Van Gogh Exhibition

On Monday 25th March we were invited to a preview of the Van Gogh exhibition at Tate Britain. The EY EXHIBITION : VAN GOGH AND BRITAIN is the eighth ground-breaking exhibition supported through the EY Tate Arts partnership.

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27th March – 11 August 2019

Tate Britain

Open Daily 10.00 – 18.00

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The exhibition is the first major event to explore the impact of British culture on Van Gogh as well as the legacy of his art in the works of British painters.  The exhibition also explores both how Van Gogh was inspired by British art, literature and culture throughout his career and how he in turn inspired British artists, from Vanessa Bell to Francis Bacon.

Bringing together the largest group of Van Gogh paintings shown in the UK for nearly a decade, the exhibition includes over 50 works by the artist from public and private collections around the world.

Aside from being a large collection of works the exhibition amazingly works its way through a side of Van Gogh that was central to creating his works, his mental health. During the course of his life he battled with mental illness and spent many years within a psychiatric unit. During our curators tour Michel Drieseen, from EY, spoke of how ket to the success of the exhibition is the discussion of dignity and humanity which Van Gogh applies to his subject. Theres always a sense of affection in his portraits and the places he studies. This is where i think the exhibition comes into its own, exploring Van Gogh’s personal struggles and allowing the visitor to talk openly about mental health and how in the 21st century we bring normality and encourage discussion around this issue. The language used on the walls of the exhibition is a far cry from the usual wordy type we see so often in gallery spaces, this in itself feels inclusive and feels like a huge effort has been made to talk and provide a space even within the very walls of the gallery for conversations in a safe comfortable place. And what better place to be to do so, surrounded by some of the great works by the master himself.

If you have time spend an afternoon walking and exploring the rooms of Tate Britain, its most certainly one of their most successful exhibitions in many ways. We loved it.