At Sea

Artists have been fascinated by the sea for centuries, using it to represent the power of nature and the sublime. Many artists working today continue to find the sea a source of inspiration and this exhibition brings together an exciting selection of work by 21 contemporary artists.

Artists such as Vija Celmins and Hiroshi Sugimoto see the sea as conducive to quiet contemplation. For others, the sea evokes scenes of danger or disaster. Shipwrecks, drownings and other tragedies are hauntingly alluded to in the work of Tacita Dean and Mariele Neudecker. The seashore as a site for leisure and entertainment can be seen in Martin Parr's photographs of the resort of West Bay in Dorset and in Tracey Emin's Whitstable beach hut. The subject of holidaymakers is also explored in Rineke Dijkstra's striking photographs, in which her teenage models nervously inhabit deserted beaches.

This exhibition features work by: Sue Arrowsmith, Vija Celmins, Claude Closky, Mat Collishaw, Gary Coyle, Dorothy Cross, Tacita Dean, Rineke Dijkstra, Tracey Emin, Garry Fabian Miller, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Rodney Graham, Zebedee Jones, Tania Kovats, Clare Langan, Richard Long, Mariele Neudecker, Martin Parr, James Peel, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Chris Welsby.