Sculpture in the City, 2018

Let's be honest. Province of bankers and brokers, Gherkins, Cheesegraters and a thousand Pret A Mangers: the Square Mile isn't the first place you'd look to find a host of arresting outdoor sculpture and artworks. And yet, every year, the City of London takes contemporary art out of its natural habitat and places it in surprising corners of the financial district.

Sculpture in the City 2018 is the largest to date, showcasing 18 works from art world heavyweights. The outdoor exhibition includes works from internationally renowned artists including Sean Scully, Marina Abramovic and Nancy Rubins. To celebrate the centenary of female suffrage, nine of the Sculpture in the City works have been created by emerging and international female artists; their work will be positioned among some of London's most famous buildings, such as The Leadenhall Building, also known as the ‘Cheesegrater’, Richard Rogers' Lloyd’s building, the Gherkin and four brand new locations.

Thomas J. Price, Numen (Shifting Votive) One and Two, 2016

Head to Callum Street to find Sarah Lucas' life-sized bronze Clydesdale horse Perceval, 2006, and to Leadenhall Market to see Shaun C Badham’s I’M STAYING, 2014, a magnificent neon artwork reflecting the historic market's changing face over time.

Elsewhere, there'll be Tracey Emin’s neon light sculpture, Your Lips Moved Across My Face, 2015, in Emin's signature handwriting, and a remarkable sound sculpture by performance artist Marina Abramović. Tree, 1972, will be concealed within a tree at 99 Bishopsgate and will play birdsong, with an insistent, distorted repetition. Abramović aims to distort perception and blur lines between fiction and reality with this work.

Jean-Luc Moulène, Body, Guyancourt, October 2011

Now in its eighth year, Sculpture in the City has gone from strength to strength. A series of ticketed public tours of Sculpture in the City 2018 are available via Art in the City. Please click here for more information.

Whether you're surprised by a chance encounter with a sculpture on a latte-run, or decide to see them all in one lunch break, this outdoor exhibition is a great opportunity to get out of the office and make the most of London's outdoor art.