Wellcome Collection, 22 July – 18 October 2015
The mummified objects of artist Alice Anderson give a new meaning to the ancient practice of preservation. Wrapped tightly in copper wire (to emulate Anderson’s russet tresses), these familiar shapes, ranging from spectacles to tubes of oil paints (below), embody the artist’s memories and identity through the redemptive process of embalming. As viewers enter a gallery space like a pharaoh’s tomb, they are invited to recall their own memories in an interactive performance piece, using Anderson’s favoured copper thread to reimagine the objects around them, including a 1967 Ford Mustang.

Gimpel Fils, London, 24 July – 28 August 2015
To overcome the fear of the blank canvas the late Albert Irvin RA would apply lashes of brightly coloured paint in bold gestural strokes; and as he got older, the colours got brighter. This summer, Gimpel Fils honours the well-loved and respected artist, known popularly as Bert, by celebrating an extraordinary body of abstract paintings that spans seven decades, testament to his remarkable ability to capture the exuberance of life through playful shapes, composition and colour.

The Lightbox, Woking, 25 July – 1 November 2015
The revolutionary Pop Art movement emerged in the late 1950s during the post-war surge in advertising and mass production. Taking inspiration from the images of popular culture that surrounded them, artists in Europe and America thwarted traditional techniques in favour of art designed for a mass audience. Leading the movement in America was Andy Warhol, who is now the focus of a new exhibition at The Lightbox. His famous series of Marilyn Monroe screen prints will sit alongside the works of other prevalent US artists, from Roy Lichtenstein’s comic strip inspired prints to one of Claes Oldenburg’s iconic Mickey Mouse sculptures, as well as significant pieces from Europe by ‘new realist’ artists.

University of Greenwich Galleries, London, 24 July – 12 September 2015
From its inauguration in 1967 through to the last annual exhibition held in 1979, London’s Stockwell Depot studio was, for abstraction, an artistic hub. Over 30 years later, the University of Greenwich will be showcasing the work of 20 of the studio’s artists across three gallery spaces, many of which have not met the public’s eye since they were first made or exhibited at Stockwell. Works by Royal Academicians Jennifer Durrant and Mali Morris are included in this survey of diverse paintings and sculptures, which spotlights the studio’s critical contribution to late modernism in Britain.

The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, 25 July – 10 January 2015
L.S. Lowry RA and Arthur Berry shared a fascination with the lives and landscapes of the industrial world. The working class scenes of Manchester and Salford were captured in the paintings of Lowry and had a profound influence on Berry, who also heralded the common man in his paintings, plays and poems. For the first time the works of two great artists will be on display side by side at The Potteries Museum and Art gallery in an appreciation of their individual styles.