration with Kiefer’s studio and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the exhibition will showcase a curated selection of works by both artists. The list of works is yet to be announced. Another significant exhibition opening at the RA next year is Kerry James Marshall, a survey of the American artist’s works. This exhibition, sponsored by BNP Paribas, will feature around 70 pieces, including a newly commissioned series of paintings and Marshall’s commemorative sculpture, *Waking* (2003). The RA will also host Brazil! Brazil! The Birth of Modernism, an exploration of ten important Brazilian artists of the 20th century. The exhibition will showcase the works of Alfredo Volpi and Geraldo de Barros, among others. Furthermore, the drawings of Victor Hugo, the author of *Les Misérables*, will be celebrated in Victor Hugo: Amazing Things. This exhibition will trace Hugo’s artistic journey through his caricatures, travel drawings, landscapes, and experiments with abstraction. Exhibition Dates: * Kiefer/Van Gogh: 28 June – 26 October 2025 * Kerry James Marshall: 20 September 2025 – 18 January 2026 * Brazil! Brazil! The Birth of Modernism: 28 January – 21 April 2025 * Victor Hugo: Amazing Things: 21 March – 29 June 2025
Next summer, an exhibition bringing together Vincent van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer will open at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London. It is the first exhibition to bring together the work of both artists.
Developed in close collaboration with Kiefer’s studio and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Kiefer/Van Gogh will open in the latter exhibition, before opening at the RA’s Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries on 28 June 2025. The list of works has yet to be announced.
A spokesperson for the RA said: “Our curators work closely with Kiefer’s studio, and many of the works come from his studio. This is the first time that Kiefer’s and Van Gogh’s work have been shown together in this way.”
The Van Gogh Museum has organized its exhibition in collaboration with the nearby Stedelijk Museum. It is the first time that the institutions have organized a joint exhibition (March 7-June 9). The works of Kiefer in the Stedelijk collection, such as Interior space (1981) will be on display at the Van Gogh Museum, but will not travel to the RA.
“Throughout Kiefer’s 60-year career, the pioneer of post-Impressionism has influenced the subjects and techniques of his monumental paintings and sculptures, which draw on history, mythology, literature, philosophy and science,” a statement from RA said. Art critic Jonathan Jones noted how Van Gogh’s shadow “loomed” in an exhibition of Kiefer’s work at the White Cube in London last year.
In an interview with The Art Newspaper Earlier this year, Kiefer cited several influences, including French novelist Jean Genet, German philosopher Martin Heidegger and Romanian poet Paul Celan. He also spoke about how he doesn’t believe he’s ever created a masterpiece, saying, “My talent is not enough. I never think a painting can be finished. It’s never finished, in my case.”
Other major shows opening at the RA next year include a survey of works by American artist Kerry James Marshall (20 September – 18 January 2026). The exhibition, sponsored by BNP Paribas bank, will feature around 70 works, including a new series of paintings commissioned especially for the show and his commemorative sculpture Waking (2003).
The RA will start in January Brazil! Brazil! The Birth of Modernism (January 28–April 21), which explores the influence of ten important Brazilian artists of the 20th century, such as Alfredo Volpi and Geraldo de Barros.
Meanwhile, the drawings of Victor Hugo, the author of The Miserables (1862), are presented in Amazing things (March 21-June 29). “The exhibition will trace Hugo’s preoccupation with drawing, from his early caricatures and travel drawings to his dramatic landscapes and experiments with abstraction,” a statement said.
Kiefer/Van Goghthe Royal Academy of Arts, 28 June-26 October 2025
