Gagosian Explores Magritte's Influence on Contemporary Art

Gagosian will present This Is Still Not a Pipe: The Afterlife of Magritte at its Grosvenor Hill gallery in London from 24 September to 12 December 2026, bringing together major works by René Magritte alongside works by contemporary artists inspired by his enduring vision. Opening to coincide with Frieze London, the exhibition explores how one of the twentieth century's most influential Surrealists continues to shape artistic practice and visual culture.

Curated by Jasper Sharp and Bernard Lagrange, the exhibition features significant paintings, works on paper, sculptures and photographs spanning Magritte's career. Drawn from public and private collections, the selection includes many of the artist's most recognisable motifs, including apples, pipes, bowler hats and expansive skies filled with cotton-like clouds. These iconic works are presented in dialogue with historic and newly commissioned works by artists from different generations, highlighting the continuing relevance of Magritte's ideas.

The exhibition also reflects on two important moments in the history of Surrealism. It marks twenty years since Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images, the influential exhibition held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2006 and 2007, which explored Magritte's impact on post-war American and European artists. It also commemorates the ninetieth anniversary of the 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition in London, an event that helped establish Magritte's international reputation and introduced Surrealism to a wider British audience.

Among the highlights is La Lampe philosophique (The Philosopher's Lamp, 1936), a painting that also appeared in the LACMA exhibition. Created shortly before the 1936 Surrealist exhibition in London, the work is widely regarded as a conceptual self-portrait and reflects Magritte's fascination with paradox, perception and the relationship between thought and image. The artist described the painting as representing "the meditations of an absent-minded, obsessive philosopher" whose inner world becomes inseparable from the pipe he smokes, creating an image of introspection and confinement.

Reflecting on the exhibition, Larry Gagosian said: "It is difficult to imagine a world today without Magritte." He observed that nearly six decades after the artist's death, Magritte's influence continues to resonate across contemporary artistic practice while also shaping advertising, design, fashion and music. Gagosian added that the exhibition offers audiences "a renewed opportunity to engage with the poetry, wit, and mystery that define his vision."

The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with Charly Herscovici, President of the Fondation Magritte, together with leading scholars specialising in the artist's work. A fully illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition, while the complete list of participating contemporary artists will be announced in the coming months. Several artists featured in the LACMA exhibition will return, alongside others whose work will be shown with Magritte's for the first time.

Opening during one of London's busiest weeks for the international art world, This Is Still Not a Pipe: The Afterlife of Magritte offers an opportunity to reconsider one of modern art's most influential figures through both his own work and the artists who continue to draw inspiration from his ideas. By placing Magritte's celebrated images alongside contemporary responses, the exhibition demonstrates why his poetic, enigmatic vision remains central to visual culture nearly six decades after his death.