The Royal Academy in London will host the first major UK exhibition by renowned artist Simone Leigh in 2027, marking a significant milestone four years after she became the first African American woman to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. The groundbreaking show is scheduled to open in September 2027 and will feature a series of new monumental works exploring themes including architecture, art created under fascism, and Leigh's personal connections to the UK through her Jamaican heritage.
Speaking with the Guardian, Leigh revealed her current artistic focus on American history and the political climate. "I've been thinking about American history a lot in the development of these works because we're now living under full-on fascism here," she said. "I've been thinking about the kind of art that's made under fascism." The 57-year-old artist expressed shock at what she sees as institutional complicity during the Trump administration's anti-woke attacks, drawing parallels to the McCarthy era.
Leigh described troubling developments in American institutions, particularly citing Columbia University's proactive approach to suppressing protests. "I don't know if you noticed what happened really early on with Columbia [University]. They were almost doing a prophylactic fascism. They weren't even waiting to be told to expel students and put down all protests – I guess you would have to go back to a McCarthy era to see this kind of obedience," she explained. She added that all institutions are under attack, noting that she knows artists whose commissioned works have been stalled or canceled for anti-DEI reasons.
"I'm more than concerned, it's getting a little scary," Leigh said about the current situation facing artists and cultural institutions. The Royal Academy exhibition will be the largest show to date for Leigh, who didn't gain widespread recognition in the art world until she was in her 40s. Her work, often featuring ceramics that critics previously dismissed as materials for hobbyists or studio potters, has experienced a meteoric rise over the past 15 years.
Leigh's artistic journey has been remarkable, connecting the Black Lives Matter movement to older civil rights movements while aligning with theories from African American public intellectuals such as Christina Sharpe. She grew up in Chicago, attending an evangelical church where her father served as preacher, before pursuing college and eventually living in a yurt near Charlottesville, Virginia, with a group of aspiring ceramicists.
Reflecting on the upcoming London exhibition, Leigh shared how the location has prompted personal reflection. "Because the show's in London, it's been making me hyper-focus what it means, my personal history, and what ties I have to London, which is really only through my parents, who were [born in Jamaica as] British subjects," she said. This personal connection to Britain through her parents' colonial history adds another layer of meaning to the exhibition.
Leigh frequently works with clay, sometimes casting models into other materials such as bronze. Her notable sculpture "Brick House," created in 2019, was displayed on the High Line in New York and became part of "The Milk of Dreams," the title of her Golden Lion-winning Venice Biennale show. The versatility and power of her work demonstrate her evolution from an overlooked ceramicist to one of America's most important contemporary artists.
Tarini Malik, the show's curator, emphasized the significance of the Royal Academy venue for showcasing Leigh's career comprehensively. "In terms of representing the breadth of her career, there are only a few spaces that can hold her work in that way," Malik explained. This statement underscores both the monumental scale of Leigh's pieces and the ambitious scope of the planned exhibition.
Leigh's breakthrough moment came in 2012 with the "You Don't Know Where Her Mouth Has Been" exhibition at The Kitchen in New York. The show featured "Queen Bee" (2008-2012), a menacing chandelier made from black terracotta forms bristling with defunct TV antennas, which established her reputation as a powerful voice in contemporary art. This piece exemplified her ability to transform everyday materials into profound artistic statements.
At the Venice Biennale, Leigh hosted the second installment of her "Loophole of Retreat" event, featuring speakers including Lorraine O'Grady who discussed topics ranging from black feminist ideas to post-colonial theory, accompanied by performances. The first edition was held at the Guggenheim in New York, where queues began forming at 8 AM, demonstrating the high demand for her intellectual and artistic programming.
The upcoming London exhibition will feature the third "Loophole of Retreat" event, with a UK curator yet to be named working alongside Leigh's longtime collaborator Rashida Bumbray. This continuation of her interdisciplinary programming will bring together British and American perspectives on the themes central to Leigh's work. Additionally, the Turner Contemporary in Margate will display two of her sculptures – "Bisi" (2023) and "Untitled" (2023-24) – from October 3, 2025, through March 15, 2026, providing UK audiences with an earlier opportunity to experience her monumental works.
