Are you looking for the best exhibitions in European museums in Autumn 2023? It’s a time of the year when European museums are opening some of their best shows. With numerous exhibitions opening, September is the hottest month in the art world. From classical art to some of the best young contemporary artists, there is something for everyone in European museums this season. Keep reading to find out the 15 best exhibitions in European museums in Autumn 2023.
Best Exhibitions in European Museums in Autumn 2023
For the last few years, I have curated a list of the best exhibitions in European museums in Autumn. With so many great shows, we are in for some real art treat this season.
⤷ Read more: 15 Best exhibitions in European museums in 2023
1 – On the New: Viennese Scenes and Beyond – Part 2
Belvedere 21, Vienna (Austria) / 14 July 2023 – 15 October 2023
On the New: Viennese Scenes and Beyond is the second edition of the exhibition that explores contemporary art, new approaches and projects in Vienna. This time, they also included artists from other parts of Austria. The curatorial team members are Christiane Erharter, Andrea Kopranovic, Ana Petrović, Claudia Slanar, Luisa Ziaja. So, after exploring the classical art in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, check out the new art talents in Belvedere 21.
2 – Michael Armitage
Kunsthaus, Bregenz (Austria) / 15 July 2023 – 29 October 2023
Kunsthaus Bregenz is one of Europe’s leading contemporary art galleries, hosting around four temporary exhibitions each year. In a moment, it hosts a fantastic Michael Armitage exhibition. A British artist born in Kenya is a talented painter and an excellent storyteller. He’s also interesting because Armitage doesn’t paint on canvases. Instead, he uses Lubugo bark cloth for his artworks. That’s why you can see holes and ‘scares’ in his paintings.
If you are in Bregenz, visit his show, which is undoubtedly one of the best exhibitions in European museums in Autumn 2023.
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3 – Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion
Design Museum, London (UK) / 16 September 2023 – 11 February 2024
Exploring 30 years of London fashion, this exhibition promises to be one of the most extensive overviews of contemporary fashion culture. The show will exhibit more than 100 fashion looks that marked the industry. One of the exhibition highlights is the swan dress Björk wore at the 2001 Oscars. It’s one of the most exciting exhibitions in European museums this Autumn.
4 – From Albrecht Dürer to Andy Warhol. Masterpieces from the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich
LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, Lugano (Switzerland) / 10 September 2023 – 7 January 2024
The ETH Zürich is home to one of Switzerland’s most important collections of drawings and graphics. They will display some of their most exciting artefacts spanning six hundred years of art history at one of the best exhibitions in European museums in Autumn 2023. From artworks by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas van Leyden, Rembrandt van Rijn and Francisco de Goya to Käthe Kollwitz and Andy Warhol, you’ll find them all at this exhibition.
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5 – Marina Abramović
Royal Academy, London (UK) / 23 September – 10 December 2023
One of the top art events in 2023 will be the Marina Abramović retrospective. She has been the leading conceptual and performance artist active for over forty years. For this exhibition, Abramović is going to prepare some new work. However, many of her older performances will also be restaged by the younger artists.
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6 – Niko Pirosmani
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen (Switzerland) / 17 September 2023 – 28 January 2024
Since I first saw the Niko Pirosmani exhibition a few years ago in Arles, I’ve been obsessed with that Georgian artist. He was a representative of primitive art who simultaneously influenced some of the most famous Modern artists and ordinary people who loved his work. At this exhibition, the Fondation Beyeler will show around 50 of his artworks from the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi.
7 – Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto
V&A Museum, London (UK) / 16 September 2023 – 25 February 2024
The first UK exhibition dedicated to the famous designer provides an overview of Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel’s life, work and legacy. Her designs are the show’s centrepieces, starting with one of the earliest pieces that survived, the blouse from 1916. Although focusing on Chanel’s work in fashion, the exhibition also deals with her controversial involvement during the Second World War.
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8 – Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. The invention of Language
Musée du Luxembourg, Paris / 13 September 2023 – 28 January 2024
The exhibition at Musée du Luxembourg in Paris explores the friendship between 20th-century artists Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. The show is part of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death. Through the lives of these two artists, it delves into the Paris art world of their contemporaries like Henri Matisse, Marcel Duchamp, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and others.
⤷ Read more: The best museums in Paris
9 – Amedeo Modigliani. A Painter and His Retailer
Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris / 20 September 2023 – 15 January 2024
This Autumn Paris exhibition explores the relationship between the artist Amedeo Modigliani and his art dealer Paul Guillaume and how it affected Modigliani’s artworks. Five of his artworks owned by Guillaume are in the Musée de l’Orangerie collection. Besides providing a deeper insight into them, the exhibition will explore numerous other Modigliani artworks Guillaume promoted and sold.
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10 – Jasper Johns – The Artist as Collector
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel (Switzerland) / 30 September 2023 – 4 February 2024
Kunstmuseum Basel is hosting one of the most exciting exhibitions in European museums in Autumn 2023. Jasper Johns is one of the most famous modern and contemporary American artists. However, he is also a passionate art collector. He owns artworks by Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Käthe Kollwitz, Marcel Duchamp, and many more. Being especially interested in drawings, the exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel will display around 80 drawings from his collection.
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11 – Michelangelo and the Consequences
Albertina, Vienna (Austria) / 15 September 2023 – 7 January 2024
Albertina in Vienna has a valuable collection of rare Michelangelo drawings. Because of their frugality, they put them on display very rarely. However, they will be in focus of one of the best exhibitions in European museums in Autumn 2023. Next to them, the museum will display drawings of some famous artists from the 16th and 17th centuries, like Raphael, Rubens or Dürer. So, visitors will have an excellent opportunity to explore Michelangelo’s influence on those artists.
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12 – Frans Hals
National Gallery, London (UK) / 30 September 2023 – 21 January 2024
At the end of the year, the National Gallery in London will host an exhibition dedicated to Frans Hals. He was one of the most popular Dutch 17th-century painters. Famous for his portraits of relaxed, laughing and sometimes drunk contemporaries, Frans Hals isn’t, without reason, one of the most beloved artists from the Dutch Golden Age.
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13 – Magic of the North: Edvard Munch in Berlin
Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (Germany) / 15 September 2023 – 22 January 2024
Edvard Munch lived in the German capital on and off from 1892 until 1907, influencing his young contemporary German artists. However, with about 60 exhibitions organised in Berlin between 1892 and 1933, the audience also accepted him well. At the exhibition at Berlinische Galerie, his life in Berlin is illustrated by around 80 paintings, prints and photographs.
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14 – Van Gogh at Auvers-sur-Oise: The last months
Musée d’Orsay, Paris (France) / 3 October 2023 – 4 February 2024
Van Gogh spent the last two months of his life in the small French village Auvers-sur-Oise. During that time, he painted around 70 paintings, creating more than one daily. This exhibition will explore his last days while exhibiting some famous artworks created during that time.
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15 – Damien Hirst – The Weight of Things
Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (MUCA), Munich / 26 October 2023 – 28 January 2024
One of the central art events this Autumn in Germany is the Damien Hirst exhibition organised in the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art in Munich. During the extensive solo show, around 40 installations, paintings and sculptures made by the famous contemporary British artist will be displayed in Germany for the first time.
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We have an exciting art season ahead with so many great exhibitions in European museums in Autumn 2023. Do you plan to visit any exhibitions this Autumn? Would you add any to this list? Let me know in the comments!
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