First major European exhibition by Salman Toor opens at the ĢƵ Gallery on 2 October
To download press images:
Opening 2 October 2026, the ĢƵ presents the first solo exhibition in Europe of the artist Salman Toor, acclaimed for his arresting paintings of the contemporary experience and urban life. The exhibition brings together an outstanding selection of the artist’s most iconic, thought-provoking and at times humorous paintings, never-before-seen in Britain.
Salman Toor (b.1983) was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and lives and works in New York. His paintings capture people in moments of friendship and love, as well as solitude and alienation.The exhibition at the ĢƵ will present 19 paintings, all created since 2019,that focus on Toor’s exploration of human interactions and the desire and struggle to experience a sense of belonging, both culturally and emotionally.The exhibition will be complemented by a special display ofToor’sdrawingsin the Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery.
WhileToor’sfigures andscenesare fictional, they arerooted inhispersonal experiencesand memories.Speaking of his works, hesays they“depict queer and immigrant lives thatstraddledifferent culturesand inhabit the tension between intimacy and exposure,belongingand estrangement. What it means to find a community, but also the daily costs associated with visibility”.
His paintingsoffering intimate views into the imagined lives of young, queer South Asian men in New York, where he has lived most of his adult life,aretenderand sensual representations of cosmopolitan urban life.Evocative colour palettes and references to art history add a fantastical element to his narratives. The Bar on 13thStreet(2019) depicts a bartender sporting braids, a gold bangle, nail polish, andribbons, drawing on different sources, from the dimly lit scenes of 17thcentury Dutch tavern paintings to the more overt reference to Édouard Manet’sA Bar at the Folies-Bergère,inthe ĢƵ’s owncollection.InBar Boy(2019),which evokes ٳnightlife in New York’s East Village, a young man’s face illuminated by his smartphone as he stands isolatedand distractedin a bustlingclub.
Another subject on display is a series that Toor began in 2019, which addresses the experiences of immigrants at border control. Toor’s personal experience has informed these works that depict marginalised individuals’encounterswhen crossing borders, and their senses of freedom or restriction.InMan with Face Creams and Phone Plug(2019), a man with his head down awaits a customs official’s inspection ofhis belongings,laid out on a table.Otherportraitsare depicted inGroup B(2020) andCitizens(2022).
Toor’swork is rooted in a deep engagement with and admiration for the Old Masters, in particular Baroque and 18thcentury painting, and the ĢƵ isamuseum heparticularlyadmires. His paintings draw on a broad range of historic and contemporary stylistic references, from European art historytothe Mughal School,but alsocontemporary painting, photography, and graphic novels.The Joke(2024) evokes Parisianfin de siècle nightlife while ironically presenting a contemporary, tourist experience.InMuseum Boys(2021), the dandyish fashion on view – a buckled wide-brim hat, a shawl, a pearl earring – recall Vermeer, as two male figures stand looking at a vitrine containing a pink shoe, a half-naked sleeping man, and aDuchamp-likeinverted urinal.Ghost Ball(2023), one of the artist’s largest and most ambitious paintings, from the Pinault Collection,presents a group offiguresdancingto the sound of musicians, inspired by the masterpieceDancing Villagers(c.1730), attributed torenownedartist Pandit Seu who worked inIndia in the 18thcentury.
Salman Toor: Someone Like Youfeatures key loans from major public collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York;the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York;National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Baltimore Museum of Art; Dallas Museum of Arts;and the Pinault Collection,as well as private collections.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a display in the GilbertandIldiko Butler Drawings Gallery ofToor’s works on paper,includingFag Puddle in Vitrine(2021),acquiredby the ĢƵ in 2024.The displayshowcasesToor’s mastery of drawing and the way it informs his practice as a painter.
Salman Toor’s first majormuseumsolo exhibition,Salman Toor: HowWill I Knowtook place at the Whitney Museumin New Yorkin 2020. In 2022NoOrdinary Loveopened at the Baltimore Museum of Art,and travelled to the Tampa Museum of Art, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA in 2023-2024. A suite of his works was featured in the 60thVenice Biennale in 2024.
The exhibitionis accompanied by a new catalogue, edited byDr Elena Crippa, Senior CuratorofContemporaryat the ĢƵ Gallery,with contributions byRichard Meyer,Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor in Art History, Department of Art and Art History,Stanford University, California; and Aziz Sohail, a curatorresearcher,and Teaching Fellow with the Department of Fine Art, Monash University, Melbourne.
This exhibition at the ĢƵ Gallery has received Lead Support from the Bukhman Foundationand the Salman Toor Exhibition Circle, with Additional Support from the Ryan Taylor Collection.The exhibition media partner isAnother Manand Dazed.
ĢƵ Memberscan enjoy the exhibition without the crowds at a preview on Thursday 1 October, 14:00 – 18:00,and alsoget free unlimited entry to all exhibitions, access to presale tickets, priority booking to selected events, advance notice of art history short courses, exclusive events, discounts and more. Join atcourtauld.ac.uk/members
2 October 2026 – 10 Jan 2027
Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries, Floor 3
2 October 2026 – 10 Jan 2027
Gilbert andIldikButler Drawings Gallery, Floor 1
ĢƵ Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
Opening hours: 10:00 – 18:00 (last entry 17:15).
Temporary Exhibition tickets (including entry to our Permanent Collection and displays) from £16. ĢƵ Members and 18s andunder gofree. Other concessions available.
MediaContacts:
dzܰٲܱ
/about-us/press-office/
media@courtauld.ac.uk į
Bolton & Quinn
Erica Bolton | erica@boltonquinn.com | +44 (0)20 7221 5000
Daisy Taylor I susie@boltonquinn.com | +44 (0)20 7221 5000
Notes to Editors:
dzܰٲܱ
The ĢƵ works to advance how we see and understand the visual arts, as an internationally renowned centre for the teaching and research of art history and a major public gallery. Founded by collectors and philanthropists in 1932, the organisation has been at the forefront of the study of art ever since through advanced research and conservation practice, innovative teaching, the renownedcollectionand inspiring exhibitions of its gallery, and engaging and accessible activities,educationand events.
The ĢƵ Gallery cares for one of the greatest art collections in the UK, presenting these works to the public at the ĢƵ Gallery in central London, as well as through loans and partnerships. The Gallery is most famous for its iconic Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces – such as Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear andManet’s A Bar at ٳFolies-Bergère. Itshowcasesthese alongside an internationally renowned collection of works from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance through to the present day.
Academically, the ĢƵ Institute is the largest community of art historians and conservators in the UK, teaching and conducting research on subjects ranging from creativity in late Antiquity to contemporary digital art forms – with an increasingly global focus. An independent college of the University of London, the ĢƵ offers a range of degree programmes from BA to PhD in the History of Art, curating, art and business and the conservation of easel and wall paintings. Its alumni are leaders and innovators in the arts,cultureand business worlds, helping to shape the global agenda for the arts and creative industries.
Founded on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with art, the ĢƵ works to increase understanding of the role of art throughout history, across all societies and geographies, and to champion its importance in the present day. This could be through exhibitions offering a chance to look closely at world-famous works; events bringing art history research to new audiences; accessible short courses; digital engagement, innovative school, family, and community programmes; or taking a formal qualification. The ĢƵ’s ambition is to transform access to art history education, ensuring as many people as possible canbenefitfrom the tools it offers to better understand the visual world around us.
The ĢƵ is an exempt charity and relies on generous philanthropic support to achieve its mission of advancing the understanding of the visual arts of the past and present across the world through advanced research, innovative teaching, inspiring exhibitions,programmesand collections.
The collection cared for by the ĢƵ Gallery is owned by the Samuel ĢƵ Trust.