insideKENT Magazine Issue 50 - May 2016 | Page 57

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

ART MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND
This summer, the art of the circle is showcased at Turner Contemporary with a major summer exhibition.
Seeing Round Corners offers visitors a unique opportunity to see art by Leonardo Da Vinci, alongside the
painting of Paul Nash, performance photography of Rebecca Horn and sculpture of Barbara Hepworth.
From planetary movements, to atomic particles
and the invention of the wheel, the circle is at
the heart of our relationship with the world. Artists
have intuitively gravitated to this universal and
recurring form across painting, sculpture, film
and photography. Seeing Round Corners
explores the significance of the circle in art, but
also in architecture; science, engineering and
astronomy; geometry, optics and perception;
religion, culture and everyday life.
Making connections across disciplines and
time, the exhibition brings together over 70
artworks and artefacts, from 300 BC to the
present day, including ancient Egyptian sculpture
alongside works by JMW Turner, Bridget Riley,
Gary Hume and Anish Kapoor. The breadth and
richness of the items on display means that
visitors will want to keep returning to the exhibition,
every time discovering something new and
inspiring.
Seeing Round Corners is curated by artists
David Ward and Jonathan Parsons. As artists,
Ward and Parsons see the world from a particular
creative perspective that is evident in their unique
organisation of the exhibition. Every work and its
position has been mapped to offer visitors fresh
insights, highlighting the adaptability of roundness

Paul Nash, Eclipse of the Sunflower, 1945, Oil on canvas
Courtesy British Council Collection

as the circle is transformed into discs, spheres,
spirals and ellipses. They also explore the idea
of the circle as a source of comfort and warmth,
associated with the human embrace and the
eyes of a loved one.
“I have often thought that very simple works
of art can stimulate multiple associations and
sometimes, the most complex responses,” says
Ward. “The circle has this potential because it
resonates with so much in our everyday lives
and with objects and phenomena that have
shaped the development of civilisations around
the world from the most ancient of days.”

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Barry Flanagan, Seeing round corners, 1967, Felt pen and ink
on paper, Private collection
© The Estate of Barry Flanagan, Courtesy Bridgeman Art Library

A special programme of workshops and events
will run alongside the exhibition.
www.turnercontemporary.org