From Observation to Abstraction
The Body in Art
23 January - 30 June 2025
Collection Gallery | Burlington Gardens
Tues–Sun: 10am–6pm
Fri: 10am–9pm
Free
no booking required
For centuries the body has been a central subject in Western art, depicted in the telling of stories or as a means to explore what it is to be human.
At its founding in 1768, the Royal Academy, instructed artists to study casts of antique sculpture, anatomy and to draw from life models. Early Academicians such as John Francis Rigaud, Henry Fuseli and George Moser reveal this academic model of training in their portrayals of the heroic male figure.
In the mid-twentieth century artists such as Victor Pasmore who had once advocated for the observation of nature, championed pure abstraction – an art that could convey ideas rather than illusion. By contrast, R.B. Kitaj maintained that the figure was central to our engagement with history, culture and our identity.
The works in this display relate to the body in different ways, in some it is a trace of a figure, or a suggestion of one, in others the body is used to explore space and our physical navigation of the world. Psychologically charged, the enduring presence of the figure in art is due to its ability to express vulnerability, resilience, joy, memory, love, hope, fear and our relationships with one another.
Tues–Sun: 10am–6pm
Fri: 10am–9pm
Free
no booking required
Gallery
Thor battering the Midgard Serpent, 1790
Female Torso, ca. 1960
untitled: female; 2018, 2018
We move in her way: Dancers, 2017
Trying to Find You 1, 2007
Cheeky Little Astronomer, 2013
Lily, 2023