2020 exhibitions and commissions

Pacita Abad
Life in the Margins
January 18 to April 5, 2020
The first exhibition in the UK by artist Pacita Abad (1946–2004). Curated in collaboration with artist Pio Abad, the exhibition includes over 20 large-scale “trapunto” paintings and other works on fabric made between 1983 and 2002. Characterised by their vibrant colour and intricate construction, these works combine a broad range of styles, subjects and techniques, from social realist tableaus incorporating indigenous textiles to richly detailed abstractions inspired by Korean ink brush painting, Indonesian batik and Papua New Guinean macramé.

Eric Baudelaire and Alvin Curran
When There’s No More Music to Write
April 25 to June 21, 2020
A two-person exhibition by artist and filmmaker Eric Baudelaire and composer Alvin Curran. Curated in collaboration with music historian Maxime Guitton, the exhibition includes a new film commission exploring how Curran’s life and work intersects with the radical political movements emerging in Italy, and around the world, during the 1970s. Presented in partnership with CRAC Occitanie and Bristol New Music, and supported by Fluxus Art Projects.

Lucy Stein
Wet Room
April 25 to June 21, 2020
The first major UK solo show and a new commission by artist Lucy Stein, comprising a new series of coffin-scale paintings, deities carved from soap, and a fully functioning, hand painted wet room. Building on a lasting engagement with goddess culture, witchcraft and idea of the “anima,” the exhibition is based on Stein’s research into the ancient, womb-like Neolithic passages unique to West Cornwall.

Denzil Forrester
Itchin & Scratchin
July 4 to September 6, 2020
A solo exhibition by painter Denzil Forrester, including new and existing paintings and works on paper that capture the vibrant energy of the dimly lit dancehalls of 1980s London and the present-day open-air clubs of Jamaica in vivid colour. Presented in partnership with Nottingham Contemporary.

Amitai Romm
July 4 to September 6, 2020
A major new commission and the first UK solo exhibition by artist Amitai Romm. Often combining archaic, mundane and high-tech materials and references—from trilobite fossils to biotech membranes and household spices—Romm makes drawings, sculptures and installations as forms of science fiction.

Veronica Ryan
September 19 to December 13, 2020
The largest solo exhibition to date by artist Veronica Ryan, comprising new sculptures and assemblages that combine a wide range of materials and techniques: from organic forms cast in plaster, clay and bronze to more ephemeral found materials such as dried flowers, feathers and fruit. Supported by the Freelands Foundation through the 2018 Freelands Award.

Forthcoming exhibitions and commissions for 2021:

Candice Lin
Pigs and Poison
January 23 to March 21, 2021
A major new commission and solo exhibition by LA-based artist Candice Lin, comprising a virtual reality animation, flesh-like sculptures and a large-scale medieval trebuchet. Commissioned by Spike Island, Bristol; Guangdong Times Museum; and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth.

Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer
Nosferasta
January 23 to March 21, 2021
A new film commission by filmmakers Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer. Commissioned and produced by Gasworks, London and Spike Island, Bristol, as part of the European Cooperation project 4Cs: From Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture, co-funded by Creative Europe and the Royal College of Art.

Peggy Ahwesh
April 3 to June 13, 2021
The first retrospective exhibition by artist and filmmaker Peggy Ahwesh, curated in collaboration with London-based scholar and critic Erika Balsom.