Major exhibition at Yorkshire gallery features some of the greatest artists of the modern era

Work by some of the greatest artists of the modern era will be on show from this weekend as Hull builds on its legacy of staging UK City of Culture in 2017.
Mary Fedden (1915-2012) Orange and Green Still Life, 1957. Oil on canvas.Mary Fedden (1915-2012) Orange and Green Still Life, 1957. Oil on canvas.
Mary Fedden (1915-2012) Orange and Green Still Life, 1957. Oil on canvas.

The Reflection: British Art in an Age of Change exhibition, which features more than 120 artworks, opens at the city’s Ferens Art Gallery on August 17.

On show are works by Graham Dean, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney, Henry Moore, Bridget Riley, Eric Ravilious and Gillian Wearing.

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The sculptures – Ralph Brown’s visceral Meat Porters of two men carrying an ox carcass and Elisabeth Frink’s unnerving white-masked Riace Warrior – are among the showstoppers.

Mary Fedden (1915-2012) Orange and Green Still Life, 1957. Oil on canvas.Mary Fedden (1915-2012) Orange and Green Still Life, 1957. Oil on canvas.
Mary Fedden (1915-2012) Orange and Green Still Life, 1957. Oil on canvas.

Other powerful work includes Peter Howson’s terrifying vision of the end of days, his 1999 painting Resurrection, which dominates a whole wall, while a video installation by non-binary drag queen Victoria Sin, explores that very modern preoccupation – how you define yourself.

The works are drawn jointly from The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art and the Ferens collection and include two Hockneys from the early 1960s, which give a fascinating insight into the artist, not yet 25, arriving in New York for the first time.

A number of the Ferens works are rarely-seen treasures.

Exhibition curator James Russell - who is giving a free talk at the Ferens on Saturday at 1pm - had the huge task of whittling down the works on show from around 900 pieces.

James Russell, Curator of Reflection admiring the exhibits on display, such as artwork by Sean Henry (b.1965) Sleeper, 2013, Bronze, oil paint and cast stone.
Picture James HardistyJames Russell, Curator of Reflection admiring the exhibits on display, such as artwork by Sean Henry (b.1965) Sleeper, 2013, Bronze, oil paint and cast stone.
Picture James Hardisty
James Russell, Curator of Reflection admiring the exhibits on display, such as artwork by Sean Henry (b.1965) Sleeper, 2013, Bronze, oil paint and cast stone. Picture James Hardisty
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He said he hoped “from the moment people walk in it will be an experience that’s uplifting and celebratory – but also thought-provoking”.

Mr Russell added: “There are serious subjects – but a lot of playfulness too.

"I hope families come with the kids – I think people will find lots of things they will connect with. It is all designed to be very accessible.”

To book a place for the free talk visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reflection-curator-talk-tickets-67184864739?aff=ebdssbdestsearch