Adriana Varejão included in Flesh at York Art Gallery

23 September 2016 – 19 March 2017

Human and animal, alive and dead, familiar and strange; this major exhibition will explore how artists represent flesh in their work.

Paintings by artists including Peter Paul Rubens, Edgar Degas, Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin, Circle of Rembrandt and Francis Bacon will show how the body and flesh have long been subject to intense scrutiny by artists.

These will be contrasted with contemporary works by internationally acclaimed artists Bruce Nauman, Jenny Saville and Adriana Varejão as well as pieces by Sarah Lucas, John Coplans, Berlinde de Bruyckere and John Stezaker recently acquired by York Art Gallery through the Art Fund’s RENEW scheme.

The exhibition will raise questions about the body and ageing, race and gender, touch and texture and surface and skin.

Jointly curated with Dr Jo Applin from the University of York, the exhibition will be accompanied by a publication based on new research and a varied events programme including a symposium.

This exhibition has been made possible thanks to generous support from The Friends of York Art Gallery; The Henry Moore Foundation; Thomas Dane gallery, London and The University of York, and additional Art Fund support for the events programme.

Image: Adriana Varejão, Green Tilework in Live Flesh, 2000. Collection Tate.