22 Unmissable Exhibitions To See In May 2025

Ever wondered what David Hockney painted in his early twenties? Or what it means to be a dandy? It’s all on display across the world this month; these are 22 of the best global exhibitions to see in May 2025.

Three female artists from the 60s (Marcia Marcus, Alice Neel, Sylvia Sleigh) are front row in New York, Cecil Beaton’s blooms are out in full splendour in London, and suiting is tailored for you at the Met. These are the gallery openings and exhibitions to see and know about in May 2025.

Nuria Maria: zilver, Cadogan Gallery, London

The largest solo exhibition by Dutch artist Nuria Maria to date has arrived at Belgravia’s lofty Cadogan Gallery. Authoring a charming and characteristic modern take on impressionism, Zilver by Nuria Maria exhibits the poetic simplicity of nature, and how frequently it changes light, form, colour, texture, or shape. Clever in scale and perspective, the paintings move between “zoomed in and zoomed out” focuses as well as between aerial viewpoints versus seeing through the trees. Nuria Maria paints within as well as inspired by the Limburg countryside, surrounded by forests that form the basis of her work. Staring at these paintings puts you in an almost dreamlike trance, which accompanied by the light and airy Cadogan Gallery – peppered with floor to ceiling windows that flood the space with light – takes you straight out of London, closer to Limburg instead.