The best exhibitions this week in London, from Robert Rauschenberg to Isa Genzken (May 9 to 16)

With access to hundreds of museums and galleries a tube ride away, we Londoners are spoilt for choice when it comes to a fun day out. But sometimes the capital’s embarrassment of riches means it’s tricky to pick where to go.

Do you disappear into the National Gallery for an afternoon, pop by some of the independent galleries in Marylebone, explore East London’s exciting offerings, or wander around the Tate?

Look no further every week: here’s our pick of five extraordinary exhibitions to see in London right now.

Between 1984 and 1991 pioneering American painter and printmaker Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), spearheaded The Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI), an organisation which hoped to boost world peace through mutual understanding.

Now Thaddeaus Ropac brings together a series of work from that ambitious project. Expect illuminating canvases, metal paintings, sculptures and textile works.

Thaddeaus Ropac, to June 15; ropac.net

Jerusalem-born, New York-based multimedia artist Uri Aran imagines his works – drawings, paintings, sculptures, collages, photographs – as a visual language or a poem, with a rhythm and repeated motifs within. By exploring how these pieces relate to each other, he raises questions about excess, information, history and lexicons.

Sadie Coles HQ, to June 15; sadiecoles.com

Bradford-born Matthew Krishanu draws on his childhood in Bangladesh raised by Christian missionary parents to create this new series of paintings and works on paper. Atmospheric and sometimes haunting, the pieces explore memory, religion and history.

Camden Art Centre, to June 23; camdenartcentre.org

Influential German contemporary artist Isa Genzken, best known for her sculptural works, draws on the aesthetics of Minimalism and punk culture to ask questions about society, capitalism, human experience and perception. Here her 2004 installation, Wasserspeier and Angels, is revived to celebrate two decades since its London debut.

Hauser & Wirth, to July 27; hauserwirth.com

Quiet, thought-provoking and moving, the exhibition displays 18 large-scale portraits by the Belfast-born artist Colin Davidson. He’s painted individuals who have experienced loss due to The Troubles, Ireland’s 30-year sectarian conflict.

National portrait Gallery, February 23, 2025; npg.org.uk