Modern One draws in visitors with 3ft spider and free artist rooms

The National

11-07-2025

A series of free artist rooms open on Saturday with sights to see including Bourgeois's arachnid, created in 1994, and serving as a starting point for new displays across the gallery.
The national touring collection is jointly cared for by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate.
Lucy Askew, chief curator of 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.'
French-American artist Bourgeois is described as one of the most influential artists of her generation whose career spanned eight decades, from the 1930s until 2010.
Her work 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.
Modern One is also inviting visitors to 'be inspired by the radical, sensuous, and often playful works' of 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 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.
Another artist room will feature one of the largest collections of photographic works by the American Mapplethorpe.
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.