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Past exhibition

Sea Star: Sean Scully at the National Gallery

13 April – 11 August 2019

Admission free

Location: Ground Floor Galleries

See new work by Sean Scully inspired by the National Gallery Collection and Joseph Mallord William Turner’s ‘The Evening Star’.

In this new work Irish-born, American-based Scully (born 1945) takes Turner’s atmospheric landscape as his starting point. A boy on the shore sets off for home as the sky and sea darken. For Scully, this melancholic picture is one of Turner’s most profound works, to which he feels a deep connection.

Poignant and poetic, Scully's abstract works are constructed from panels painted in oil, often with thickly applied paint to create rich, textured surfaces. Using the motif of the stripe or chequerboards, the artist evokes landscapes and architecture, horizons, fields, and coastlines; his contemplative forms become reminders of personal experiences and distinctive moments.

The exhibition charts Scully’s personal journey of deep admiration for colour, composition, and the power of painting.

Image above: Detail from Sean Scully, 'Landline China 8', 2018, Oil on aluminium, 300 × 190 cm, Private collection (SS3506), © Sean Scully. Photo: courtesy the artist

Exhibition supported by

 Hiscox: Contemporary Art Partner of the National Gallery

Alexandra Lalonde and Cyril Bouygues

Christian and Florence Levett

Dasha Shenkman OBE

Michael Hilti

John J. Hannan

Kerlin Gallery

Angela and Yanni Koulakoglou

 

The Sunley exhibition programme is supported by The Bernard Sunley Foundation

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