Anya Gallaccio: preserve

28 Sep 2024-26 Jan 2025

Overview

Anya Gallaccio: preserve is the largest survey exhibition to date of British artist Anya Gallaccio, spanning three decades of Gallaccio’s radical practice, restaging several iconic sculptures in addition to a new site-specific commission. It will reveal the artist’s consistent rethinking of the relationship between art and the environment by presenting works that connect with Kent’s natural heritage.

Due to the temporal nature of her work, much of Gallaccio’s practice is best known through documentary photographs and memory. This exhibition introduces her sculptures and large-scale installations so that a new generation can engage in their references to environmental sustainability and preserving fragile ecosystems.

Renowned for her innovative use of organic, ephemeral materials such as apples, flowers and chalk, and for her explorations of transformation and impermanence, Gallaccio has reshaped our understanding of contemporary sculpture.

Complementing Gallaccio’s exhibition, Turner Contemporary has developed an extensive school programme in partnership with the artist. This programme, titled An Apple a Day, aims to explore Kent’s countryside, heritage, and history through the lens of the apple and county’s apple orchards. Inspired by the work of Californian chef and food activist Alice Waters, Gallaccio seeks to embed nature across everyday teaching in primary schools.

In collaboration with Kent Downs National Landscape, DEFRA and Lees Court Estate, this project underscores Turner Contemporary’s commitment to sustainability and celebrates the relationship between art, ecology, and agriculture in Kent. By engaging students with the rich heritage of the region’s apple orchards, the programme fosters a deeper appreciation for nature and promotes environmental stewardship from an early age.

Anya Gallaccio: preserve is curated by Melissa Blanchflower, Senior Curator, Turner Contemporary.

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