Major new displays at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One this summer

Discover some of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art at Modern One this Summer with a series of free ARTIST ROOMS displays in Edinburgh from 12 July 2025.

Article Source: National Galleries Scotland
Last Updated: 5 May 2025 10:37

The national touring collection, cared for jointly by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, offers the opportunity to see compelling works by pioneering artists of our time. Experience impactful new displays by Louise Bourgeois, Helen Chadwick and Robert Mapplethorpe, each offering distinctive and diverse approaches to the ideas of self-expression, identity, and the complexity of our inner life. Visitors will encounter Louise Bourgeois’s giant Spider (1994), standing at an impressive three metres high, innovative works by Helen Chadwick, and Robert Mapplethorpe’s striking self-portraits.

Themes in these three exciting ARTIST ROOMS presentations have provided the starting point for a series of new displays across Modern One, showcasing further works from the nation’s magnificent collection. Explore paintings, drawings, prints and photography by artists such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Sarah Lucas, Jasleen Kaur, Edvard Munch, Lee Miller and many more! Offering something for everyone, these displays provide a place to think, dream, and reflect.

Explore the works of French-American Louise Bourgeois, one of the most influential artists of her generation whose career spanned eight deades, from the 1930s until 2010. Her endlessly inventive work, inspired by her own experiences, included paintings and drawings, sculptures using fabric and rubber, and monumental installations. The display will draw out the ways Bourgeois used art as an act of catharsis, with works exploring selfhood, family connections, motherhood and memory. Visitors will discover two important works on paper – 10 am is When You Come to Me (2005) and Spirals (2005) – and a rare early painting, made by Bourgeois in 1946-7. Discover her late sculpture Untitled (1996) made when Bourgeois was eighty-five, representing a portrait of the artist’s aging body using clothes and undergarments she had worn during her lifetime.

Be inspired by the radical, sensuous, and often playful works of British artist Helen Chadwick. One of the first women artists to be nominated for the Turner Prize in 1987, her innovative and unconventional use of materials was hugely influential on a younger generation of British artists. Her death in 1996 at 42 curtailed a career marked by inventive transgression, questioning gender representation and the nature of desire. Early photographic works in this display will explore how she used her own body to consider autobiography, self-knowledge, the cycles of life and familial relationships. Discover how Chadwick developed her practice to incorporate other matter as stand ins for the body, as found in Self Portrait (1991) and Meat Abstract (1989), both held in Scotland’s collection. The display will feature Chadwick’s major sculptural installation, Piss Flowers (1991-2), lent by Tate having recently been donated as part of the D.Daskalopoulos Collection Gift. Throughout all her work Chadwick addressed deeply philosophical questions about the interconnectedness of physical and emotional states, life and death, beauty and decay, and attraction and repulsion.

ARTIST ROOMS features one of the largest and best collections of photographic works by the American Robert Mapplethorpe in existence. A pioneer of black-and-white photography, within his relatively short career, Mapplethorpe was recognised as one of the most significant fine art photographers of the late 20th century, making images that both challenge and engage with classical notions of beauty. The display will focus on a selection of the artist’s iconic self-portraits, demonstrating how Mapplethorpe examined his own persona. Made over a period of more than 10 years, they show the powerful ways Mapplethorpe captured the many facets of his own evolving identity.

Delve into displays showcasing the breadth of Scotland’s modern and contemporary collection as you wander through the rest of Modern One. Come face to face with compelling self-portraits by some of the most well-known international artists of the 20th and 21st century. Be moved by striking works exploring connection and care, including two works by Turner Prize winning artist Jasleen Kaur acquired in 2024 for the nation. Explore how artists such as Bill Viola, Pablo Picasso, Everlyn Nicodemus, Pat Douthwaite and Don McCullin have addressed personal and collective grief. Find your moment of pause and reflection in a room pairing contemplative paintings by acclaimed American abstract artist, Agnes Martin (from the ARTIST ROOMS collection) with Shirazeh Houshiary’s 1992 Round Dance series, offering a place of calm.

Dive into Summer with captivating experiences at Modern One. Families can pack a picnic and relax in the stunning grounds surrounding the gallery. On arrival you will be in awe of the spiralling Landform in front of the gallery, designed by landscape architect Charles Jencks. Pick up a free copy of the sculpture trail for kids or download it before you arrive and enjoy it on your device as you set off to discover sculptural works by major artists including Barbara Hepworth, Joan Miró and Tracey Emin. A Family Art Basket can be collected for free, packed with everything you need to find, chat and make together – be inspired by the fascinating art both inside and outside the gallery and allow your own creativity to flow.

Lucy Askew, Chief Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art said, ‘We’re delighted that from this July, visitors to Modern One can explore new, free displays from the nation’s collection. Art can be a source of insight and delight, helping us make sense of our place in the world. At the heart of these displays will be presentations of works by Louise Bourgeois, Helen Chadwick and Robert Mapplethorpe, featured as part of our ARTIST ROOMS collection. All three artists considered deeply what it is to be human, expressing this in dynamic, intriguing and often playful ways. Their art not only reflects shared experiences, bringing attention to the things that connect us, but also offers a window onto different perspectives. We hope visitors will be inspired by their vision and creativity, and by the work of the many other impressive and engaging artists featured. There is truly something for all to discover.’

Image Credit: Louise Bourgeois, Spider 1994. ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Lent by the Easton Foundation 2013. ©The Easton Foundation. VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London 2025

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Major new displays at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One this summer

Discover some of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art at Modern One this Summer with a series of free ARTIST ROOMS displays in Edinburgh from 12 July 2025.

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