Ugo Rondinone, summer London flags and gallery light
Published on 08/31/2026 at 16:56 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Ugo Rondinone saturates London with color in summer 2026. As Bond Street, Sadie Coles HQ and the Royal Academy of Arts detail, his flag installation LIGHT, courtyard work THE SONG IS YOU and painting exhibition more light run through late August 2026.
Three linked summer formats in London
The public project LIGHT forms a chain of fifty-four flags above Bond Street, created for Art in Mayfair 2026 in partnership with the Royal Academy of Arts. Bond Street states that the flags are on view from June 8, 2026 until mid-August 2026.
The Royal Academy courtyard hosts THE SONG IS YOU, a ten meter long rainbow LED text work welcoming visitors to the 2026 Summer Exhibition, running from June 16 to August 23, 2026 per the Academy and specialist coverage.
Painting show more light at Sadie Coles HQ
Parallel to the public installations, Sadie Coles HQ in London presents the solo exhibition more light, bringing together new watercolors and paintings. Artpress and exhibition listings confirm dates from June 9 to August 22, 2026 at the gallery’s Bury Street space.
Rondinone’s own exhibition list corroborates the trio, naming the song is you at the Royal Academy, more light at Sadie Coles HQ and light in Art in Mayfair as three connected formats staged across London in 2026.
All news and background on Ugo Rondinone
Further reporting on Ugo Rondinone’s exhibitions, public projects and market moves is available in the AD HOC NEWS archive, updated regularly for collectors and art professionals.
The work core in London’s constellation
Across the three London formats, Rondinone extends recurring motifs of sunrise, sunset, rainbow text and elemental color. Bond Street emphasizes that the flags in LIGHT translate his long-running sunrisesunset watercolor series into public space above the luxury street.
Where the artist stands now
Within the current 30 day window, the London cluster approaches its closing dates in August 2026, with the courtyard work and gallery exhibition scheduled to end by August 23 and August 22 respectively.
Key facts on Ugo Rondinone
- Artist: Ugo Rondinone
- Medium / Genre: Sculpture and installation with painting and public art
- Born: 1964, Brunnen, Switzerland
- Place(s) of practice: Studio in New York and Brussels
- Active since: Late 1980s, with early solo shows in the 1990s
- Key work groups: sunrisesunset, nuns and monks, stone figures, Rainbow Poems
- Current/last exhibition: more light, Sadie Coles HQ, London, June 9 to August 22, 2026
- Major collections: Museum of Modern Art (New York), New Museum (New York), Kunstmuseum Luzern, Nevada Museum of Art (Reno)
- Awards: Not publicly documented in the major international prize categories listed
- Next date: London summer installations LIGHT and THE SONG IS YOU concluding in late August 2026
Frequently asked questions about Ugo Rondinone
Where can Ugo Rondinone’s work be seen in London in summer 2026?
His flag installation LIGHT runs above Bond Street for Art in Mayfair 2026, complemented by the courtyard work THE SONG IS YOU at the Royal Academy of Arts and the exhibition more light at Sadie Coles HQ.
What is special about the flags in the project LIGHT?
Bond Street and Dirimart describe the fifty-four flags as each presenting a different sunrise or sunset, extending Rondinone’s sunrisesunset watercolors into a moving ribbon of color above the street.
How does THE SONG IS YOU connect to Ugo Rondinone’s broader practice?
The Royal Academy’s courtyard work uses a ten meter rainbow LED sign as part of his Rainbow Poems series, combining language and color to address emotions and public experience within the Summer Exhibition 2026.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
