Announces its 2024 exhibition programme
National Treasures: Turner in Newcastle. Art, Industry & Nostalgia:
10 May – 7 September 2024
In 2024, The Laing will host an ambitious exhibition of one of the world´s greatest artists, JMW Turner, centering on a work that the British public once voted as their favourite painting - The Fighting Temeraire (1839). As part of the National Gallery´s 200th anniversary, The Laing has secured the loan of one of the most recognised and important paintings in the country. Joining this incredible loan will be over 20 additional works by Turner, as well as works from artists such as L.S. Lowry, Tacita Dean, and photographers John Kippin and Chris Killip.
The Laing’s exhibition, Turner: Art, Industry & Nostalgia, will explore in detail the themes of The Fighting Temeraire that highlight the connection between this iconic image and the history of Tyneside. While Turner may not have based the steamboat in the picture on a specific vessel, it is particularly pertinent to the Northeast and its industrial heritage that the two steam tugboats that pulled the Temeraire in reality – the Samson and the London – were both manufactured on Tyneside.
Turner depicted a number of north-east views during his lifetime and the exhibition showcases several examples, including Holy Island, Northumberland (about 1829, V&A), a watercolour he made ten years before The Fighting Temeraire which offers an insight into Turner´s interests such as a seafront setting that includes a remnant of the past, in this case Lindisfarne Castle.
The Late Shows 2024: 17 & 18 May 2024
One of the biggest cultural dates in the North East, The Late Shows will return in 2024 and take place across two nights in May 2024.Featuring open art studios, music, performances, galleries and museums, and now in its 16th year, the two day event will allow participants to curate their own artistic experience from a host of choices across the region, including The Laing.
With These Hands: Paintings of Making and Mending
5 October 2024 – 15 February 2025
In 2024 The Laing will hold the first large scale exhibition exploring the representation of craft in paintings, drawings, and prints from 1750 to the present day. Artists featured will include William Bell Scott, Arthur Hughes, Ralph Hedley, Frank Brangwyn and Harold Knight, plus others.
This exhibition will examine how craft has been used by artists to signify social status, national identity and personal creativity, and will look at the legacy of such representations for how we approach craft today.
Number 10 Museum in Residence: Until October 2024
Nine artworks from the Laing collection in Newcastle are on display in 10 Downing Street’s corridor leading from the famous black door through to the Cabinet Room. The artworks will remain in the corridor for a year, as part of the Government Art Collection’s Number 10 Museum in Residence project, now in its 20th year.
Further Information: Laing Art Gallery