Everlyn Nicodemus to be celebrated at Modern One with her first ever retrospective exhibition
Prepare to be inspired at the National Galleries of Scotland this October, as trailblazing Edinburgh-based artist Everlyn Nicodemus opens her first retrospective, at Modern One in Edinburgh.
Article Source: National Galleries of Scotland
Last Updated: 29 July 2024 12:01
Everlyn Nicodemus
National Galleries Scotland: Modern One
19 October 2024 – 25 May 2025
Admission free
Spanning the gallery’s entire ground floor, Everlyn Nicodemus opens on 19 October 2024 until 25 May 2025, and is free for everyone to enjoy. Experience Everlyn’s joyful, defiant and searingly honest artworks, with over 80 drawings, collages, paintings and textiles from the last 40 years of her career through to the present day. Following a 25-year break from painting, Everlyn Nicodemus will unveil a series of new artworks created especially for the exhibition.
Championing a belief that creativity is a form of healing, Everlyn’s work responds to themes such as the global oppression of women, the enduring impact of racism and the artist’s own personal trauma and recovery. Visitors to Everlyn Nicodemus will marvel at her bold and courageous use of colour, form, light and shade, inviting them to explore and question their understanding of identity, belonging and faith. This stirring exhibition was made possible because Everlyn was the recipient of the prestigious Freelands Award in 2022. Presented by Freelands Foundation, the annual prize is gifted in support of women artists underrepresented in their field.
An artist, writer and curator, Everlyn Nicodemus was born in Marangu, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in 1954. Living and working across Europe since the mid-1970s, Everlyn has made Edinburgh her home for the last fifteen years. Throughout her career, she has taken an active involvement in community life, using her gift of expression to highlight the shared oppression of women. Her pioneering scholarship on African modern art and trauma studies has also informed her practice.
Since the 1980s, Everlyn has made paintings, collages and works on paper that explore violence against women, personal trauma and the isolation and dehumanisation of living within structural racism. Everlyn Nicodemus will chart her career from those early days, with works including her very first painting, After the Birth (1980). At over two metres in length, this oil on bark cloth painting shows a large-scale image of a mother and child, brought to life through swirling, wavy black and white lines against a rich terracotta background. The mother figure is seen protectively placed over the child; however, her face is covered by her hands, her body hunched in a state of recovery. This scene gives a sense of deep emotions such as uncertainty and isolation; the often-unspoken elements of motherhood. Even in her earliest work, Everlyn’s skill as a visual storyteller is clear, compassionately highlighting women’s shared experiences and struggles.
From her earliest work, to the newest, the exciting debut of Everlyn’s new series Lazarus Jacaranda (2022-24) will form a key element of this exhibition, signifying an end to the artist’s 25-year hiatus from painting. While not directly referencing the biblical character in the series’ title, the paintings consider themes of cyclical life and Everlyn’s belief that ‘art is resurrection’. Female figures, both archetypes and named individuals, are shown in relaxed and restful poses, their feet supported by flowers and petals that spring powerfully to life. These paintings have much in common with Everlyn’s earlier artworks, from the colour palette and confident celebration of the female body seen in Silent Strength (1989-90), to the botanical elements present in her largest body of work, The Wedding (1990-94). This marks a resurrection of Everlyn’s own work from the past, influencing her present practice.
This long overdue retrospective focussing on the life and work of Everlyn Nicodemus is a celebration of the compassion, creativity and care which she has led with throughout her 40 years as an artist. Everlyn Nicodemus is waiting to be discovered by new audiences at Modern One this winter.
Anne Lyden, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “It is a great privilege to host the first ever retrospective of visionary artist Everlyn Nicodemus at Modern One this year. Everlyn’s exceptional artwork harnesses her incredible ability to communicate the most complex subjects with unwavering compassion. Her work serves to empower and inspire, but also sensitively demonstrates the therapeutic and healing powers of creativity. This exhibition also marks Everlyn’s return to painting after a 25-year break with the unveiling of a new series of work which we are excited to share with our audiences for the first time. We are thrilled to bring this exhibition to the people of Scotland and celebrate Everlyn’s remarkable career in the city she calls home.”
Stephanie Straine, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland said: “With less than three months to go until Everlyn’s exhibition opens here in Edinburgh, this is a wonderful moment to share more details about what our visitors to Modern One will experience this autumn, encountering Everlyn’s astonishing creative practice of many decades. I feel truly honoured to have had the opportunity to work closely with the artist over the past three years to develop her exhibition and its accompanying publication. It’s been a privilege to be a part of this incredibly rewarding collaborative process that has time and again emphasised Everlyn’s rigorous scholarship, commitment to and celebration of art making, and deeply empathetic perspective on the complexities of our shared humanity.”
Visitors to Everlyn Nicodemus can enjoy a free audio tour as part of their experience. Led by Everlyn herself, listeners will be guided around the exhibition as she highlights selected works and delves deeper into her inspirations, experiences and creative process.
Everlyn Nicodemus is accompanied by a generously illustrated catalogue, featuring a new interview with the artist by Perrin Lathrop (Assistant Curator of African Art at Princeton University Art Museum). The book also includes essays from Professor Eddie Chambers (David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professorship in Art History at the University of Texas at Austin), Catherine de Zegher (curator, modern and contemporary art historian), and Stephanie Straine (curator of the exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland).
Everlyn Nicodemus is yours to discover for free at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One from Saturday 19 October 2024. Find out more: Everlyn Nicodemus | National Galleries of Scotland
Image: Silent Strength 38
Copyright the Artist, Courtesy Richard Saltoun Gallery London and Rome
Sponsored Links
Latest Edinburgh News
FREE family festival at Loch Lomond Shores returns on 5th and 6th July
Summerfest, the FREE family festival at Loch Lomond Shores, is back on the 5th and 6th of July with lots of things to see and do!
READ MORE
Widest ranging exhibition of Italian Renaissance drawings in 50 years to be staged in Edinburgh
Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Titian will be among 45 Italian Renaissance drawings going on display in Scotland for the first time this October.
READ MORE
Inspiring climate action through the Edinburgh Climate Festival
Edinburgh Climate Festival returns on 28th June. A free festival that aims to celebrate & inspirate climate action in our local communities.
READ MORE
Earlybird tickets drive buzz for 2026 Scottish Caravan, Motorhome & Holiday Home Show
The biggest show of its kind in Scotland returns with Earlybird tickets and a give-away with headline sponsor Border Caravans!
READ MORE
Pret gets ready for Pride with free glow up and goodies
This weekend, in celebration of Edinburgh Pride, Pret A Manger is turning up the sparkle with an in-shop glow-up station!
READ MORE
July events at Dobbies Garden Centres
Check out July at Dobbies with it's Little Seedlings Club on rainforests and Grow How on pest control and healthy gardens!
READ MORE
Fist Look: Inside new Cafe Calton which offers stunning Panoramic views of Edinburgh
Cafe Calton, located at the top of Calton Hill and offering panoramic views of Edinburgh, has opened in Edinburgh.
READ MORE
Casting announced for the new production of Miss Saigon at Edinburgh Playhouse
Michael Harrison, in association with Cameron Mackintosh, is delighted to announce the full casting for a major UK and Ireland tour of MISS SAIGON, including a run at Edinburgh Playhouse.
READ MORE
Scottish Legend Dougie MacLean to Lead Opening Weekend Big Singalong at the Edinburgh International Festival
A lineup of world-class musicians at the forefront of their fields are today added to the Edinburgh International Festival programme.
READ MORE
East Lothian community revives woodland ecosystem with help from Loganair GreenSkies fund
A community-owned woodland in East Lothian is undergoing a remarkable transformation thanks to a grassroots replanting project supported by Loganair’s GreenSkies Community Fund.
READ MORE
Duck & Waffle Edinburgh Celebrates Pride Week in Support of LGBT Health and Wellbeing
Duck & Waffle Edinburgh is proud to announce its vibrant celebration of Edinburgh Pride, honouring the city's LGBTQIA+ community.
READ MORE
Free Surf Lessons for Kids at Lost Shore Surf Resort this July
Lost Shore Surf Resort, Scotland’s most exciting new holiday destination, is making waves for families this summer - with free surf lessons and sessions for kids throughout July.
READ MORE
EIFF to present World Premiere of NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab Short Films
Edinburgh International Film Festival has announced that the six short films created as part of the inaugural NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab will have their World Premieres this year.
READ MORE
Historic Environment Scotland calls for public stories for national wellbeing exhibition
Historic Environment Scotland is calling for people across the country to connect with heritage to boost their wellbeing as a part of a national campaign, Historic Places, Breathing Spaces.
READ MORE
Casting Announced for FRIENDS! The Musical Parody coming to Edinburgh and Glasgow
Today, the producers of the 2025/26 UK and Ireland tour of FRIENDS! The Musical Parody are delighted to announce casting for the side-splitting musical comedy.
READ MORE
Scottish Bar and Pub Awards 2025 adds two new categories and voting deadline extended!
Scotland's hospitality industry and customers have spoken, and the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards 2025 has listened!
READ MORE
Houstoun House recognised as one of the top hotels in UK by Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Awards
Houstoun House in West Lothian has been recognised in Tripadvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Awards 2025 following consistently high ratings from guests.
READ MORE
Paint the town pink this summer
Edinburgh’s first ‘Rosé Wine Trail’ has been launched across the capital this week as part of a summer-long campaign to celebrate the popular pink tipple.
READ MORE
Edinburgh Bar Awards returns for year two
After a sold-out debut last year, The Edinburgh Bar Awards are back for year two and they’re coming in even stronger.
READ MORE
Stumpy the Lemur makes history at Five Sisters Zoo
One of Five Sisters Zoo’s most beloved residents has achieved worldwide recognition as the oldest living ring-tailed lemur in captivity, according to Guinness World Records.
READ MORE
Edinburgh International Film Festival announces closing night film of Midnight Madness strand
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025 announces UK Premiere of eagerly-awaited cult classic remake THE TOXIC AVENGER as closing night film of year’s Midnight Madness strand.
READ MORE
25th year of Refugee Festival Scotland gets underway
Refugee Festival Scotland gets underway today, kick-starting nine days of dance performances, film screenings, visual art and photography exhibitions and community events across the country.
READ MORE
June at Virgin Hotels Edinburgh
From Masterclasses to Father's Day, discover Virgin Hotels Edinburgh's events taking place in June!
READ MORE
Teachers warn new school uniforms are too costly for too many families
With many families in Edinburgh finding the cost of purchasing a new school uniform completely unaffordable, The Leith Collective launches free school uniform exchange.
READ MORE
Young Carers enjoy a break this Carers Week at Edinburgh Zoo
Young carers from across Scotland will enjoy a well-deserved day out at Edinburgh Zoo on Wednesday 12th June, thanks to a partnership between Carers Trust Scotland and the RZSS.
READ MORE
Filmhouse cinema announces opening programme
Edinburgh’s landmark cinema Filmhouse will re-open its doors with a hand-picked programme of the very best films the cinema missed out on playing during its closure.
READ MORE
Exclusive Superman screening at Vue venues in Scotland
Tickets are on sale for an exclusive Superman screening at Vue venues in Scotland, with fans in for an extra special treat to take home.
READ MORE
Adele Anderson to star in UK and Ireland tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Fascinating Aïda's Adèle Anderson will play the role of Bernadette in the UK and Ireland tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert coming to Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2026.
READ MORE
Quebec EdFests showcase presents an exciting and varied programme
Québec’s annual Edinburgh Festivals showcase once again brings the best of circus, comedy, dance and music to the world’s biggest celebration of performing arts in 2025.
READ MORE
Raise the steaks for dad
A popular Scottish beer brand is serving up the ultimate rare treat this Father's Day!
READ MORESponsored Links
Sponsored Links