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The Enchanted Interior explores the recurring motif of female subjects in art as depicted in enclosed, ornate interiors. Such images are inherently alluring yet sinister, carrying implications of enforced isolation. This theme is prevalent in 19th-century British painting, with many Pre-Raphaelites and Orientalists showing a fascination with the so-called ‘gilded cage’.
Visitors can encounter work by a breathtaking variety of artists from the high Victorian through to Art Nouveau, Aestheticism, Surrealism, and pieces by contemporary women artists who ‘speak back’ to the historic tradition.
The exhibition features works by artists including Edward Burne-Jones, Evelyn De Morgan, James Abbot McNeill Whistler, Emma Sandys, Francesca Woodman, Fiona Tan, John William Waterhouse and Clementina Hawarden.
The Enchanted Interior was brought to Guildhall Art Gallery in partnership with Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, and features key works from these and other national collections. Paintings, furniture, photography, film, decorative objects, sculpture and installation interweave throughout this major exhibition, which is dazzling to the eye and thought-provoking in equal measure.
The Enchanted Interior was developed and curated by the Laing Art Gallery and Madeleine Kennedy, and adapted by Guildhall Art Gallery.
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