5 UK Exhibitions To See This Summer

While London remains an international centre of the art world, full of iconic museums and world-class galleries, there is also a wealth of museums and galleries outside of London putting on some epic exhibitions this summer.

Here is my pick of highlights including; Turner’s Vision at Petworth, Petworth, West Sussex; Andy Warhol: My True Story at Newlands House Gallery, Petworth; Beside The Sea: Photographs by JJ Waller & Martin Parr, Hove Museum of Creativity; The In Crowd: Mod Fashion & Style 1958-66, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and FRAMERATE: Pulse of the Earth, Undershed, Bristol.

Turner’s Vision at Petworth, Petworth House & Park, West Sussex (June 21st until November 16th, 2025).

Part of the Turner 250 celebrations, Turner’s Vision at Petworth at Petworth House showcases J.M.W. Turner’s studies of the Petworth landscape for the first time in 20 years. Featuring works on loan from Tate and private collections, the exhibition explores Turner’s experimentation with colour, materials, and his connection to Petworth House and patron George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont. Set in the stunning 17th-century house and Capability Brown’s parkland, it offers deep insight into Turner’s creative process and inspiration.

Turner’s Vision at Petworth will include oil paintings and works on paper on loan from Tate and several private lenders. Visitors will be able to see twenty Turner oil paintings on permanent display in Petworth House–a magnificent 17th-century National Trust house with one of the finest art collections in the country–before exploring the landscape which inspired him: Capability Brown’s 700-acre deer park and Pleasure Garden.

Petworth House Curator Dr Emily Knight comments: “We’re excited to show visitors another aspect of the work that Turner produced during his visits to Petworth, from the remarkably expressive sketches and studies that reveal his experimentation as an artist, to the calm grandeur of his finished paintings such as ‘Dewy Morning’ (1810). This exhibition will enrich people’s understanding of a place that played such a significant role in his life.”

Born on 23 April 1775, J.M.W. Turner is widely considered to be one of the most influential British artist of all time. From humble beginnings, he travelled the length and breadth of the country to capture its dramatic scenery, redefining landscape painting in the process. Turner’s creative genius has left an enduring legacy and his face is even on the £20 note.

Andy Warhol: My True Story at Newlands House Gallery, Petworth (June 6th until September 14th, 2025).

Newlands House Gallery in Petworth are presenting Andy Warhol: My True Story, a new exploration of one of the 20thcentury’s most influential artists giving a unique window into the life and work of Andy Warhol (1928-1987).

Curated by Professor Jean Wainwright, this exhibition delves behind Warhol’s public persona to reveal the man beneath. Through rarely seen drawings, screenprints, films, photographs, and audio recordings, including family insights and Factory interviews, the show uncovers Warhol’s private life, heritage, and enduring legacy. Highlights include Warhol’s film of his mother and rarely displayed works such as Mona Lisa (Four Times) and the One Million Dollar Bill.

Warhol’s mother Julia’s ornate calligraphy can be found on many of his illustrations, and she often crafted his signature. The exhibition features The George Hamilton Story (Mrs Warhol)–a rarely seen film Warhol made of his mother in 1966, when she was 75–which further reveals his relationship with her. An audio recording of his mother singing creates a haunting atmosphere.

Iconic photographs of Warhol taken by those who were close to him–such as Bob Adelman’s Andy Warhol Empties his Boots after being Pushed into the Pool by Edie Sedgewick–offer an insight into a very human Warhol experimenting with ideas and subject matter. Warhol’s legacy continues to have huge influence on artists, as seen by the inclusion of contemporary artists inspired by him such as David LaChapelle, Gavin Turk, Rob and Nick Carter, and Philip Colbert.

Curator Jean Wainwright says: “This exhibition partly traces my own 30-year search for the truth behind the man, through his brothers, family and those who knew him best. In gathering different works from those often associated with him, I hope it reveals a tender, unusual and different side to the Warhol we are familiar with.”

Beside The Sea: Photographs by JJ Waller & Martin Parr, Hove Museum of Creativity (May 3rd until September 14th, 2025).

Celebrating British seaside holidays, this playful exhibition at Hove Museum of Creativity pairs Martin Parr’s iconic Last Resort images with JJ Waller’s vivid snapshots of life on the Sussex coast. The photographers have selected each other’s work, offering a fresh and humorous take on seaside culture through the decades.

Beside The Sea is a wonderful opportunity to see some of Martin Parr’s classic pictures from his groundbreaking Last Resort series, as well as many rarely seen seaside photographs from his vast archive. JJ Waller is celebrated for his photography books depicting a beyond the picture postcard views of Brighton. His photographs feature many local scenes as well as a selection of images celebrating tourism along the Sussex coast and beyond.

The In Crowd: Mod Fashion & Style 1958-66, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery (until 4 January 2026).

Explore the rise of Mod fashion in this stylish exhibition featuring over 35 mannequins dressed in sharp suits, bold prints, and vintage accessories. Curated by Roger K. Burton, the show traces Mod culture’s evolution and impact, with a special Ben Sherman installation celebrating the brand’s youth culture influence. It also reflects Brighton’s unique role in the Mod story—from catwalk to cultural flashpoint.

The In Crowd: Mod Fashion & Style 1958-66 is sponsored by iconic Brighton Mod brand Ben Sherman, and curated by Roger K Burton, who during a 50-year career has styled iconic movies including Absolute Beginners and seminal Mod film Quadrophenia, collaborating with icons including David Bowie, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Mart Pel, Curator of Fashion and Textiles at Brighton Museum explains: “The In Crowd: Mod Fashion & Style 1958–66 is about more than fabric – it’s about the energy and edge of a youth movement that refused to follow the rules. In the wake of post-war austerity, Mods turned their backs on the drabness of the past and embraced a bold, new identity, with clean lines, vivid colours, and a sense of optimism that spoke volumes. They weren’t just dressing up, but redefining what it meant to be young and British.”

As part of the collaboration with Ben Sherman, a special installation titled Ben Sherman: The Decades can be found in the museum’s Fashion Gallery showcasing the brand’s influence on fashion and youth culture and featuring 12 dressed mannequins and a curated selection of iconic archive pieces.

FRAMERATE: Pulse of the Earth, Undershed, Bristol (until 13th July, 2025).

This immersive multi-screen installation by ScanLAB Projects captures the shifting British landscape through groundbreaking 3D time-lapse scans. A collaboration between art and science, it visualizes the slow forces of nature and human impact on the environment. Used in scientific research on erosion, FRAMERATE offers a rare and haunting look at a world in flux.

FRAMERATE – Pulse of the Earth, is a profound and beautiful multiscreen artwork from pioneering award-winning artists ScanLAB Projects. The work marries groundbreaking scientific research with artistic excellence to reveal a unique portrait of the British landscape in flux – one that tells the story of the impact of human industry and the immense forces of nature. This is the second exhibition at Undershed – the new gallery at Watershed in Bristol that shows the best immersive and interactive artwork from across the globe.

FRAMERATE is curated by Undershed’s lead curator Amy Rose, and was created from thousands of daily 3D time-lapse scans of British landscapes painstakingly collected by ScanLAB over 2 years, allowing audiences to observe change on a scale impossible to see with the lens of a traditional camera. The data collected and presented by FRAMERATE is ground-breaking scientific research used by the British Geological Survey and others to investigate coastal erosion in a brand new way.