Sadie Coles HQ Announces Ugo Rondinone 'The Song Is You' Installation at Royal Academy
On June 15, 2026, Sadie Coles HQ announced that Ugo Rondinone will install a new rainbow work titled THE SONG IS YOU in the courtyard of the Royal Academy in London. The exhibition opens June 16, 2026 and runs through August 23, 2026. The piece is the latest in a series of 17 rainbow poems the artist has created since 1996, when CRY ME A RIVER became his first public rainbow work. The installation occupies the threshold between the street and the institution, with the text addressing visibility and recognition for viewers who pass through it.
The Signal
The Royal Academy placement extends Rondinone's practice of situating large-scale public works in prominent civic spaces, giving collectors a clear signal of institutional interest in his ongoing rainbow series. The courtyard setting positions the work as an accessible threshold piece rather than a gallery-bound object, which may influence acquisition strategies for similar site-responsive installations. This continues the gallery's pattern of supporting major outdoor commissions for its represented artists.
- Artists: Ugo Rondinone
- Galleries: Sadie Coles HQ
- Museums: Royal Academy
- Locations: London
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