For this major solo exhibition, Cecily Brown will present paintings inspired by Serpentine’s unique location in Kensington Gardens in London, a site of personal significance to the British artist. The exhibition marks a homecoming for Brown who has lived and worked in New York for the past thirty years.

New works made specifically for the exhibition will be shown alongside a selection of key paintings dating back to 2001, as well as a number of recent monotypes and drawings. Recurring themes of nature and park life reflect on Brown’s early memories of the English landscape, her fascination with children’s book illustrations, and the darker undercurrents of cautionary tales.

This will be Brown’s first solo exhibition of paintings in a UK public institution since her show at Modern Art Oxford in 2005, and follows her presentation at Blenheim Palace in 2020.

A catalogue will accompany the exhibition, designed by Irma Boom, featuring excerpts from Brown’s personal correspondence with British painter Celia Paul, an in-depth interview between Brown and Serpentine’s Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist, and a creative response by poet Isabel Galleymore.

Picture Making is curated by Lizzie Carey-Thomas, Director of Programme & Chief Curator at Serpentine, with Kit Gurnos, Assistant Exhibitions Curator.

Cecily Brown: Picture Making

27 March–6 September 2026

Serpentine South
Kensington Gardens
London
W2 3XA