Beastly Hall
28 March – 1 September 2013
Creatures of the artist’s mind, an exhibition exploring the relationship between art and animals in contemporary art.
Inspired by the historic Queen’s Beast topiary in the gardens of Hall Place, this exhibition brings together the work of contemporary artists who use strange and imagined beasts in their art. The exhibition includes paintings by the Pop artist Peter Blake and material sculptures by Laura Ford.
Charles Avery’s co-joined headless dogs look straight out of Greek mythology, while Rachel Goodyear’s strangely beautiful, yet psychologically disturbing depictions of baby animals are disconcerting. With the macabre imaginings of Damien Hirst and Thomas Grunfeld also in the mix, this show promises to reveal why the animal continually haunts contemporary art.
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Laura Ford has been making a curiously raggedy collection of faceless creatures for some time now, they are utterly uncanny and form a barrier between the viewer and the object. Also on show are Polly Morgan’s taxidermy treats, strange hybrid forms that suggest malevolent forces have been at play in the natural world .