Watercolours, paintings and prints by the much-loved JMW Turner (1775-1851) depict waves, wind, clouds and skies, showing how he captured the essence of both land and sea before the invention of photography.
Vija Celmins (b.1938) is best known for her mesmerising, exquisitely detailed photo-realistic paintings and drawings of natural environments. Her prints and drawings bring a careful focus to seemingly limitless aspects of nature, from star-filled night skies to the surface of the ocean and the desert floor.
Three Drops of Blood by multi-media artist and photographer Ingrid Pollard (b. 1953) draws on her two years of research on the folk histories of Devon’s botanical gardens and ferns. This body of work, which was recently acquired by The Box in 2023, includes framed images, prints and a group of six unique bark boxes.
Several of the Turner works on loan from Tate in this exhibition were selected by Celmins for display at Tate Britain in 2012, coinciding with a presentation of her own work in the next room, while Ingrid Pollard has been involved in the selection of the Turner prints from The Box’s collection.
This exhibition is presented in partnership with ARTIST ROOMS, Tate and National Galleries of Scotland.
Plymouth's award-winning museum, The Box, offers history, art and archives and is a major cultural and heritage attraction for the South West of England. A series of permanent galleries showcase an extensive collection complimented by a programme of events, exhibitions and artist commissions.
The Box opened in 2020, transforming Plymouth's former Museum and Art Gallery, Central Library and St Luke's church buildings into a series of new galleries and exhibition spaces. The Box also features a striking elevated ‘archive in the sky’ with research and learning facilities.
ARTIST ROOMS presents the work of international artists in solo exhibitions drawn from a national touring collection jointly owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. Its programme reaches audiences across the UK and is developed through local partnerships. ARTIST ROOMS gives young people the chance to get involved in creative projects, to discover more about art and artists, and learn new skills.
The ARTIST ROOMS programme and collection is managed by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland with the support of Art Fund, Henry Moore Foundation and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. Its founding collection was established through The d'Offay Donation in 2008 with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.
