Lucian Freud Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, London
12 February 2012 12:00 AM
Lucian Freud's unflinching paintings reveal everything about their sitters' flesh and little of their personalities – indeed, are they portraiture at all?
David Shrigley: Brain Activity, Hayward Gallery,
London
05 February 2012 12:00 AM
The master of whimsy wears his art-school credentials on his sleeve, but his ideas feel derivative and the jokes wear thin
Hanne Darboven, Camden Arts Centre, London
29 January 2012 12:00 AM
The meticulous but empty management of Hanne Darboven makes us think about our need to parcel up our days
Hajj: Journey to the heart of Islam, British Museum, London
29 January 2012 12:00 AM
Islam's holy of holies – by dhow, steamer or jet plane
David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture, Royal Academy of Arts, London
22 January 2012 12:00 AM
Someone should have stood up to Hockney over this uneven show full of wonders ... and horrors
Alberto Burri: Form and Matter, Estorick Collection, London
15 January 2012 12:00 AM
The Italian war medic turned artist Alberto Burri proves to be a neglected master and innovator in a show of power and beauty
Graham Sutherland: An Unfinished World, Modern Art, Oxford
The Mystery of Appearance: Conversations Between Ten British Post-war Painters, Haunch of Venison, London
08 January 2012 12:00 AM
Sutherland is one of many mid-20th-century artists storming back into fashion at galleries and in salerooms alike
Rubens and Britain, Tate Britain, London
18 December 2011 12:00 AM
In 1629, Rubens came to London to negotiate a treaty between England and Spain; that done, he was knighted by Charles I and arose as Sir Peter Paul.
Lygia Pape, Serpentine Gallery, London
11 December 2011 12:00 AM
Lygia Pape, a neglected 20th-century revolutionary and survivor of the political hijacking of art, is given a long overdue show
Bloomberg New Contemporaries, ICA, London
04 December 2011 12:00 AM
There may be a future Turner prize recipient in this indifferent show for up-and-coming artists – but it would be the devil's own job to pick them
Gesamtkunstwerk, Saatchi Gallery, London
27 November 2011 12:00 AM
What's in a name? Whatever its title says, Charles Saatchi's new show is totally groovy
Gesamtkunstwerk: New Art from Germany, Saatchi Gallery, London
22 November 2011 12:00 AM
Too few gems from the junk-lovers
Terence Conran: The Way We Live Now, Design Museum, London
20 November 2011 12:00 AM
Conran didn't start the sexual revolution – he just sold us the kit...
Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination, British Library, London
Infinitas Gracias: Mexican Miracle Paintings, Wellcome Collection, London
20 November 2011 12:00 AM
On one side, the cream of medieval publishing; on the opposite, the joyful votive art of ordinary people in Mexico – and each as colourful as the other
Paul McCarthy: The King, The Island, The Train, The House, The Ship, Hauser & Wirth, London
18 November 2011 12:00 AM
Pigs and a president make for a provocative show, but it's still hard to squeal with delight
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