EXHIBITIONS

Thursday to Sunday

11am – 4pm

Admission Free

For much of the twentieth century, contemporary art was increasingly associated with abstraction. Gestural marks, geometric forms and colour fields challenged artists and audiences to look beyond recognisable subjects and conventional representation. Yet in recent years, something has shifted. Figurative art has returned to the centre of contemporary practice, offering fresh and compelling ways to explore the world around us.

Figuratively Speaking, curated by Rob Moore, brings together the work of fourteen contemporary artists working across painting, drawing and sculpture. While their approaches and individual practices are diverse, they share an interest in the recognisable world – particularly the human figure – as a starting point for artistic enquiry.

Figurative art is not simply about reproducing what we see. It provides a means of exploring identity, memory, heritage and lived experience. Through portraiture, expressive drawing, sculpture and distorted or reimagined forms, artists can communicate ideas and emotions that extend far beyond physical appearance.

For many contemporary artists, the human body becomes a powerful vehicle for examining personal and cultural narratives. It can reflect questions of belonging, mental health, relationships, vulnerability and the complexities of modern life. In other works, the figure may be fragmented, exaggerated or combined with abstract elements, challenging our assumptions about representation and what it means to see ourselves reflected in art.

The resurgence of figurative art should not be understood as a return to traditional conventions. Instead, contemporary artists are redefining what figuration can be. Realism can exist alongside abstraction; traditional materials can meet digital processes; and familiar forms can be transformed through unexpected perspectives, scale and imagination.

The artists featured in Figuratively Speaking demonstrate the continuing vitality and relevance of figurative practice. Together, their work offers an opportunity to consider the many ways artists interpret the human experience – sometimes directly, sometimes symbolically, and often in ways that invite us to look again at the world we think we know.

Featuring work by:

Anne Moses, Adrian Bannon, Kai Brook, Paul Collinson, Fernanda Cortes, Trevor Fearnley, Jamie Frost, Lyn Hodnet, Adele Kamazyn, Neil Moore, Carol Sommer, Wendy Tate, Sally Taylor and Amelia Frances Wood.

Figuratively Speaking invites visitors to reconsider the enduring power of the figure in contemporary art and to discover how fourteen artists are using recognisable forms to speak about the world we inhabit today.