The 258th RA Summer Exhibition features works by Marina Abramovic, Harry Hill and Quentin Blake, as well as new faces and over thirty RA Students.
The Royal Academy of Arts’ annual Summer Exhibition returned last week, bringing over 1,800 artworks to the institute’s salon-style walls. Open from June 16 to August 23, the exhibition is a bright and bursting showcase of art and architecture that celebrates the best from across Britain and further afield. This year, the gallery blends old and new, bringing together familiar RA names, practising artists, selected amateurs, and recent graduates.
Following architect Farshid Moussavi last year, and sculptor Ann Christopher the year before, multidisciplinary artist Ryan Gander is this year’s coordinator. Known for his work turning marble into soft furnishings, among other projects spanning film, writing, design and performance, he often invites exploration and connection with his art. This is precisely what Gander brings to the RA’s exhibition, giving it the theme of ‘interconnectedness’ this year. “As humans, our creations often hold more commonality than separation”, he writes in his introduction, and so the pieces are curated with that commonality in mind, as each relates in some way or other to those left and right of them.
The collection’s theme is reflected in Gander’s own story. Before the opening, Gander shared that his journey as an artist started with a visit to the same show in 1991. Aged 15 and on a school trip with his art teacher, he decided he would apply one day. Now coordinating it, 35 years later, his entanglement with the gallery reinforces this year’s central idea.
Gander’s selection mixes media without discrimination, associating sculpture with print, architecture with photography. He creates a conversation between works, each emboldened and explored in new ways by these links. Throughout the exhibition, though subtle and easily missed, a horizontal line shifts and facilitates the art’s cohesion. Sometimes respected, sometimes crossed, this glossy line, covering each wall, visually connects the rooms and pieces. With help from a committee of Royal Academicians, Gander doesn’t just curate the entries; he curates your visit, channelling your attention and interpretations through these devices.
In some rooms, the conversation is clearer than in others. The entrance room to the exhibition, curated by Katherine Jones (RA), is one where interconnectedness is immediately apparent. Nature runs through each of the 236 pieces, accentuated by a sea of green hues. Bob and Roberta Smith’s painted slogan, Gardens Are The New Galleries, perfectly expresses the idea that draws this room together, starting the show off with a strong grasp of the key idea.
The Small Weston Room, Gander’s first curated space, is instantly recognisable as his selection. A mix of multimodal installations, with several by Ron Arad (RA) and Nigel Coates (RA), the small room has an immediate sense of union. Playful and clever, eye tests referencing famous artists are hung near a sculpture of Trump and Putin made from old pillows and rags (Pin It On Them by Tim Shaw). Prioritising design as well as wit, the space has Ryan Gander written all over it.
Another highlight is room IV, hung by the painter and Royal Academician Humphrey Ocean. This room places the names of major figures in British art and culture alongside emerging artists and members of the public, without a sense of hierarchy, creating an equality of merit. Sir Grayson Perry’s tapestry, Behold Humanity, features on the first wall, familiar to those who watched Grayson Perry Has Seen the Future earlier this year. This reflection on the world’s growing use of AI, alongside Dame Tracy Emin’s There Is An End To Everything, adds a sombre edge to a room bright with whimsy.
With nearly 2,000 chosen entries across architecture, drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and digital art, it is surprising that this showcase leaves you wanting to see more. Though walls are piled high with varying exhibits, Gander’s emphasis on interrelation allows for engagement, rather than exhaustion, and each room brings a new spirit and colour palette to the collection. The show not only opens up conversations between artists and works, but also between visitors, encouraging exchanges as you move around the gallery.
The Royal Academy’s summer show has always been one that cultivates connection, inspiration, and dialogue, but through Ryan Gander’s theme and curation, those qualities feel even more active.
The RA Summer Exhibition 2026 runs to August 23 at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
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